Why staying silent can be an act of clarity
The grimace of disillusionment is not passivity but a diagnosis: silence as protest against a "diabolical" world. Is goodness enough?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Silence as protest in a "diabolical" world
Some expressions say more than a thousand reports. Going eons without speaking, with the same face, is not a gesture of passivity: it is a decision, and within that decision lies an entire diagnosis of the state of the world.
The one who stays silent insists it is not because something prevents him, but because he does not want to. The grimace – which does not even fade in sleep – is, in that view, the face of someone contemplating a diabolical world. Some take the analysis a step further: evil is not defeated with goodness, but with fierce determination, fire and sword. So reads the quote attributed to Karl Eckbrecht, for whom the upright man receives from God the strongest will and the sharpest weapon. A stance that, unsurprisingly, also has its burlesque version.
Silence or sword? The dilemma has no definitive answer. What is clear is that patience has a limit, and that the so-called "expression of disgust" is, in reality, the grimace of lucidity. If the world gives no reason for optimism, chances are the face will stay the same. Unless someone decides, as the maxim suggests, to trade the gesture for action. We shall see.
Some expressions say more than a thousand reports. Going eons without speaking, with the same face, is not a gesture of passivity: it is a decision, and within that decision lies an entire diagnosis of the state of the world.
The one who stays silent insists it is not because something prevents him, but because he does not want to. The grimace – which does not even fade in sleep – is, in that view, the face of someone contemplating a diabolical world. Some take the analysis a step further: evil is not defeated with goodness, but with fierce determination, fire and sword. So reads the quote attributed to Karl Eckbrecht, for whom the upright man receives from God the strongest will and the sharpest weapon. A stance that, unsurprisingly, also has its burlesque version.
Silence or sword? The dilemma has no definitive answer. What is clear is that patience has a limit, and that the so-called "expression of disgust" is, in reality, the grimace of lucidity. If the world gives no reason for optimism, chances are the face will stay the same. Unless someone decides, as the maxim suggests, to trade the gesture for action. We shall see.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (43 replies).
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