Consistency

Stability. Reliability. Assurance. Regularity. Loyalty. Reputability. Steadfastness. Responsibility. Faithfulness.
     The thing you can always count on to be the same. If you ever leave home for several months or a couple of years and return, people change, streets look slightly different, and trees get taller. However, there's that gem of a person, flawed or not, that you know will be exactly like when you left. Whether or not this person is a friend is irrelevant. Sometimes just having something stay the same makes the passage of time easier to bear since sameness grounds people. Change is constant, omnipresent, and unpredictable, but by having mountainous landmarks, a timeless sense pervades life that calms and eases reflection.
     Ignoring the accuracy of its stance on any issue, the Roman Catholic Church has been the most stable social institution in Western history. Established by the Roman emperors themselves, the church provided the unifying factor to Europe throughout its history. Kings and empires have risen and fallen while the church remains continuous despite several Schismic earthquakes in its past.
     With the pressure from humanitarians in the West today, the Catholic Church is criticized for being backward, out-of-touch, inflexible, and intolerant. While few would deny the Church has problems, the consistency which it faces opposition is safely reliable. Since Catholicism includes people from nearly every country in the world, a relatively small change in stance or doctrine to pacify one group may ostracize another. While the Church is no stranger to politics, the divisiveness its members have brought against one another presents an old threat. Spain, France, and Italy have rarely interacted agreeably (Spain has been a reliable ally of Britain against France), the Church has kept them united.

     In the age of hyphenated-nationalism, a unifying force should be welcome. One as inherited and popular as the Catholic church should be honored for its consistency. Many reforms have occurred both in the 1960s and 1990s which shows its understanding of cultural shifts. However, while Aristotle only needed a lever long enough to move the earth, the Church requires time, prayer, and tradition to effect change.
     Again, regardless of religious views, the Catholic Church has solidly held its beliefs with earnestness. When you hold down your own bunker of beliefs, don't be discouraged by a few bad raps or scattered criticism. Keep at it, press on.
     Need more examples of consistency? The most identifying part of countries: geography. Greece is characterized by steep coasts and scattered islands. Germany is known for the plains of central Europe. Egypt's Nile has remained steady for thousands of years in stark contrast to the desert. When travelling to other regions of the world, the thing first noticed once your eyes shift away from the odd clothing is the landscape. The exceptions to this are monuments of the past, the great buildings that demonstrate the wealth and power of local ancestors. Churches, stone defenses, and tombs hold the character of a people while standing unchanged for centuries.
     As Herodotus said, "Man fears time, time fears the pyramids."

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Agatha Tyche

Pine & Repine

     A cyclic nature pervades many aspects of history and personal experience. While no technical history evinces the psychological process of pining, revolutions demonstrate this point markedly well. Pining usually refers to broken hearts in the matter of personal love. However, the term is defined merely as "to suffer a mental and physical decline." This broader definition, applied to political thought, reveals angst in the heart of the people. It is nigh impossible for human society to stagnate levelly; growth or destruction occurs in varying degrees. Economic charts, particularly, have sharp peaks with slopes going up or down, never level. This is true with international and personal relations as well. The more time spent with something, the inclination towards it will increase its desirability or decrease into apathy, possibly hatred if conditioned.
     Humans pine for causes. Whether the overarching cause of justice, democracy, freedom, revenge, or imperial superiority, some desire fuels the ambitions. Eventually this cause loses its passion, and people pine for the fervor that once easily possessed the masses. The cause remains, the purposed hearts fade, the effects diminish, and the conclusion holds wasted, unfruitful efforts. Likewise in the world of love, the initial interest peaks, involvement elaborates, and over time, discontent upsets the balance creating an emotional state reminiscent on past passion.
     As vehemence dies with many goals unfulfilled, new steps are taken to ensure the fire's brightness, usually at a cost to its heat. As the virgin passions fade farther into the past, nostalgia for that first driving force kick-starts another bout of energy as the participants remain pining for better times. Unfortunately, passion-driven societies are usually filled with turmoil and violence.

     Polybius analyzed Rome's system of government as Carthage fell in 146 B.C. He determined that the republic system was the most capable manner of delaying the inevitable cycle of tyranny typical of Greek monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy. People and power mix poorly. Inevitably, oppression ensues as time betrayed the Roman republic into an empire.
     The most recent example to attract wide-spread attention over several weeks are the revolutions in North Africa. The Egyptian revolution yanked power back from the political leaders in attempts to undermine the corruption that discontented its citizen-subjects. However, the coop failed on several counts, and the new system will likely totter into its predecessors tracks before too long.
     The most famous example of pining for better times where money for food was not snatched from the hand of the poor to feed the luxuries of the rich is the French Revolution. The focus of the entire bloodbath initiated with more equality for the middle class to socially escalate to the standing of nobles within the Second Estate. As the various groups of the middle class gained control, none successfully retained power for a long period. The famed Reign of Terror held France for over a year but succumbed to its own paranoia. Finally, arising from ten years of rubble on Parisian streets, Napoleon solidified the government by becoming a monarch in principle though the title remained incognito for several early years. Thus, France's desire to establish a democracy ended with the establishment of a new monarchy with many in the populace satisfied with new found glory.
     The question then becomes was anything achieved by the revolution - or any revolution - if the end result is a near-mirror image of the instigating circumstances? People's contributions give a sense of personal touch, influence, and hope attached to the new regime of whatever system is established. Thus, satisfaction is achieved by and large. However, as time passes and the original founders fall from power or pass away, those less involved in the revolution repine for the glory that their predecessors achieved. This cyclic discontent for the nostalgia of power engineers' interactions of all people in the modern world.
     Pining does apply equally to both love and politics, but the lessons learned by each application vary in accordance with time, culture, and involvement. The joys of accomplishment aid the present but will ultimately overthrow pleasures of the future as its brightness and potential seem to fade against the stark fires of revolution instigated by the hearts of those pining and repining for a better life.

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Agatha Tyche

Sapid Alterations

     The origins of nearly everything can be a thrilling journey of investigation. If the knowledge has already been secured by another in the past, an interactive lecture on transitional philosophy and historic political motivation rapidly inspires the power of time over the culture of humanity. However, if the path remains untrodden, the exploration may be undertaken by any that wish to link current circumstance with the fluctuating uncertainty of the mists of time.

     The origin of words fascinates a great many people. English began its descent from the Germanic tribes that gradually mixed Celtic and some Welsh words into a comprehensive linguistic exchange. Several centuries later, the French exerted their influence especially on the highest end of sophistication with trade and food. A thousand years hence, modern speakers combine elements of all these events and converse with merely the bones of its pure, initial form.

     The origin of nations and political alliances may also be an interesting study. For a thousand years the British hated, opposed, and attacked the French. With the advent of aggressive Germanic policies preceding World War I, these two peoples allied together and remain cooperative even a hundred years later. The complexity of circumstances that lead to this reversal has not entirely affected the peoples as a whole since even after the second world war, France resisted British membership in the newly formed European Community (predecessor to the EU of Europe today and which the English are, for now, a part).

     The origin of history itself interests some as well. Herodotus, credited with being the father, is the first recognized man to record events assimilated from sources outside of mythology. While opinionated and poorly researched from differently biased perspectives, the processes of gathering and sharing knowledge has powerful precedents. When Alexander the Great conquered the Persians less than a hundred years later, he made sure to keep a historic recorder in his company to ensure the victorious tale’s continuance. Napoleon, inspired himself by Alexander, kept a historian within the camp of his army, and the French are credited with the establishment of the modern form of historic research and recording. Humans as a species seem fascinated with records. The Egyptians and Sumerians meticulously recorded business transactions and religious ceremonies. Their supposed predecessors even recorded their daily viewing of animals on cave walls.

     No one can escape the past – whether it is forgotten or not. Influences all around us began as miniscule ideas, no matter how long ago, and succeeded in embedding and affecting generations through their establishment. The present is here to influence the future just as the past has done for the present. To understand the scope and progression (or regression) of any matter in life, one has but to look to the past. The answers may not always be evident, but a close corollary can almost always be found.

     Subtly in daily life and the gradualization of most changes dulls our notice. Just as you hardly take note of the length of your hair until it is past your eyes, the hum drum processes of life easily accumulate, twisted away from their original form, but easily recognized by the steady watcher.

     Part of the joy of life is in comparison – with others, with our past, with the pasts of others. Take notice, record the distinctions, and strive to inspire and influence the future generations that look back at what was, long ago, the present.

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Agatha Tyche

Forgiveness

     Time takes away the sharpness of everything. It dulls pain, ruins mountains, destroys buildings, and given enough of it, wears down the pyramids. Forgiveness is only possible when coupled with time. Acceptance of the wrong committed then to ignore that event and move on and away from it. You reject that portion of the past in order to embrace the future.
     This is hardest thing to do in life, especially after betrayal by someone close. Those that are burned yet can set aside pride and anger to forgive have giant portions of character. Acquittal is similar but not the same. Acquitting means that you acknowledge the action took place but are willing to move on from that; you have not excused or overlooked actions, merely accepted them. That is only the first part of forgiveness. The next is to not use that past action against the abuser.

     Grace and mercy associate closely with forgiveness because none of them are possibly earned by those that have committed wrong. It is an internal act by the overseer, the one acted against. Unfortunately, these words carry excessively heavy religious baggage and are difficult to use outside of a religious context.       
     Compassion sympathizers with the evil doer. Clemency heightens this tenderness of heart. Absolution removes the wrong from mind and memory. Those that forgive freely and honestly are champions of life. The few that truly posses this ability have either never suffered or suffered so much that another small wrong holds no weight against them.
     To be forgiven is an overwhelming comfort since it frees you from your mistake. Cherish that feeling and seek out those you have wronged to wiped the smears of the past away from damaged relationships.

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Agatha Tyche

Betrayal

     Back-stabber, traitor, scapegoat, liar, deceiver, deserter, let down, seducer, disloyal, unfaithful, forsaken, rejected. These words undoubtedly associate thoughts will negative feelings. What feeling is worse than placing trust in an unworthy source?
     Often times treachery undoes a situation - war, business deals, friendship, family concerns. Once the foundation of trust is eroded, healing is a feat of near impossibility. Nothing is worse than this. Dante's Inferno deals with betrayal in the deepest section of hell. The notable examples are Brutus against Caesar and Judas against Jesus. Benedict Arnold betrayed his position in the American Revolution to the British. Hitler betrayed his promises with the U.S.S.R. and invaded that country in 1941.

     Traitors often suffer terrible fates. While freedom and pleasure may accompany the act of betrayal and a short time after, no intelligent being would place faith in one who is noted as a betrayer of trust. If not killed, treachery is rewarded with a life of misery and guilt. Judas killed himself, Brutus killed himself, and Arnold lived in misery. The Soviet Union eventually turned the tide of the German invasion and became the key nation in defeating the Germans with a decisive push westward to end the war.
      A traitor who fixedly gains from his deception is a rarity. Loyalty, faith, trust, and confidence in fellow man is one of the brightest points of optimism for the young. The harshest betrayals to overcome are those held the dearest friends. Adultery is classically held as a painful, harrowing experience. A relationship designed to last the lifetime of both partners is instantly shattered with the knowledge of an interloper.
     Treachery hurts, supplying its status as a crime if committed against nation and politically, as grounds for divorce. Nothing heals this void. Forgiveness cleanses but cannot seal the gaping wound.

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Agatha Tyche

Man's Best Friend

     "Man is a social animal." ~ Aristotle
     Perspective is necessary to weigh any aspect of life. Hermits, recluses from interactive relations with others, have been frowned on in nearly every culture for very similar reasons. The ancient Greeks held hermits as social outcasts called idiota, meaning "idiot," because those people refused to participate in the democratic society. This reveals the selfishness of hermithood. While one might be cordial enough in a chance meeting in the world, he will not seek familiarity or commitment on your behalf. Alternatively,
a hermit must depend solely on his own resources and abilities. Physical mishaps may cost him his life since no one will be able to rescue him or aid him at his return home.
     Robinson Crusoe is a famous example of a hermit. However, in his decades abroad, he trained animals as loyal friends to keep his sanity and is eventually able to capture one of the cannibals and train him into a companion. Alone, stranded, and with his hope of rescue the only constant companion, Robinson stretches the boundaries of human sanity in his isolated adventures.
     What then is a friend that a man should look for? The purpose can be fulfilled by any human being: mental connection, emotional satisfaction, and physical aid when necessary. In this broad sense anyone you meet has the potential to be a friend. While the modern world has lost some of this desire for connectivity, news stories constantly run on the generosity a stranger showed someone in need.
     What of those people we are closest to? The ones that read our emotions and minds without any words? The ones that are able to predict our reactions to events, cater to our preferences, and share our most intimate secrets? Most people desire at least one person in their life that they can be completely open with if for no other reason than to thrust out their opinions and express their desires of life. What then separates a "best" friend from the every day interactions with our unacquainted fellow man?
     A best friend is, first and always, loyal to you whether or not he disagrees. The one you can count to listen to your idea first and critique it after you have put it forth, the one that does not turn away at the slander of others, and the one that defends your honor and reputation against those that seek to diminish it - this is the loyalty of a best friend that stands by you even if he disagrees with your view.
     Loyalty means nothing if it is blind and follows faithfully but without purpose. The truest friend is honest and straightforward. He is open in his disagreements and does not subtly maneuver to "stay on your good side." There is a time and place to be honest, and the best friend will not openly denounce you in public but will take you aside in a private moment and inquire into your motivations and logic. Rebuke is necessary with honesty, but with the openness that follows, it binds you all the tighter to one another despite the differences. Think of the differences as rough edges of your personalities that, when pressed against each other, produce friction that fuses the two pieces together. Honesty acts as mortar to cement those two pieces together into true friendship.
     If slander comes against your name, a best friend will staunchly defend you even against accusations that he has never heard before. This non-judgmental love and acceptance, regardless of the quality of a decision, provides that relationship its openness and trust. By acknowledging your weaknesses before each other, the trust binds you together. The acceptance and non-judgmental approach taken by friends of confidence allows the celebration of joys, the sympathy of mourning, the agreement of your rants, and a steady voice of thought to counter your bias and irrationality in the heat of the moment. It is the best friend that holds you back from a fight then rounds on the enemy and deals with it himself directly.
     The dependence formed by openness and trust links emotional states. However, the best friend, while sympathetic to your views, will never cease encouraging you. High morale and inspired spirits have allowed man to accomplish the greatest victories immediately following humiliating defeats. This consistent, supportive, and energetic support is a wonderful blessing of intimate friendship. He will be able to push you farther than you thought possible and force you to do better than you dreamed.

     A real friend never leaves, always supports, and balances your views with the outside commitments of his own. An outstanding and well illustrated example of amazing, true friendship is Samwise Gamgee to Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. Both the movies and books portray the intense loyalty Sam shows to Frodo as Frodo descends into the depression, anger, and selfishness that his trials force upon him. Sam is always, repeatably, and unwaveringly present to protect and support Frodo through the most intense struggles of life.
     Many other examples of faithful friendships resound from history and literature. Alexander to Hephaestion, Jonathan to David, Peter to Jesus, Tom Sawyer to Huckleberry Fin, or Saphira to Eragon. Don't selfishly lead your life to the repression and inconsiderate views of the idiota. Instead, share you abilities, passions, personality, and goals with others around you. Express yourself both through your actions and with your friends. The greatest gift in life is a good friend; be that friend to someone else.


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Agatha Tyche

Futile Friendship?

     Before this age of instant communication, no easy means of distant contact was maintained. Letters were informative but could only contain so much and were delayed, often months, before reaching their recipient. Long distance communication became extremely problematic, especially for large empires. The War of 1812 between America and England could have been avoided had communication been faster. Britain had actually agreed to America's terms two days before America declared war, but a ship took more than a month to traverse the Atlantic. The declaration of war stood. Similarly, the war ended on December 24, 1814, but the last battle, with over 2,000 British casualties happened two weeks later on January 8, 1815.

     In these fast-paced, ever changing times, communication, like so much else, is taken for granted. Instant communication has almost become an annoyance and not so much a blessing. Today has little privacy, and if it takes you more than a few minutes to get back to someone, he will yell at you for ignoring him. On top of that, no one wants to live in his physical location. If I go out to dinner with friends, it's all I can do to keep everyone in one conversation instead of punching away on their phones to people that aren't there.
          Some of the problems of nonphysical communication remain - whatever medium you use. Today, insincerity seems to be one of the largest problems. Common phrases like "Catch you later!" and "We should hang out some time," are meant to convey fondness and intention to the other person. Sadly, these intentions are rarely followed up. Historically, words held power. The ancient Egyptians held the written word was so sacred and magical, that during the New Kingdom, they buried a scroll of The Book of Going Forth by Day (Book of the Dead) to protect and aid the deceased on their journey. As with so much else in life, words seem pitifully poor substitutes for real meaning. Even the treasured “on my word,” or “I swear,” holds no value in today’s society.

     Those catch phrases are never followed up with the promise they hold. If someone does follow up on them, it’s a very surprising feat coupled with the handicap of instant communication to everyone not with you at that time. Thus, while the letter of the promise was fulfilled, its reward remained insubstantial.

     Social networking is a terrific tool. As a college student, I can keep apace with activities on campus throughout the week, and during break and summer I can keep in contact with many of my friends. It’s wonderful to stay in touch with those you aren’t able to physically be with – thus the appeal of long distance communication initially. 

     The part that hurts me, as a generally amiable person, is when I reach out time and again to catch up with others only to be ignored or get a brief response such as “fine,” or “good.” All my energies seem wasted and unappreciated. I think, “Why bother? It wouldn’t have mattered that I inquired about them or not.”

     I begin to give up on people and slide back into myself, but every so often, when I remember someone’s birthday, ask how their sick mom is, how the test went, or if a major project of the semester went well, he’ll smile, answer, and thank me for remembering. My conclusion from these experiences is that putting the extra effort out there is what means anything. Anyone that can type can send an email to cheer someone up, but if you remember something about him specifically or go out of your way to physically say, "Hello," it provides that extra glue of friendship.

     People distance themselves from each other extraordinarily well these days, but they are still human and appreciate and cherish times when people take note and make them feel special for no other reason than being alive. Their ability to distance themselves coerces them to realize the extent of your energies in expressing sincerity.

     In conclusion be friendly to all despite cost or discomfort to youself. Make people smile, make them happy, and forget about your selfish needs for once.

"Buck up, old chap,"
Is what I say,
When ruinous times come my way.
Smile, now, and try again -
Writing's just out with your in.
Stir it up, recall what's gone.
Turn this sorrow into song.

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Agatha Tyche