Babel
Jun-2020
Once, whilst driving and dropping off an acquaintance, I had a discussion which prompted the brainstorming of matters that concern mankind, indeed people like you and I, the most.
Prestige tied to governance and human tendency towards tribalism were the two topics I came up with. It was partly out of cognizance that the function of sports, as we know it – the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, et cetera, and no doubt in ancient times too – ball-and-stick games, archery/spear-throwing, wrestling, tug-of-war, high-jumping – were our primary mechanism of dealing with physical aggression and competitive desire. Barring that, there seems no easy answer; subdued, it shall always exist.
Where there is a right wing of politics, there must be a left.
Where there is desire for peace, there must be the threat of conflict.
For every Roger Federer there is a Nick Kyrgios.
So, perhaps we are doomed to eternal tribal warfare.
“And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they all have one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
– Genesis 11:4-7
Though what is truly awesome is what I believe to be a hidden hint within that allegory. It is adumbrating that through speech, perhaps nothing is impossible.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
– John 1:1-3