The Self And Society

Families and marriages are artificial institutions
in which individuals throw themselves together
when neither knows how to allow each other
to be themselves, for being surrounded
by so many others in rather similar situations.

People are most themselves
when they are by themselves
for long periods of time
or when they offer each other
a shared and supportive silence.

Social Darwinism

does for nature what Calvinism did for Christian theology;
both apply an aggressive determinism to their field of study,
where they multiply the distance between an elite,
a self elect, who think they are 'the chosen'
-predestined to rule through some self given right
to slice and dice other people through superiority over others
-not least through literacy, numeracy and reason.
When really, whether the point is about belief in God
or simply accepting life itself, consciousness will vary.
Autonomy is relative between species and people,
and deeply linked through inter-dependence.
But beyond knowledge there is only life and death.