Note to readers - if you see any mistakes (spelling, grammar, logic, or otherwise) in this prose, please let me know. Unlike Lady Jaine, I am fallible.
****************************************
Lady Jaine never before had time to explore the university, but with 6.5 hours left for her leisure, she determined to tour. Architects built the university in the day when Great King Logic reigned, but before his marriage to Queen Aesthetics. Had she aided in the design, there might have been winding gardens and windows full of stained glass, but as it was, the university was built in practicality. Most professors did not regret the lack of “frippery” in the university’s design, thinking bleakness might inspire students to graduate.
Worldly and Ignorance led her through a series of corridors. They whispered and chuckled for a bit, then paused by a window.
“Just wait here a minute,” instructed Worldly. The students disappeared down the hall. Eventually they retrieved her, and she noticed as they glanced and smiled at one another.
Ignorance knocked on a door at the end of a corridor. A deep “Come in,” replied through the door, and Worldly put his arm around Lady Jaine’s waist, appearing to escort her in just far enough that he could shove her into the room and slam the door behind her. Lady Jaine twirled to reopen the door, but the boys held it. She heard their muffled gaffing.
“My Lady,” said a voice behind her. Lady Jaine spun again and faced professor Bedlam. While the boys had taken her to the right man, she found herself not in his office, but his bedchamber. The professor’s dark hood was cast back from his head, revealing white, smiling teeth, a set of blue eyes, and scalp full of curly brown hair. He was as handsome as the hare, who raises his noble head to survey his path and options, questing to fulfill his instincts.
“Good sir,” she faced him in an authoritarian air, “I have come to discuss with you your statements on equality based on promotion of the self.” Bedlam approached her slowly, so Lady Jaine accelerated her words. “Individualism has many benefits when considered to temper the whole, but you insinuate a fantasy individualism that behaves in unsynchronized, inexplicable generosity towards others. It seems your individualism is more of a padded isolationism that ignores the existence of others rather than acknowledging differences in –”
“My good lady,” Bedlam interrupted, taking her hand. “I’m afraid we have not met. I am professor Bedlam, and you, are gorgeous.”
Lady Jaine blinked. “I am the Lady Jaine. As I was saying –”
“Do you always carry a dictionary with you?”
“Why, yes… ‘tis my weapon of choice, usually.”
“That is sad, since it is so pitifully out of order.”
“…It is?”
“Yes. If it were properly arranged, the U and I would be together.” He smiled dazzlingly at her.
Lady Jaine’s forehead wrinkled, and she held her dictionary closer. “Only if you wish to deny centuries of
traditional arrangement. As it is, I have a great appreciation for words, even spellings, though they are vexing, for deep understanding of words facilitates learning. I knew one man, even, who believed that one could not study philosophy or theology without including philology, and I agree entirely. One cannot explore the revelations of God nor the learnings of man without a well developed medium of communication.”
Professor Bedlam smiled at her again. “I’m sorry, I don’t follow you – I keep getting lost in your eyes. Would you like to sit down?” There were no chairs in the professor’s room, just a bed, a small table, and a wardrobe. She would not sit on his bed.
Lady Jaine snapped. “Professor Bedlam, I came to discuss your expressions of isolationist worldview, as you told your students outside earlier.”
Bedlam sighed and sat on his bed. “Well,” he adopted a placating face, “it is viewed by many philosophers, including myself, that many of the problems in this world are caused by irrational devotion to personal values, to the extent that one person, country, or power, tries to force its opinions on others. This causes fights, as it might have outside, but on a larger scales, causes war and death. Does that make sense?”
“No. You’ve explained a disconnected problem and conclusion. How will focusing on oneself prevent wars?”
“If each man concentrates on living as he sees right, and he resolves to live at peace with his neighbor by not imposing what is right for himself on his neighbor, then the world can avoid useless contention.”
“But humans cannot avoid imposition. If there is a limited supply of something, and I take something that you want, then you would consider that imposition. Or if I believed that all blue eyed-persons are evil, that might offend you, as a blue eyed person. Even if I didn’t try to spread my blue-eyed loathing, my hatred offends your humanity.”
“Which is why you should be more tolerant. That is the key to this line of thinking – the only way this would work is if everyone either became tolerant of each other, or laws enforced toleration.”
This frustrated Lady Jaine. “But then according to your views, why shouldn’t laws be tolerant? What if a criminal sees that it is in his best interest to steal your purse. Why should the law impose its view of right on someone?”
“Because there have to be some standards. Not everyone will comply with the rule of tolerance, so the law removes
those who refuse to be tolerant.”
“Who decides what the laws are?”
“The people, each culture,” said Professor Bedlam, proudly. “Cultures should implement rules for themselves, but not other cultures. Each culture is its own king, creating rules for itself, allowing its inhabitants to live in homogenous peacefulness, but not extending its opinions to other cultures. I can't judge someone else, or judge one time or culture against another. Do you understand it now? If you got closer I’m sure I could teach you much more…”
“What about murder, or genocide?” Jaine edged away from him. “If one culture is purposely killing part of its population, shouldn’t another culture step in and protect the population despite cultural authority? What if our King decided to commit genocide on all university professors?”
“That would be wrong.”
“But if something is wrong, it appeals to a higher authority than yourself, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to make any universal statements of right and wrong. You could say ‘I enjoy not being killed,’ and nothing else.”
Bedlam pursed his lips and looked concerned. “You do not understand the concept I’m trying to convey.”
“You’re not conveying it clearly. This isn’t a personal insult, since your topic seems to lack the possibility of clarity.”
“If you wanted my personal tutelage so that we could explore these concepts together, I would happily offer myself.” Bedlam caught her hand and pulled her toward him, but Lady Jaine snatched it away. She marched the two steps it took to get back to the door, and finding it no longer barred, stepped halfway into the hall before turning back to the professor.
“If there is no higher authority, that means an individual could do anything he wished as long as he got the culture to agree with it as normality. That includes murdering babies, drinking blood, and wandering about unclothed, as some cultures practice. I’m not saying our culture will shift rapidly to such degradation, but it could if we don’t affix our moral values to something higher than majority opinion. Humans are capable of inexplicable evil, and it would take more faith than I have to expect an inward-seeking population to find such good overflowing out of their feelings that the good of the society increases and peace and happiness reign.”
“I don’t think it a bad thing if the population of, say, this chamber, found clothing more inhibiting than not,” suggested the professor.
Lady Jaine slammed the door.
No comments:
Post a Comment