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| QUOTATIONS 272-317 |
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| 272. And when, in sorrow, I've wept they told me: "Your tears are much too big for your face, and more, of the wrong shape". And when, in anguish, I've cried they told me: "Your voice is of the wrong timbre, and besides the notes are too high". And when, in pain, I've bled they told me: "Your blood isn't red or colourful enough And bleeding is too fast". Yet none had ever asked me why had I bled, wept and cried. Are they afraid to find that out and to be swept from common grounds of grief by common lament's tide? 273. To be a wolf, a predator is repugnant to me, but to be a sheep, a prey is simply demeaning and humiliating. Of course, there is another alternative - to be a shepherd, a protector. But is he really a protector when in one, but most crucial sense, a shepherd is not that different from a wolf, for they both live off the sheep, only shepherd does it in a more "civilized" manner. And even of this I'm simply incapable. So, what else can I be? 274. The clarity of thoughts and expressions should not be confused with simplicity, especially with its most negative connotation - "simplistic". For while the simple, by definition, is always clear, the clear is not necessarily has to be simple, since what is complicated, could and should, nevertheless, be made clear if understanding is the goal. 275. The simplification of a more or less complex idea (provided, of course, its essence is not distorted in the process) is in itself no more than an expedient in making this idea accessible to more than a narrow circle of the initiated. As such, the simplification of an idea (again, if its substance remains intact) is intrinsically neither bad nor good, but rather neutral. And though the simplification as a device undoubtedly possesses a great enhancing power, it is what is being simplified, the idea itself, that matters. The good idea ( as for example the Judeo-Christian idea of the universal brotherhood) made simple so that it can be embraced by many will, if materialized, bring the greatest good. By the same token, the bad idea (as for example the idea of the Aryan superiority over other races proclaimed by the German Nazis) made simple so it also can be accepted by many will, if implemented, bring the greatest evil. 276. The mundane is both a burden and a support of the everyday existence. 277. Democratization of the arts, as manifested by the ever increasing (almost exponentially) number of writers, painters, musicians, actors, etc., what is it going to do to the art in general? Will it destroy it by lowering the artistic standards to the lowest common denominator or, which is even worse, by abolishing the very idea of need for any standard in order to include anyone who proclaims to be an artist? Or will it cause the unprecedented flourishing of the arts by widening enormously the range from which the best can be chosen? 278. Surprisingly, those who would probably benefit the most by following a good advice not only seldom heed it but, quite often, do not even want to listen to anybody "telling them what to do". On the contrary, people who are "doing just fine" by themselves are usually much more open and receptive to the suggestions of the others. This apparent difference in the behaviour of just described two types of people could be explained on the one hand by the psychological insecurity of the first (caused and continuously reinforced by many failures) and, on the other hand, by relative self-confidence of the second (as the result of leading more or less successful, from their point of view, life). And so, in general, those who are in need of advice do not listen and those who listen are not in need. Which renders any advice, however good it is, essentially useless. 279. There is yet another and, probably even worse indignity that can be inflicted on the dead horse besides beating upon it. And that is trying to ride the poor animal. 280. A peaceful, dare we say harmonious, coexistence of different racial and ethnic groups in any society requires the good will and the degree of self-confidence, objectivity and intellectual sophistication the ordinary men, always a majority, are simply incapable of. 281. If people are to be judged not by what they say but by what they do, then hardly anything is more revealing about a woman than the kind of men she likes, or more telling about a man than the type of women he chooses. 282. The rich and the poor do not only differ economically and socially (which is obvious) but psychologically as well. For the rich, in general, are pretty much certain about what they want and, what is the most crucial, always seem to know how to get it. Whereas the poor , also in general, are seldom clear as far as their goals and aspirations are concerned, and when, on rare occasions they are, never seem to be able to find the proper means to achieve them. 283. The inexorable law of life is that what benefits us now will harm later, and what helps us to survive and to succeed today will eventually be the cause of our failure and destruction tomorrow. 284. Through our lives we all, without exception, are continuously getting hurt by the words and actions of others. The difference, therefore, between us is not so much in the amount and degree of suffering (though admittedly it could be quite substantial) but in the individual perception of it and especially in the ways each one chooses to react to the wrongs done to him. For one always has a choice: either to do to others what had been done to him, in an act of mostly indiscriminate revenge, or, remembering his own pain, to commiserate with other people and, consequently, to try to avoid inflicting the same pain on them. And one's choice depends primarily on whether one holds those others as somehow collectively responsible for his suffering and views them as the potential enemies who could injure him again, or as his fellow-sufferers, having the same miserable life as he has. Yet, the choice isn't an easy one to make, for in reality they are both - the villains and the victims. 285. Sometimes, witnessing a discussion when the opponents propound seemingly contrary ideas, I find myself in a rather peculiar state of being in agreement with whoever speaks at the moment (provided, of course, that both sides sound reasonably informed and appear to be intellectually honest). One possible solution to this somewhat discomforting and unsettling paradox lies in accepting the view that different opinions on the same subject are not always mutually exclusive but quite often compliment each other and thus help to draw a more comprehensive picture. Unfortunately, the spirit of contradiction and competition which evidently inherent in any discussion too often prevents both parties from seeing this otherwise simple and obvious fact. 286. We all like those who tell us what we want to hear. And most of the people most of the time want to hear what they already know, what they believe in and what, consequently, in no way disturbs their long established pattern of thinking, their ideology, philosophy, etc. Bearing this in mind, it is not as difficult to get in a good standing with others as it appears to be. One just has to have a desire to be liked, the skills will come with practice. To some extent everyone is using this "device" of telling the other people what they want to hear in order to ingratiate oneself with those one seeks to please. But most of us forever remain just mere dilettantes. Only a few, popular politicians or influential religious leaders, for example, will develop such skills to perfection. Similarly, friendship can be characterized as an art based on the ability to tell one's friends what they want to hear. And one would usually keep friends for as long as one is willing and able to do so. The moment one, for whatever reasons, loses such desire and/or ability, one invariably loses one's friends. Then it becomes clear that they were friends not with him/her , the way he/she really is, but simply with another version of themselves. For man, evidently, is psychologically incapable to love anybody but himself or his own reflection in others. Even parental love, the most disinterested one, is based on the love of oneself, for where there are several children in a family a parent, as a rule, loves the most a child who also resembles him/her the most. 287. Some members of ethnic and racial minorities often turn themselves into ridiculous caricatures when trying, albeit rather selectively, to live up to theirs, supposedly positive or, at least, flattering ethnic and racial stereotypes (like "Latin lover" or "Jewish comedian", for example); while others present a pathetic spectacle trying to deny their ethnic origin and claiming membership in a dominant majority. Unfortunately, the one thing neither of them seems to be capable of doing is to behave naturally, that is to be just themselves. 288. Very often "to find oneself" means simply to finally admit and to accept who one really was, is, and always will be. 289. Times of uncertainty and insecurity usually happen to be also the times of the most open and creative societal discourse. 290. One seldom fails to gain by appealing to human vanity. 291. While wisdom can be either a tool of creativity or a weapon of destruction, depending on who is wielding it and under what circumstances, mediocrity remains the most reliable means of assuring preservation and stability. 292. There has never been, nor ever will be a great prophet or a great teacher without the devoted disciples and followers, and one who aspires to be such a prophet or teacher should pay as much attention to cultivating them as to the truth of his prophesies and teachings. For it is they, the disciples and followers, who confirm and perpetuate his greatness by repeating and developing his ideas and transmitting them to the hundreds and thousands or even millions of people who would never otherwise know who he was, nor what he prophesied and taught. 293. The greatest service one can render to humanity is to teach people how to accept themselves for what they really are. Because there is no happiness without self-acceptance and the unhappiness is the main source of all evils. But first such a benefactor of humanity has to learn how to accept himself which, come to think of it, isn't any easier than to teach it to somebody else. 294. Judging by the experience of the multiculturalism in such a city as Toronto, arguably the most cosmopolitan city in the world today, God must have created immigrant communities for the aging performers, who are already forgotten in their own countries, to be appreciated again by the nostalgia-driven ethnics. 295.Money do make people independent, that is independent of others for the satisfaction of their material wants. However, such financial independence can and often does lead to the creation, in their minds, of a false notion that they could be equally independent in satisfying their spiritual needs as well. The falsity of this notion is attested by the well-known (and widely accepted as true) phenomenon of the rich feeling quite often more lonely than the poor. We are all acutely aware of our material requirements, but our knowledge of our spiritual necessities is, at best, rather vague. Most of the times we don't even think of them. Yet, it is the absence of this knowledge that makes us unhappy, since we cannot satisfy the needs we know so little about. Some, in order to deny this unhappiness, go to such an extreme as to claim that the only real needs are the material ones. But even they can never succeed in believing this claim for long. 296. The longer we live the more death is ceasing to be an abstraction and is turning into reality. 297.Being himself a slave of an idea that Good is not only morally but also logically better than Evil, it is no wonder that Plato reduces all other thing to their respective ideas, apparently believing that if he is driven by an idea everything else must be as well. In order to find such specific ideas he regards every material or spiritual manifestation of life as if it were a cabbage head and then by peeling off one leaf after another tries to uncover the Essential inside of it, looking for the beginning, for something analogous to what we call now the "genetic code", "chromosome", etc. Yet even now we still don't know where has the Gene come from. 298. A Jew is born already guilty and then spends most of his life trying to prove his innocence. But a Jew is never judged by the same standards as everybody else. Paradoxically, despite being universally despised, he is, at the same time, expected to be better than anybody else. Yet, to achieve this a Jew must lead such a consistently exemplary life that only very few ever succeed. The rest die as they were born - guilty. 299. The first and the most damaging thing a woman could do to a man is to marry him for any other reason rather than for loving him. 300. As far as I know, there is no such thing as a rightly lived life. There are only different variations of the wrongly lived lives. 301. In a marriage, like in any other human relations, but only more so, the unhappiness is caused mainly by the necessity, in order to maintain these relations, of doing what one doesn't want to do and of not doing what one would like to. 302. There are essentially two types of suicide. The first could be described as active and quick (if successful, of course), the second - as passive and slow. It is the first type, the most obvious one, which is usually committed with a help of a gun, razor blade, poison, etc., that is generally recognized as suicide. Yet, the overwhelming majority of those who, being tired of living, are neither able nor willing to cope anymore with everyday existence, lack the necessary resolve or courage to end it quickly and in such a brutal manner. And so they chose, without being aware of it, the second type of suicide - the passive and slow one. They drink in excess and become alcoholics, use drugs and turn into drug-addicts, sleep on the streets when they don't have to... to name just a few all too familiar tools of self-destruction. Unable to kill themselves with one blow they drag on in a protracted agony of a living death. 303.He was a typical Jew. His language, his culture, even his manners and tastes were borrowed from somebody else. Only the pain, the authentic Jewish pain, was his own. 304.For many a modern artist ART is an acronym for "Antithesis to Rational Thinking". 305.To be a fool and to act foolishly is not necessarily the same thing. For while a fool acts foolishly because of what he is, the intelligent people also act foolishly sometimes, being forced, against their best judgement, to do so by others or by circumstances. 306.When in the late fifties and early sixties (looking back now it is hard to believe how recently it was) the socialist East had finally met capitalist West on the open grounds of the long hoped for "rapprochement", the result was not what the people of good will on both sides had expected it to be. Instead of the mutual understanding and acceptance the meeting had produced the unpleasant combination of envy, jealousy and humiliation on the part of the "poor" East and the embarrassing mixture of uneasiness, pity and arrogance on the part of the "rich" West. Needless to say, such reactions from both sides were hardly conducive to the development of the productive cooperation, which undoubtedly precipitated the collapse of the socialist East not long (in historical terms) after that. Whether the capitalist West will in the long run benefit from this remains to be seen. And depending on the final outcome, History will either declare the sixties as the times of lost opportunities or as a catalyst for the further progress of humanity. As of now, the jury is still out. 307. Envy and jealousy are the worst possible incentives for action but, unfortunately, for most of us this is often the main motivation when we try to change our lives. 308. The awareness of the desirable ends, without the knowledge of the appropriate means to reach them, could only lead to frustration and irrational actions. 309. To have a peace of mind we ought to associate with those who are like us, as far as their position in the social hierarchy, income level, education, etc. are concerned. For the ignorance (to paraphrase the famous adage) of the fact that somebody else is better or better off than we are must be a blessing. And neither it is satisfactory to find oneself too often surrounded by one's "inferiors", at least not in the long run. For the initial (and admittedly pleasant) feeling of superiority is usually short-lived and very soon begins to be displaced by the gnawing doubts in one's self-worse, which, if articulated, would sound something like, "If I am so superior to all these people around me why am I always with them and not with my equals?" 310. The almost religious belief in the " myth of progress", namely, that the things can always be made better, has been a mixed blessing and in more than a few cases a definite curse of the twentieth century. Many a nation have been sacrificed on the altar of this modern Janus, facing the flesh devouring Moloch instead of Demeter, the bestower of abundance and knowledge. The African continent has been devastated, the Soviet Union disintegrated, (the list can go on), all because people could not accept the simple and unsparing truth, that sometimes the way things are is the best possible way they could ever be, and the desire (aroused by the belief in progress) and efforts to improve them would only lead to a disaster. 311. Nothing unites people as strongly as having the common enemy. Often the enemy has to be invented to maintain unity and to prevent fratricide. Nationalism is the unity of this kind. 312. Those who lived by the word run the risk of being destroyed by the word. 313. If we agree that there are no two persons who are completely alike (and we have to, for even the identical twins have some differences) more so we have to say "yes" to a proposition that each country (or each nation) is, in a certain sense, also unique. Its uniqueness is a product of many things, but first of all of its unique history. And the history of a nation will inevitably find its reflection in the characters of its individual representatives in a similar manner as the personal history, which is a part of it, shapes a person's character as well. It is in this sense that the notion of a "national character" can be legitimately used and the general statements like "there is a prophet in every Jew", or "a lawyer in every Englishman", "an artist in every Italian", "a martyr in every Russian", etc. could be partly valid. 314. The pluralistic liberal democracy, as long as it is true to its basic principles, is powerless against the forces of nationalism. 315. When the amount of information starts to exceed the human capacity to absorb it, the information instead of uniting people begins to divide them. 316. Fashionable clothes and matching colours befitting the wearer could be aesthetically pleasing. But trying to match, in a similar manner, the topics of conversations, the ideas expressed, if any, even the very grammar of discourse to follow the prevalent intellectual fashion is unimaginative, dull and tasteless. 317. The modern poetry too often sounds like a bad translation from a foreign language. It conveys, at best, the literal meaning while being stripped of the poetic form, rhythm and music, of the aesthetic beauty of the original. |
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