Nationalism, the source of irrationality itself. Here is when the hope the souls and the beliefs of men lie within one word, that may brake or make what we know as society. It is from the blood of the past, that the souls of the future gain knowledge of what is and what should be. Doomed to be part of the "living past" yet embracing it. justifying their actions and beliefs and making them legitimate based on the thoughts of the past. Involution I scream, Involution!
How can man, the enlightened contemporary man!, construct his argument from the past. Using the discourse of what HAS been to justify what SHOULD be and MUST be.
Nationalism has its source in the manipulation of the modern yet blinded man. for the rational man is just as blind as his ancestors within a diferent context.
first his "gods" then his Church, followed by his king and then his worthy monarch, always blindly kneeling to the unjustified power, then to his carismatic dictators to his nation-state and parlament.
History repeats its self, beacause history is not being taken into consideration, for we are violent men, barbarians within. It is evident that when we have rationality and new paths, a new way to see the future, put against violence, unequality, rage and submission, we chooose what is most confortable,predictable,what we are used to.
NOT BEACAUSE WE LIKE IT; BUT BEACAUSE WE ARE MEN IRRATIONAL BY NATURE.
Author notes
I am spanish I do not posses excellent writing skills in the english languaje
A contest entry
- Nationalism by unknownpleasure.
401 points, ended June 3, 2007, 8 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
-
This is an interesting little piece. I like the blood of the past in line 2, one of my favourites quotes is of Marx rubbishing nationalism ("the blood of the past lies like a nightmare on the minds of the living.")
The link to future souls is interesting too, the idea of the future of a people is central to the doctrine, but as you allude to, the future is never as important as the past. Or rather 'a' past, imaginery, constructed and revisionist.
I feel there are some holes in the philosophy - the past has to at least be a consideration in constructing a future, even if it is as negation.
I disagree with the final statement, mainly as I feel it again to be a little contradictory - you say men choose comfort and predictability through familiarity, then say we are irrational.
I would say here that men, like water, always choose the path of least resistance - and this is wholly and completely rational.
I'm almost considering shortlisting this, but I'm erring toward not doing so, principally because it isn't actually poetry - and although I'm interested in your views of nationalism, I'd like to see them expressed within the constraints of this poem. There is an allphilosphy sister site to this after all (I think)! -
-
I disagree with the final statement, mainly as I feel it again to be a little contradictory - you say men choose comfort and predictability through familiarity, then say we are irrational.
Ummm...my logic is very disticnt to the one you seem to show. I say irrational for the very same reason, that man, chooses the "path of least resistance" as you say.
The path of least resistance has always been the same, and the consecuences have always been the same. This is where irrationality of the human comes in play. eventhough the context of such thing may very, conflict and imposition have always been the ways to follow. As for referring to my poetry as "philosophy"; I believe philosophy and poetry have the same source, but different objectives. I say this because what I have written is a distortion of reality, especially when I speak of ghosts and what man has and will be; I am proposing, as where in philosophy I would be reinterpreting and explaining...What I write is very abstract, to the fact that I have little time and because I have only come to learn english last year. I live in south america , Chile, where spanish is the main languaje...welll thanx for reading my "work" ...goodbye...
Francisco
Classicalguitar
-
Adding your comment:
