Part Of The Story
This is part of a story I'm writing. I'm not really sure why i'm posting it; I always liked doing things i'm not sure of. Or, maybe not... I'm not really sure.
This is why Man is closer to Essence than Human is to Surface: he has not these faltering falsehoods to believe in, only truth and its consequences; he hasn’t any superbly superficial – by superficial I mean, mortal – objects to worship. However, the Human has all this f------ bullshit to take into the equation. So, doesn’t it just suck royal p---- to be a wealthy sycophant? What would you rather be: a prick that knows it all, or a know it all that’s a prick? No answer, well… I don’t blame you. But I do envy your indecision: if you had decided, one way or another, you would be wrong; but now that you are indecisive, we do not know either way – you could be right or you could be right. It’s like asking the Man: “Are you apathetic or ignorant?" and he replies, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
Yes, there is – no matter what you, as a Human, believe – a certain common thread, which connects the Unattainable with the Unfathomable. There is that needle endlessly perpetuating a thread so profound that it can never penetrate the unknown; it can only know the impenetrable. The question is: what makes us Human?
What makes us Human? Is it our intelligence? Dolphins are intelligent. Is it our stupidity? Mice are stupid. Is it that we breathe? Flowers breathe. Is it that we cry? Alligators cry. Is it that we laugh? Hyenas laugh. Is it our compassion, or maybe our lust; is it our love, or maybe our hate; is it our brevity, or maybe our fear; is it our possessions, or maybe our impoverishes; is it our losses, or maybe our victories; is it our children, or maybe our parents; is it our students, or maybe our teachers; is it our achievements, or maybe our demolitions; is it our ambition, or maybe our complacency; is it our charity, or maybe our thievery; is it our pain, or maybe our bliss; is it our knowledge, or maybe our ignorance; is it our possibilities, or maybe our restraints? Then, would we become inhuman once we were to lose any of the above? Or maybe the right to choose between any of the above is what makes us what we are, Human? But are then slaves not Human? And are we all not slaves, to each his master? Maybe it is the ability to ask these questions that makes us Human – I highly doubt that those intelligent dolphins ask “what makes us dolphins?” – but then again, if we weren’t to ask, would that warrant us inhuman? No: if we weren’t to ask, we would be exercising our inalienable right to choose – to the extent of choosing between asking and not asking. If the powers that be – who ever they are – would force us to ask questions, firstly, it would be 1984 all over again, and secondly, it would be like the checkout clerk asking, “Cash or credit?” a question, which, in regards to the cashier, is as relevant as birth-control in a monetary, holds as much substance as Quixote’s windmills, and is only put forth out of necessity. On the other hand, questions of curiosity, of sincerity, of exploration, of discovery, of study, are not posed by rote; they are a means to understand a something otherwise unattainable, they force you to leave that four-cornered box of yours for the unknown, they require you to see not the “What” of the object, but rather the “Why” of it – “Why is this”, or, for that matter, “Why is this not” – that is the question.
posted by jakeyology at 5:15 PM
6 Comments:
You know, australia is a long way from Jerusalem - if you want it to be.
Mendel! reading that part of the story brough me right back to that frabrengen we had - that you probably have no recollection of.
thanks for sharing it. i loved reading it.
I just scrolled down and read your piece on Amona. You know, I was in Amona, on the second rooftop. I was beaten by police and chased by horses.
What I wondered while I was there, watching and experiencing what appeared to be pure evil, was, what if the Rebbe was here right now? Right here in the thick of this confrontation. Could the Rebbe, without any mystical tricks (miracles), stop and bring peace between his fellow Jews at that moment? Could the Rebbe have given one of his smiles, and looked at a baton wielding policeman with his piercing blue eyes, and radiated so much love and warmth that the policeman would put his baton down? I wonder.
why is a jewish question.
how is goyish question.
"why" leads to bittul
"how" leads to yeshus
unless your dealing with torah. then its the opposite.
This is a very existential piece of writing. Reminds me of a book I read...The stranger, by Albert Camus. Well done Jakey!
There is a basic flaw in your line of logic that I wish to point out:
quote: "Maybe it is the *ability* to ask these questions that makes us Human... but then again, if we weren’t to *ask*, would that warrant us inhuman?"
If it is the ABILITY to ask that you refer to, then whether one excersizes this ability or not, cannot prove or disprove anything!
This is only one example.
While your playing with words is always clever and extremely witty, when overdone, it can also loose its power.
Thawing in the North
angsty! you go girl! i really enjoyed reading that, actually. it's thoughful. and onto something. and if it's going to be part of a story, i'd like to read it one day.
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