To Be or Not To Be
To Be or Not To Be
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?
Hamlet, Act III, Scene I ... We are probably all somewhat familiar with the first line of Hamlet's soliloquy. But do we really know what he was saying? That his monologue was about his contemplation of suicide? He asks whether it is better to deal with life or just end it? And yet Hamlet's later words may be taken as an affirmation of life. Does Hamlet have hope of better things to come?
Hope is that thing that keeps us going when the road gets rocky. For some of us, hope is part and parcel of a religious belief. It's definitely a component of our economic structure. We are always hoping for better markets, better jobs and higher incomes. That hope is what drives us to learn new skills, to invent new products or improve existing ones. We give hope fancy labels like affirmations, self-improvement and motivation. And when we lose hope and feel powerless, sometimes we ask Hamlet's question.
We have always had martyrs in our midst ... people who were willing to give their life for a principle. Their statement is quite different from Hamlet's. They are willing to sacrifice life for belief. In the 20th Century we saw the rise of people willing to use suicide to make a political statement, as Buddhist monks did in Southeast Asia in the 60s. We also saw the rise of people who were willing to become weapons. Instead of dropping bombs during World War II, Japanese pilots became bombs, driving their planes into American ships. The 80s and 90s saw a terrifying twist to this technique in its adoption by terrorists. The list of targets is long ... embassies, military barracks, shopping centers, and now, the World Trade Towers.
Strangely, it is hope that drives these people too. But their hope is that their acts will gain them admission to paradise. That their hope does not have any basis in the holy books of any religion has not served to deter them. So how do we stop it?
With hope. We all hope for better lives for our children and we usually are willing to make sacrifices to help assure it. And from the hope that we never see a disaster such as we witnessed on September 11th has come a new determination and sense of purpose. An ad that runs on television features people of many ethnicities all making the same statement ... "I am an American". It seems sad that it took a national tragedy to make us realize it. We are not men, women, black, any kind of hyphen Americans. We are just Americans. Now let's act like it. I hope we can.
Artistry
10/31/01
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