To Be Without Guile - by Hénock Gugsa

 

To be without Guile
(Some Musings by Hénock Gugsa )
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Through most of my not-so-eventless life, I have often wondered about the nature of people ... the good, the bad, and the horrible. In which category would a stranger on a street actually belong? Or even people I know to any degree? Even more important, where do I, myself, put myself? Of-course, the sanity or soundness of my finding (pronouncement) will depend on my own psycholigical sanity.
Be that as it may, I have arrived at some plateau of thought on the matter, and I hope I am sane and wise in my conclusions.

The Good:

A person who is good and who thinks good of others is, by my definition, a person without guile. In some quarters, such a person is considered naive, gullible, or even a fool. Such a person is often blissfully bereft of all suspicions, greed or selfishness that other people carry around with them. To be sure, a good person is cheerful, optimistic, and kind despite all adversities and challenges. While such a person is almost always disappointed by the behavior of others, yet he (she) stays non-judgemental and hopeful things will improve some day for real.
Needless to say, you will be hard up to find good people amongst politicians, bankers, and policemen.
 
The Bad:

Off-hand, I would put most of humanity in this category, and I am not being pessimistic or harshly judgemental. This is where Darwinism dwells. If any good is seen anywhere, it is largely due to self-interest and/or sheer survivalism. This is also the region where any exceptionalism or genius in human capacity for knowledge and good work is tainted by the rule of the few megalomaniacs, misanthropes, and the criminally stupid. On other less egregious levels, we see difficult hurdles to humanity's welfare such as petty grudges, malicious envy, and garden-variety schadenfreude.

The Horrible:

God help us with this one. It usually creeps up on us unawares. I mean, for example, from where did Hitler, Idi Amin, Lon Nol, Mengistu, and other monsters spring forth? But they are only the luminaries of evil. I am sure everybody is aware (unless you are clueless) that there are psycopaths and sociopaths of varying degrees all around us. They are like harmful bacteria that could infect a body (to wit, society) unless we take the necessary measures to stave off our extinction.

Conclusion:
 In any snapshot scenario of the world, it is always best to find yourself in the first category, namely the Good! It is definitely better for the mind and the soul to be uncluttered, to be without guile, and to hope and strive for the well-being of everybody. In my opinion, that is the only way we can bring this world as close to Eden as possible.