On the Nature of Power, Relationships, and Roles

IMPETUS: 

"I feel sometimes when a set of beliefs or ideologies take root in a society, the opposition loses its voice, and struggles to exist, especially when it comes to politics . The party with the louder voice and deeper pockets can direct what is shared with the masses, and in doing so, is able to condition minds. You see it enough, you start believing it." The aforementioned, from a previous conversation, inspired the following:

MUSINGS:

In some cases the opposition arises due to an ideology, only to undermine and displace it or to exhaust itself in its efforts to do so. In other instances they merge, and in others still, they collide - annihilating each other - making room for new emergent standards to spring forth in their stead. There always seems to be a struggle between "what ought to be" and "what ought to be."

So, is what's taking roots the adversary or is what's resisting them - that is to say, the agent of change or its "opposition"? Don't both parties act out from a place of perceived necessity? How are either all that different from one another? They are equally unwavering on their terms as they are flexible. Both have been aggressor and defender towards one another. They feed off of and oppose one another. While they may have some things in common both seem in disapproval of and threatened by the other's presence. It's everyone feeling pressured from their (and one another's) life situations; situations presumed outside of their control. It's your being, my being, and their being all constantly brushing past, narrowly missing, rubbing up against, and colliding into each other. It's an ongoing exchange. Those pressures are real. We react to those pressures with varying degrees of firmness and pliability - we must. If one becomes too rigid or strictly convicted to a behavior, ideal, or principle - ignoring or unaware that it is in their human nature to adapt & explore - they will collapse under the dynamic pressure of life. If one becomes too pliant or loosely convicted - also forgetting their adaptability and inclination to explore - they will similarly collapse under pressure. We spend our lives contributing to the pressure, either naturally so or as modeled. What you've described is an example of how this behavior is made to benefit politics, which is just one, albeit a very influential, area of our lives.

On Honesty

Just the other day my wife and I were discussing what it means to be 'social beings'. It's a hackneyed phrase, I know. But if you'll entertain my quasi philosophic dross, I'll attempt to explain my understanding of the expression and its believed significance. Forthright communication seems more of a rarity than “small talk” or distractive doings. Both behaviors strongly suggest a need to connect, and call attention to their performer’s inability or reluctance to address what’s really important to them.

Recently I attended an annual social gathering. As I entered a room many of the people were standing in places where they’d stood before—several were dressed the same—just as I had previously recalled them. Their mannerisms were eerily similar to what I’d remembered from years past. Conversation was a combination of the drab, banter, and guttural utterances that I'd imagined were meant to compliment or mimic the grating sound of the music the environment was enveloped in. It was as though I was watching a rebroadcast of an episode of some TV program that I’d already seen. It seemed contrived. Someone brushed past, reminding me of my involvement. I stood there, as the room shrank, circling my forefinger around the lip of the beer can I was holding, and that I had no intention of drinking. It was compulsory to roam with one in hand. It could be used in lieu of the small talk. Wherever awkward or silent struck one need only feign a sip and nod or excuse themselves to retrieve a “cold one.” Despite trying to avert the small talk the behavior simply reintroduced itself. The gathering was one of revelry and distraction; one large exhaust pipe through which pent-up stress seemed to eagerly waft. The levity afforded by the costumes betrayed those so adorned, and what was enacted, at times, clearly expressed what remained unspoken; a need to connect and to feel attended. The small talk and distractive doings were abundant.

Poetry: 'This Too Shall Pass...'

Shades of life soon fade away;
The nondescript that grow and grey,
like charcoals born from earthen grass,
whence clay is formed. Here life is kiln,
so all are ilk, creation lorn, this mother's milk.
This trial - These tears
From one stems some, throughout the years.
She's sown, she's reaped;
They've grown, she weeps;
The depths she's been
are heights they'll reach;
This well of wealth - beyond compare -
from which a wet is drawn;
to quell the fires of despair;
to quench both thirst and scorn.
She yawns of grief - this gentle soul;
These hands so frail, so strong;
Forever in our hearts remain this beauty now felt gone.
In dawn, in dusk, on earth, in space,
her presence always near...
Have peace; her spirit's now diffuse
in all that's life so dear.
Aft'all your mourning, rest assure
forever is now hers!
No humanness: today / tomorrow;
her legacy a loving bur.
Her essence clings to free from sorrow
those who wish her near;
A love so infinite to always stir & steer;
What's left behind is to remind
the beauty of her years.

R.I.P. Carmencita Nievera Barretto
Monday, December 2, 2013, 11:24 a.m.