Ideals 2
Given that the ideal is never achievable, what can we do with that persistent sense of it we carry like that itch that scratching never seems to satisfy or the pebble in one's shoe that repeated attempts to shake out never produces the desired result?
It is my theory that we all have that nagging conception of the ideal. In Hamlet, for example, it is his inability to live with the relative nature of this world, the enduring elusiveness of that being "in apprehension how like a god" that results in his tragic end.
Those religious among us believe that the ideal will only be realized in an afterlife. But what about those of us who are non-believers--those who think that this life is all there is?
History is replete with examples of those who believe they can create the perfect society. Hitler believed he could create it by ridding the world of those he believed pollute it. Stalin, a true believer, thought he could do it by ridding the world of self-interest.
...Except his own.
It is my theory that we all have that nagging conception of the ideal. In Hamlet, for example, it is his inability to live with the relative nature of this world, the enduring elusiveness of that being "in apprehension how like a god" that results in his tragic end.
Those religious among us believe that the ideal will only be realized in an afterlife. But what about those of us who are non-believers--those who think that this life is all there is?
History is replete with examples of those who believe they can create the perfect society. Hitler believed he could create it by ridding the world of those he believed pollute it. Stalin, a true believer, thought he could do it by ridding the world of self-interest.
...Except his own.
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