13 November 2012
Discussed Text: Emmanuel Levinas, "Bible and Philosophy," in Ethics and Infinity
“Why do we have to see what the others see?” was the question stuck in my head after yesterday’s lecture. At the top of my head, my answer to this would be because I don’t want to be a nigger. The nigger here defined by Arthur Rimbaud as an unproductive man of society bent on making money and money only.
It seems that nowadays, there are a lot of people who become ignorant that there are others living in the world outside their selves. Too busy grinding on with their lives thinking of ways on how to get the biggest income, highest chances of winning bets, or thinking of ways to earn money fast by any means necessary. This can be happening because of the way the world’s system is built and these people are forced to live this way. Although it is sad to say that this way of living is like living the life of a kalesa horse.
Do you know what those eye patch looking flaps on the horses eyes are for?
They are for keeping the horse concentrated on its path and not get distracted by the cars and people passing on both sides.
The kalesa horse is forced by its master to walk whichever direction its master wills it to. It is guided by the reigns connected to its face and then it just moves straight towards that direction. Trained to ignore everything else around it.
This can be the same thing the system does to its people. This also why it is important to break away from time to time, to take a walk. Travel. See the world outside. As mentioned in the lecture, when you travel, you provide yourself with a possibility to recollect and comeback to oneself. This video might prove the point that if ever at some point in your life, you become Rimbaud’s definition of a nigger; you may find that there is a way of redeeming yourself through travelling.
**There was no racism intended at all. It may come off as satire but if you think about it, the irony is striking and awesome.
