(This column was first published in the Amandala issue of Friday, May 19, 1995)
Words…x,y,z…
Words formed from letters to create sentences that lead to literature and poetry. Words used to evoke emotion and passion, to provoke anger and rage, to praise and condemn, to propagandize and propagate, to disinform and misinform, to control and confuse, to lie. Words, man’s link with each other. Words used to create the Rubayiat, rearranged to spread diatribes and demagoguery.
Overtime man has used this gift to covey philosophical concepts and to formulate laws. He writes such as “the freedom of speech”, because of national security”, “the state”, “the people”, “the government”. These phrases are concepts of man’s intellect created for the orderly and progressive running of his society. In reality there are no such entities. You can’t point to “the state” or to “the government”.
Have you ever tried to get “the government” to accept responsibility for anything: clerk refers you to her supervisor, who refers you to his boss, the Assistant Permanent Secretary, who directs you to see the Permanent Secretary, who shuttles you to the Minister, who is out of the country, and upon his return informs you he has to take your concern to “the Cabinet”, which relays that according to “the law” and “the regulations” that you should go to this or that department, where the clerk tells you that she will refer you to her supervisor, who informs you…
Point out “the state” if you can. Is it “the people”? Is it the land? Or is it “the people” and/or the land? It is the will of “the state”. “The state” dictates this or that in the name of “the people” and/or the land. It rewards and sanctions; it makes war and peace. It promulgates taxes and other absurdities. Stalin condemns millions to the Gulags. Hitler burns millions in its name. Real persons committing great evil against their fellowmen. A concept expressed to justify whatever…
…”Freedom of speech” connotes that your speech has been granted you by another, and is therefore subject to the giver’s control. What arrogance! No one can give you “freedom of speech” for the simple reason that “your speech” is an innate quality of your being; it is what distinguishes you from the lower species of creation. Since no one can give it, no one can take it away…
…”We grant you independence”. What egotism! It suggests that someone allows you to be, to sleep, to eat, to make love. So man uses words to play deadly games.
The first human being to write the letter “a” must be rueing the day he ever did that when he looks at what he wrought, to wit:
“The extended term which may be imposed under this section for any offence may exceed the maximum term authorized for the offence, apart from this section if the maximum so authorized is less than ten years, but shall not exceed ten years if the maximum so authorized is less than ten years, or exceed five years if the maximum so authorized is less than five years.” Huh? And you wonder why the British are able to maintain control. And promulgated to a citizenry that is still at the discriminating level of
“Ring a ring of roses
A pocketful of posies
Atisha a tasha
All fall down”.
Words: a layman’s few: let us get the portfolios returned to us so that we can collateralize a national bank. Let us restructure our political system so as to allow “the people” – you and I – to be able to elect our leader directly, to have separation of administration and legislative body; so that the representative is controlled by you and me, and not by “the party”.
Words to express concepts. Words: And Jesus said…”They don’t practice what they preach. They tie onto people’s backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry… look at the straps with Scripture verse on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are. Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks…You hypocrites…”
a… b … c …