My night's random reading

Somehow, I found myself engaged in slightly heavy reading tonight.

Article 1: An article in Der Spiegel about how the war in Iraq isn't going as badly as we think it is.

Article 2: An article from the New Yorker about the secret interrogation tactics of the CIA.

Bleak. So very bleak.

There was a period of time not so long ago when I was fascinated by East Germany, the Stasi, WWII and such, wondering how life was like under those harsh conditions. Morbid fascination about man's ability to withstand physical and psychological pain. Pondering the process of dehumanizing a human being: depriving a man of sleep, of his clothes, of his freedom to adopt a comfortable posture.

"Are you human?" The difference between a man and an animal is this: caught in a trap, an animal would chew its limb off and run away. A man would wait for the hunter to come back and take his revenge. It's not about instinct; it's about mind. The fragility of being scares me.


I used to wonder about the wisdom of bringing children into such a world. Sure, my immediate environment is safe enough. I'm happy, clothed and well-fed. I occasionally get too little sleep coz I'm having fun. But the world isn't only beautiful. Then a couple of things happened, and I decided that having children isn't pointless and cruel. In Dune, the sisters had a breeding program so that they can retain and propagate progeny from a man who has something worth preserving.

For reasons unknown, humans can be so cruel. But humanity isn't an ugly thing. If I ever do propagate, it'll be to spread the good of being human and a love for the pretty things in life. I haven't done much good in life so far. Maybe I won't get around to doing that much even though there is still time. Perhaps in an offspring, I may preserve for a little longer the joy of living. All things considered, having a baby might not be such a bad thing.

To a dear friend of mine: Good luck. Teach well.