“Do you take that seriously? I am asking this because there are definitely a lot of people who are not in good health, and yet they love life. They are happy to be alive, although they have to struggle every day just to stay alive,” said Vivien.
“Oh, I believe you, you are perfectly right, but it is perhaps necessary to explain the meaning of the word ‘health’ in order to avoid misunderstanding,” said Doctor Ovale.
“So what is health?” asked Vivien. There was some doubt in her voice.
“Health is the ability to enjoy the drink that consists of loving and personal troubles. Only a healthy person in that sense is a truly happy person. This definition of health sounds perhaps oversimplified, however the more you think about it the more convincing it appears to be,” said Doctor Ovale
“That explanation seems to me very convincing, because people who can love are strong, they have a cause, and therefore they are ready to bear all difficulties that practical life imposes on them,” Vivien said.
“I also like this explanation, but I am not sure whether it suffices,” said Doctor Ovale.
“Why should it be insufficient?” asked Vivien.
“Well, just imagine somebody whom nobody loves. How can that person love other people? In such a case is love for others conceivable at all?” Doctor Ovale asked.
“I am still too young and inexperienced, but I can remember reading somewhere that true love is unconditional; it includes even the worst enemies. Such unconditional love has a very general character. People who are not capable of that unconditional love do not know true happiness. What they call love is very much like desire to possess and it easily changes to hatred if unrequited,” said Vivien.
“Could you give me an example of what you mean?” asked Doctor Ovale.
“Well, just imagine a man who falls in love with a woman. She, however, does not return his love but chooses another man. If the man whose love is unrequited feels offended and starts hating that same woman, he has never loved her. What he feels for her is simply a desire to possess her. If, however, he continues to love and to appreciate her, despite the fact that his love for her is not requited, then his feelings for her can be called true love.”
“That is a marvellous concept of love, a beautiful blend of feeling and reason. But isn’t it too high a goal, hardly attainable by mortals?” said Doctor Ovale.
“I agree with you, it is an extremely high goal, however it is of paramount importance and just because of that it is worthy of any effort and of any sacrifice. During my years spent in captivity I read a lot, not only books but also daily newspapers, and watched TV every day in order to keep in touch with what was going on in the world. My impression is that education all over the world is on a completely wrong track,” said Vivien.
“Why do you think it is on a wrong track?” asked Doctor Ovale.
“Simply because it teaches and underlines only differences and neglects entirely knowledge about the Same. The consequence is that people can neither feel for each other nor can they understand each other. Thus they don’t live for each other but just beside each other and practically always against each other. In fact, there is always a silent struggle of all against all. That struggle is euphemistically called competition. In all societies in the world and in all fields of activity people are encouraged to compete with each other. All parents in all societies encourage their children to try to come out on top against all others and to prevail over all others. All governments do the same when they address their soldiers, organise military parades and perform manoeuvres. All such actions have the same goal – to intimidate others by demonstrating one’s own power. Small parades and manoeuvres are intended to intimidate small local rivals, while the big ones are intended as warnings to global rivals. All such actions are very similar to the behaviour of apes in their hordes. The only difference between the two is that the apes can only intimidate their rivals by baring their sharp teeth, while those who call themselves humans are in possession of all sorts of much more efficient weapons. That perverted ‘civilized’ game of impressing and imposing is as old as the history of mankind. Apart from very short deceptive breaks, it has been played continuously throughout the centuries. Again and again that game becomes extremely loud and causes a lot of bloodshed and all sorts of tragedies. The historians are wise only in retrospect, after the event. Then they write thick books about the mistakes that had been made before the war and how it could have been prevented. They do not understand that wars are bound to happen, because throughout history the human race has always consisted of societies and has never been able to create a single human community. When people speak of past times they very often idealize the past and even speak of ‘golden ages’. In fact no period in the past was a happy one. So far all human societies have been based on hierarchical structures and the antagonism between the rich and mighty oppressors on the one side and the poor, exploited and oppressed on the other. The frictions and the hatred between these two camps constitute, in fact, the content of that which is proudly called the history of civilization,” said Vivien.
“You are probably right. I have never before thought of the fundamental difference between society and community, and I’m not yet sure to I know the difference between the two,” said Doctor Ovale.
“Oh, the difference is enormous. Every society regards any other society as a rival and a potential enemy. This principle also applies to the situation within each society itself. Thus in any society every individual considers every other individual to be a potential rival, in fact a potential danger of some sort. Therefore there are frontiers between different societies, and all societies have some sort of armed forces trained to kill and ready to fight. The purpose of such forces is to prevent other societies from entering without permission. Within the societies themselves life goes on according to the same principle: everybody sees in everybody a potential danger, and therefore everybody fears everybody. Thus all sorts of keys and secret personal codes, the purpose of which is to ensure that the personal sphere of material interest of each individual remains inaccessible to all others, are a very typical feature of the life in every society. In such a world, those who are in possession of wealth try by every means to preserve the status quo. They always speak of law and order as the most important matter. Those, on the other hand, who feel deprived and exploited try by every means to change their condition. They always speak of equality and justice as the main precondition for law and order,” said Vivien.
“You are right, that’s terrible, but that’s the human nature. Even packs, herds and hordes of animals as well as individual animals within packs, herds and hordes defend their territories and positions and struggle for supremacy in order to enjoy special rights and advantages, don’t they? Everybody who has studied the behaviour of animals just a little bit knows that,” said Doctor Ovale.
“Is that really human nature?” asked Vivien
“I have that impression,” said Doctor Ovale.
“Or isn’t that rather the rest of the animal nature in us that should be identified as such and overcome by that subtle something called reason, which we should have before we dare call ourselves human beings? As long as we think in terms of hierarchy and fight for supremacy like animals in packs and hordes and try to excuse our animal-like behaviour by calling it natural and, therefore, evidently ‘human nature’ we have no right to call ourselves human beings, have we?” said Vivien.
“That sounds fine but without hierarchy there is anarchy,” said Doctor Ovale.
“During my captivity I thought about that quite a lot and I have come to the conclusion that anarchy is the most prominent child of hierarchy. Every hierarchy is pregnant with anarchy. The child called anarchy is born when hierarchy reaches its highest stage,” said Vivien.
“Would you explain your point, please?” asked Doctor Ovale.
“In animal packs, hordes and herds the strongest animals control the weaker members and don’t allow them to enjoy the same rights. As in animal packs, hordes and herds there are no guns and other