In the midst of all of the arguments - of people yelling at each other and not listening - I am once again reminded of A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. It's a favorite of mine and I've often felt that my life philosophy has been heavily influenced by its themes. In particular, I've been thinking about the Marabar Caves and Mrs. Moore's experience there.
"The echo in a Marabar cave is . . . entirely devoid of distinction. Whatever is said, the same monotonous noise replies, and quivers up and down the walls until is is absorbed into the roof. 'Boum' is the sound as far as the human alphabet can express it, or 'bou-oum', or 'ou-boum' - utterly dull. Hope, politeness, the blowing of a nose, the squeak of a boot, all produce 'boum'. Even the striking of a match starts a little worm coiling, which is too small to complete a circle, but is eternally watchful. And if several people talk at once an overlapping howling noise begins, echoes generate echoes, and the cave is stuffed with a snake composed of small snakes, which writhe independently. . . If one had spoken vileness in that place, or quoted lofty poetry, the comment would have been the same - 'ou-boum'. If one had spoke with the tongues of angels and pleased for all the unhappiness and misunderstanding in the world, past, present, and to come, for all the misery men must undergo whatever their opinion and position, and however much they dodge or bluff - it would amount to the same, the serpent would descend and return to the ceiling."If you ask a person who identifies with one major political party about the other, they will all tell you similar things:
- The Other Political Party is Corrupt
- The Other Political Party lacks morals
- The Other Political Party doesn't care about the American People
- The Other Political Party isn't listening to the struggles of everyday Americans
- The Other Political Party wants to destroy America
- The Other Political Party will drive us to economic ruin
If you belong to a major political party, think about your own party and how you view the opposing one and tell me this isn't true. I would almost guarantee that the other parties and independents feel similarly about the major parties as a whole. We're all shouting things into the void and its all coming back the same.
A big part of Forster's novel is around the Hinduism ideal of unity. I think most religions have the idea that all living things will be united in love as one. But I think that we, as human beings, have difficulty in accepting the reality of what achieving this ideal actually means. In order to be united as one we must learn to compromise on some things and to let go of the self. There is no one perfect human vision of unity or peace where all involved get exactly what they want or deserve.
