A question of perspective.
Five years ago I quoted here a poem by Bertold Brecht, A
Bed for the Night. That poem, as I mentioned then as well, plays a very simple
game. By changing the order of the lines in the poem, Brecht presents us with two very different
perspectives. In the first stanza he tells us that even if a bit of aid to someone
in need doesn't change the social order, it's still aid for the person who receives
it. In the second stanza, he tells us that even if we can give aid to someone
who needs it, the basic social order won't be changed.
As I worked over my notes for this column, reading and editing my earlier versions,
trying to get them to say what I really think I thought, I found myself inverting
numerous sentences. Thoughts that first expressed themselves from the perspective
of declarative statements got changed into questions, while questions found themselves
converted into clearly stated sentences. Causes became their effects, and effects
their causes.
And chances are good that were I to sit down and write this same column half a
year from now, the tables would (once again?) be turned.
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