ON RIVALRY
Posted by anthonynorth on March 3, 2008
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What’s on today: A post inspired by a Writers’ Island prompt. Have you had a go yet? … PLUS … My first attempt at a Monday Mural. A couple of links to my current affairs comments.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY
ON RIVALRY
The world seems to thrive on rivalry. The greatest themes of classic literature involve rivals for love. The business world runs on rivalry. Who has not heard of sibling rivalry? And is not war the ultimate problem of rivalry?
Today’s capitalist way of life couldn’t exist without rivalry. In the UK we have the term, ‘keeping up with the Jones’s’, to identify our need to keep our purchases higher and better than our neighbour’s.
Rivalry is also at the heart of sport.
And it is here that we see the great contradiction in the term. You see, sport brings us together in friendly rivalry – sometimes – yet sport itself was arguably devised to keep warriors fit during peace time so as to be always ready for battle. Think karate. Think jousting.
The contradiction, however, is a peculiarity of the western mind-set. Religions are all about opposites, best seen in eastern concepts such as Yin and Yang. One is preservation, the other destruction, yet their real purpose is to find balance and harmony.
In the west, the concept was changed into good and evil.
The balance is taken away and the two polar opposites exist only to conflict. But this was done for a very specific reason, and it is all to do with politics.
It was the sociologist, Foucault, who best identifies a process in society where power is held by those who control the ‘knowledge’ a particular society has. In doing so, they define what is ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’. The former is obviously good, and the latter bad, even evil.
In this way, a rival is identified as an enemy instead of someone with whom to find balance. And thus, a socio-political system becomes a ‘truth’ through identifying abnormality, and conflict is guaranteed within the world.
© Anthony North, March 2008
Morality takes two. One to do and another to judge.
******************************
I stare at an image and wonder,
what is this?
Is it an elephant, or maybe a fish?
Is it a plane, or maybe a dish?
Some images are defined,
some are not,
some require your mind,
to interpet the lot.
I stare at an image and wonder,
Is it a fractal?
Is it designed, or simply a mess?
I stare at an image,
and sometimes it is the mind,
that places meaning upon it.
Sometimes it is the mind,
that creates the reality we see.
I stare at an image and wonder,
is it a stain, or
is it a country.
I stare at an image and, yes?
It is a stain.
It is a country.
So many countries,
today,
ARE stains
DNA Evidence Polluted – The science of DNA may be okay, but are criminals getting wise?
Action Man Harry – Prince Harry back from Afghanistan. Should the media have kept quiet?
As the individual rises, his ability to accept responsibility declines.
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Michelle Johnson said
I love the direction you took the Monday Mural. You are right a lot of the countries today have stains on them. I don’t think that any one country can say they haven’t done something to hurt the economy or worst its people. I strongly believe the US is at the top of that list right now. I believe we are in need of a change and very soon. Welcome to Poefusion. Hope to see you again soon.
Happy Writing~
Constance said
I much prefer the Eastern version of rivalry than the Western emphasis on competition as ego, power, and meanness. They’ve pushed it down into the schools and subverted the educational process. Kindergarteners shouldn’t be concerned with being better than each other! *g* no axe to grind here…
anthonynorth said
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for that. I look forward to contributing to Monday Mural on a regular basis. My own UK has plenty of stains at the moment, too. There are a great many things about my country I don’t like at present.
Hi Constance,
Indeed, the western viewpoint has gone way too far. Although I don’t mind a bit of ego-based friendly rivalry, the east could teach us a great deal about life.
rebecca said
To date, my favorite rivals have been Kate and her insufferable sister, Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew and Iago and Othello in Othello….but what is life if not for the rivalries we go through each day? This was a very good post.
And I liked the interpretation of Stains…what is it that we really see in the end if not blinded by our own internal, fractaled, stained glasses? Its direction and the ending couldn’t have been written better. Excellent.
anthonynorth said
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for that. And the best rivalries in literature have ’stains’ in their character. It is what makes them so magnificent.
But that is fiction. Real life is more troublesome, me thinks.
paisley said
on stains… that was remarkable.. i love the ending,, i am in total agreement with you there… excellent take on the prompt…..
lissa said
I like the repetition. great poem. wish I have more to say…
Tumblewords said
Oh, for sure! Vivid discussion and vibrant imagery – the stains carry forward -
Marcia said
It is a shame those stains cannot disappear.. no easily applied stain stick for them, I suppose. Enjoyed your entire post.
anthonynorth said
Good morning Paisley,
Thanks for that. I love the way the same image can spark so many different ideas in people. It says a lot about what we think of as reality.
Hi Lissa,
Sometimes a few words are enough. Many thanks.
Hi Tumblewords,
Many thanks. I try my best.
Hi Marcia,
Once upon a time we had that stain stick. It was called democracy, with politically aware people, protesting when things were not right.
Somehow, we’ve had much of this taken out of us.
mariacristina said
The narrator muses aloud about what he sees, leading to a political statement. A revealing poem.
anthonynorth said
Hi Mariacristina,
Not so sure I give a ‘political’ statement here. After all, I don’t define, in the poem, any politics, or even specific countries. I think it’s more a socio-political statement that stains will appear in any society.
pieceofpie said
that is a great response to the prompt… stains… the last line was like a cherry on a banana split..
anthonynorth said
Hi Pieceofpie,
Many thanks for that. But you’ve made me feel hungry now. And the WRONG food