Thank you. It's high praise indeed when you surface to compliment my minor poetry ;)
I was thinking about this one for weeks, which betrays how little I've accomplished in that time. But I wanted to reflect what I've been feeling about the conservative brand of political correctness that tries to shame anyone who attaches even a shred of self-awareness to U.S. foreign policy.
Oddly, though, I only started to feel comfortable with this one after I started thinking of how it applied to my personal dealings. Maybe that's fitting.
Heather
· 1 year ago
Charity, and all the rest of it, begin at home. I think it IS fitting.
H
howard
· 1 year ago
Agreed.
Someone (famous, I think) once said that when you're handed a gift, you are also handed a whip. The whip is for self-flagellation only.
I've always liked that. I find that I get lost most easily when I focus solely on improving people and things that aren't me ;)
Qazse
· 1 year ago
I like the whole piece and the discussion which flows from it. To me, "we are not the introspectors" is very strong.
PJ
· 1 year ago
I'm with Qazse. I especially like the introspectors line too.
I'm also sensing a bit of a Bible lesson, about plucking beams out of your own eye before whining about the splinter in someone else's? I like that one (and this one).
howard
· 1 year ago
PJ - exactly. I like that story, too.
Qazse - thanks. That line was kind of the jumping off point for the poem - it only took me a few days to settle on a word ("introspectors") that apparently doesn't exist.
Sometimes I just can't believe that we, as a society, get off on being so blind to our own mannerisms and faults. Even when those mannerisms are pointed out and obvious, we don't counter by changing anything about ourselves, but rather by attacking the observers as traitors to our delusions. Odd. And sad.
All Comments
Truer words my friend,
truer words.
I was thinking about this one for weeks, which betrays how little I've accomplished in that time. But I wanted to reflect what I've been feeling about the conservative brand of political correctness that tries to shame anyone who attaches even a shred of self-awareness to U.S. foreign policy.
Oddly, though, I only started to feel comfortable with this one after I started thinking of how it applied to my personal dealings. Maybe that's fitting.
H
Someone (famous, I think) once said that when you're handed a gift, you are also handed a whip. The whip is for self-flagellation only.
I've always liked that. I find that I get lost most easily when I focus solely on improving people and things that aren't me ;)
I'm also sensing a bit of a Bible lesson, about plucking beams out of your own eye before whining about the splinter in someone else's? I like that one (and this one).
Qazse - thanks. That line was kind of the jumping off point for the poem - it only took me a few days to settle on a word ("introspectors") that apparently doesn't exist.
Sometimes I just can't believe that we, as a society, get off on being so blind to our own mannerisms and faults. Even when those mannerisms are pointed out and obvious, we don't counter by changing anything about ourselves, but rather by attacking the observers as traitors to our delusions. Odd. And sad.