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Ad Astra Per Apathia
Jun. 28th, 2002 09:40 pmSometimes I think that apathy is our only hope for the future.
I went for a wander with Gina today, out past King's Knot and then on to the park (to the left of the golf course in the picture), and then back into town. It was a nice walk, and we discussed film and theatre and abstract thought and all that other nonsense. And then we came back into town and hit a march. There was one when we went walking last week - a long of people, escorted by police, marching through the town with banners and musical instruments. I'm not sure exactly who they were, and what they were marching for, but they looked hardened and defiant and ready to stand up for whatever it was that they believed in. And I realised that one of the things that really frightens me is belief. Belief that something is worth fighting for, or against. Belief that some things are worth dying for. Belief that you are totally right, without a shadow of a doubt, and that there are no compromise to be had.
It seems obvious to me that the retaliation of one person/group against another for the wrongs done to them causes the other group to take retaliatory action against the first group, causing them to take retaliatory action against the second group, and so on, in infinite regress. Once you're locked into a position where you know you are right and the other people are wrong, and they have done you wrong, you are trapped in a cycle of violence. It's only once you cease to care about who is right and who is wrong, or even believe that what the fight was over is at all meaningful, that you can actually get somewhere.
A friend of mine once wanted to wear a leather jacket but wouldn't because other people, who he didn't like wore, leather jackets. His reasoning was that by wearing a leather jacket he'd be defining himself as being like them. My reasoning is that by allowing their choices to affect his, he allowed them to define him. It's very easy to grow up rebelling, and I'm not convinced that it's possible to pass through teenagehood without rebelling against something, but to rebel against something is to define yourself in opposition to it. That's not you, and that's not freedom from the thing, it's still a captivity of sorts, just one with the illusion of freedom.
The Protestants define themselves as being Not Catholic. The Palestinians as being not Israeli. The Catholics as not Protestants. The Israelis as not Palestinians. They focus on each other, and trap themselves in a deadly embrace.
Sometimes you have to let go. Sometimes it's important not to care.
Sometimes I think that apathy is our only hope for the future.
I went for a wander with Gina today, out past King's Knot and then on to the park (to the left of the golf course in the picture), and then back into town. It was a nice walk, and we discussed film and theatre and abstract thought and all that other nonsense. And then we came back into town and hit a march. There was one when we went walking last week - a long of people, escorted by police, marching through the town with banners and musical instruments. I'm not sure exactly who they were, and what they were marching for, but they looked hardened and defiant and ready to stand up for whatever it was that they believed in. And I realised that one of the things that really frightens me is belief. Belief that something is worth fighting for, or against. Belief that some things are worth dying for. Belief that you are totally right, without a shadow of a doubt, and that there are no compromise to be had.
It seems obvious to me that the retaliation of one person/group against another for the wrongs done to them causes the other group to take retaliatory action against the first group, causing them to take retaliatory action against the second group, and so on, in infinite regress. Once you're locked into a position where you know you are right and the other people are wrong, and they have done you wrong, you are trapped in a cycle of violence. It's only once you cease to care about who is right and who is wrong, or even believe that what the fight was over is at all meaningful, that you can actually get somewhere.
A friend of mine once wanted to wear a leather jacket but wouldn't because other people, who he didn't like wore, leather jackets. His reasoning was that by wearing a leather jacket he'd be defining himself as being like them. My reasoning is that by allowing their choices to affect his, he allowed them to define him. It's very easy to grow up rebelling, and I'm not convinced that it's possible to pass through teenagehood without rebelling against something, but to rebel against something is to define yourself in opposition to it. That's not you, and that's not freedom from the thing, it's still a captivity of sorts, just one with the illusion of freedom.
The Protestants define themselves as being Not Catholic. The Palestinians as being not Israeli. The Catholics as not Protestants. The Israelis as not Palestinians. They focus on each other, and trap themselves in a deadly embrace.
Sometimes you have to let go. Sometimes it's important not to care.
Sometimes I think that apathy is our only hope for the future.
