Killing me softly

Killing me softly – by P.K.Odendaal _ June 2015.

The only thing a man ever needs to fear is himself - from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

No, this is not about the song by that name but a siren song of humans. It is about killing ourselves in a subtle way and is a continuation of my previous article on self-destruction.

Reception, Deception and Rejection

Father’s day 2015 and self-destruction – by P.K.Odendaal – June 2015.

For Father’s day 2015

Go ask the rolling river (a living thing)
Why it flows in ceaseless motion (from where it originated in the mountain)
To the all-absorbing ocean, (its grave)
Finding there the final goal. (its death)
It will say, I’m driven onward
By a force beyond control. (gravity)
From The Elixir of Love by Donizetti

The cause of rejection in ourselves is mainly from a mistaken identity. We have not identified or found ourselves or our place in this world, or we have not fashioned our identity at youth to someone we admire and respect, mainly for not having such a person on our radar, and the effects of this is devastating in our lives.

Love and Marriage - Part 1

Love and Marriage - Part 1

By P.K.Odendaal - 6 May 2015.

PATIENCE: Lady Angela, tell me two things. Firstly, what on earth is this love that upsets everybody; and, secondly, how is it to be distinguished from insanity?

(from Patience by Gilbert and Sullivan)
 

A well-known song goes like this:

Love and marriage goes together like a horse and carriage.

Pondering Chance ... or what you lose on the swing

Pondering Chance ... or what you lose on the swing - by P.K.Odendaal - April 2015

If you know what the meaning of this heading and even the rest of this article is, then you know much more than I do, which is not very difficult, I have to admit, especially for my readers.

In fact, one of the reasons I write these articles is that I know so little about these subjects I write about, and that prompts me to think and rethink them from all possible angles and viewpoints so that I might come up with some flimsy untested hypothesis based on a new perspective and some logic in which I can believe - much like the great scientists of our day do.

A God for all seasons - a secular view

A God for all seasons - a secular view - by P.K.Odendaal - April 2015.

 

We had joy, we had fun,

We had seasons in the sun,

But the stars that we could reach,

Were just starfish on the beach.

(by Rod Mc Kuen and Terry Jacks)

 

As we all know, the subject of my article is an aberration of the famous play and later film named 'A man of all seasons' by Robert Bolt which depicts the life of Sir Thomas More, the Chancellor of the Exchequer during the reign of King Henry VIII. The plot is based on the true story of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Chancellor of England, who refused to endorse King Henry VIII's wish to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, who did not bear him a son, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, the sister of his former mistress. The play portrays More as a man of principle, envied by rivals such as Thomas Cromwell and loved by the common people and by his family.

I should have known better - a satire

I should have known better - a satire by P.K.Odendaal - April 2015.

I have heard this being said many times too often and I have said it myself many times too often - and yet, it is a lie that we repeat again and again. We must mean something else when we say it because it is patently false.

If we should have known everything better, then we would have to know everything perfectly in advance - before the event, and that would be impossible and boring and frightening. If we pretend or liked to have known everything perfectly, then we would have had perfect vision which is called hindsight - and that is the perfect science.

The essence of slavery

The essence of slavery - by P.K.Odendaal - March 2015.

So we say slavery is an abominable thing, a crime against humanity, a thing of centuries past and the only slavery of any import today is in the trading of humans and of sex. Or is it?

Similar to my views on sanity are my views on slavery, and it is not by any co-incidence that I worked on an article named 'Playing sane', when this one pleaded for precedence. This article may well have had the name of 'Playing free' or 'Playing normal'.

Hello government, goodbye human rights

Hello government, goodbye human rights - by P.K.Odendaal - March 2015

 

I have written a few articles on democracy, and in that you must have sensed my scepticism of democracy. In my mind it just cannot work. It is like freedom - such a noble thought - but it kills in the end.

However, today I wish to look a bit broader to other state forms and even more local to local governments, municipalities and push the idea to clubs. All these have the same philosophy in common. In each of them you would vote for a representative who is supposed to look after your interests - and they do that well for the first few months, but as soon as nobody is watching, they start embezzling funds, abuse power and follow their own agenda.

Making fools of ourselves

Making fools of ourselves - by P.K.Odendaal - January 2015

 

I think appropriately civilized and appropriately educated people's most enjoyable and even coveted activity is fooling themselves. Mea culpa.

I was inspired to pursue this line of thought when I discovered traces of denial, hypocritical, misleading and neurotic syndromes in my life on one of my regular self-shrinking expeditions. And coming to think of it, I have written a few articles about how things are not what they seem to be, without gaining the perspective then that I should have. I have also written an article on 'What kind of fool am I' which should also have warned me of imminent danger then already.

Fighting the wrong war

Fighting the wrong war - by P.K.Odendaal - November 2014.

 

I have heard of war and I have actually also been in one. I have heard of conflicts and I have been in thousands of them. I have heard of causes and I have personally supported more of them than I care to count or remember.

But ... I am yet to know or find out which war, conflict or cause I was in, which I really had to pursue actively or with a straight face. I have this nagging feeling that I have been in the wrong ones for the wrong reasons and at the wrong times - much like the USA.