The Wall - Part 2

Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can surely hurt me...something I’ve learnt in life is that the one thing that has the ability to puncture, rupture, demolish and destroy the walls we build for ourselves, encompassing our fragile hearts, are not physical objects made by man, or powerful forces in the sky, the sea or even from dry land, but the sound of bone-grinding, callous words...simple sounds uttered from a tiny orifice on a fragile, human body, bending and break the wavelengths of sound, cutting through the air like an arrow, darting forward faster than the speed of light, piercing through a mighty and solid wall, digging far deeper than just the empty shell of a human heart, breaking the seal of mind and spirit, and tearing into the deep abyss of a man’s soul.

Yes...some walls were built to trap people in, and others meant to keep some at bay, but there are some walls that were simply built to protect nothing more than the human spirit. I’ve erected the monument and brought it down, treaty after treaty I’ve allowed allies into the mighty fortress, not realizing that all men, wise men, free men, wild men, lost men, great men, strong men and even good men – are nothing more than just men...only human...only safe...until they find something they do not want within the confines of the wall. Nicolo Machiavelli said this “it is far easier to be feared than to be loved”, and perhaps he was onto something. You see love is a difficult thing to take care of, worse than a pet, more complex than a plant...love needs too much to support it at times, and is too fragile a thing to define, confine, rely upon and commit to. It requires grooming, pruning, watering, tending, time and patience, speed and pace, support and independence, freedom and restrictions, all in too exact amounts that are too hard sometimes to calibrate, measure or distinguish...love is simply too hard at times to maintain. Fear on the other hand, is easy to find, easy to maintain and easy to subject larger groups of people to, than that which love can barely manage to sustain. Love must be rationed, while fear can be gathered and distributed in abundance. If you choose to maintain an empire with love, you will easily be regarded as a great leader...but step out of line in even a fraction, and love will turn to apathy, apathy to anger, anger to hate, and an entire empire will come crumbling down within itself, leaving you with nothing. If you choose to maintain an empire with fear, you will easily be regarded as a powerful leader...but swing an iron fist too hard and fear will turn to outrage, outrage to riots, riots to an uprising, and an entire empire will be impaled by the mighty hammer of war. So how does one decide, when the outcome of either is nothing more than a tragic ending for everyone.

The truth is, walls are too costly to maintain, and when you let too many people in, you end up putting out more than you should be willing to give, so why not bring the wall down halfway, and instead of having too many tenants enter your heart, simply have neighbours who can support you and each one can support each other? Freedom in moderation is the meaning of independence and the basis of democracy and the pillars of capitalism and the perfect structures to a unique, civilised world. So I’m not disposing of the wall, but simply building a good and sturdy fence. After all, as a famous poet once said “good fences make good neighbours”, and neighbours make good friends, and friends make the best support you’ll ever find in life. After all...sticks and stones can break my bones, but friends are there to support me...