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The dilemma of speaking one's mind
is that doing so would enlighten those
who would otherwise most deserve the torment of wondering
yet who are least prone to wonder and are most inclined to presume
So one can only hope to foster any inkling of doubt
that may swim upstream the tide of anxiety born of ego
to spawn some realization
And each time the Emperor lurches forward from recline
to delight in the notion of wielding such a spell
Exclaiming 'Poof! I'm invisible!'
One may entertain the Court with a tap dance on the meniscus of supposed suspension of disbelief
as though the Emperor has in fact disappeared at will before our eyes
Mirroring his own astonishment so as not to disturb the surface tension of this fragile prison
and rather ensuring it remain sealed in keeping with the wishes of his Highness
But in service of the Kingdom also venturing to cast an indirect wink
Setting an oblique window into those walls that a Subject may turn their gaze elsewhere
Abandoning witness to the performance altogether
Until the day when he who bellows of invisibility
surrounded only by his own echoes
nods to an empty court, prophecy fulfilled, spell unbroken
and begins to wish for illumination
and imagines a window
Recalls a wink
and begins to wonder
***
Recollection: The Poetics maintain that personal proclamation may reach the few,
but whose devotion may sustain the stream.
***
Excerpts from letters of Thomas Jefferson:
" For it is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be read...But this does not satisfy the priesthood. They must have a positive, a declared assent to all their interested absurdities...I have left the world, in silence, to judge of causes from their effects...I shall leave them, as heretofore, to grope on in the dark."
"For I agree with you that there is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents."
--
March 19, 2020
Blindspots are liabilities and can be dangerous.
We all have blindspots, often they are unconscious so although it can be painful and embarrassing for someone to bring it to our attention, especially if its delivered in an unkind way, but sometimes that's the only way we will find out. How we respond says a lot about our character. How it's delivered says a lot about the messenger. And of course, there can be various levels of awareness and assumptions that can complicate the situation.
For the person delivering the message, it can also be stressful and embarrassing. Who wants the responsibility of making someone aware of something? What if the person gets defensive, denies the problem, or simply feels embarrassed? What if they explode? What if the news is very personal and embroils the messenger with an emotional responsibility? The situation can escalate. Is it necessary to make the problem public if it isn't already? Are witnesses necessary? When should we consider personal dignity over public concern? Which is the greater cost? Telling the oblivious person and getting punched in the nose, or allowing an unacceptable condition to continue? What if the situation is too complex to explain? When is there buffer room? What about authority? Having authority to let someone know about a blindspot doesn't necessarily make it easier, and making an authority aware of their own blindspot, as with the Emperor's new clothes, assumes a special level of trust or sacrifice depending on the nature of the authority figure. And what if the problem is made known but there is no clear solution?
Don't kill the messenger.
