I remember reading a headline that ‘some old, wise, and
blind woman has predicted that 2021 is going to be a horrible year’; even worse
than 2020? I thought. Well, superstitions has its alluring qualities, and the
first week of January 2021 has been incredibly hectic and tense. Here’s
this week’s 5BF: David and Goliaths of our world, a hysterical Sia, Offill on
Woolf, and more…
1: The Davids and Goliaths of our world (a state of thought)
David may have won in stories of the old, but the present
day Goliaths are far more complex and dominating. My community, the Shia Hazaras,
have been targeted in Pakistan for over twenty years in name of our identity,
beliefs, ethnicity, and used as slaughter-goats. Just a week ago, 11 more men,
coal miners, were slaughtered in cold blood by a knife barely sharp enough
to cut vegetables. If not the most, then this was definitely one of the most
horrific terrorist acts I’ve ever seen. I’ve always wondered what enables the
terrorist to carry out such barbarian acts? Do they not hesitate, or regret, or
try to undo their deeds later? Is the motive power, or an idealism of superiority, or are
they just a part of a group so large that the unbearably brutal acts are shared by
them all, therefore making it manageable? If so, such are the Goliaths of our
world – a web, a spread-out group, a layered hierarchy, backing each other, in
pursuit of something eternally evil; and the Davids, in comparison, so small,
so ordinary, so outsmarted, so weak, so peaceful. Once again, there’s an intensely brimming
hope that this fresh incident would finally push the Davids to confront the
dominant Goliaths; and with this burning pain, spontaneous courage, and
immovable, if silly, faith, they might even balance the playing field – but is
it not history, or people, repeating itself? Have we, have I, not seen the
endgame of such buoyant and faith-ridden protests before? And have we not seen
the Goliaths win…? All that, if even there is a Goliath in the first place…
For all the curious and upbeat fans of the Sia out there, me
enthusiastically included, this episode is for us. Although Sia’s hysterical (seriously!)
laugh makes not only the listeners but even Tim weird-out, it is nevertheless
vulnerable, funny, informative, and another peak behind the celebrity façade.
3: This Week’s Articles:
A Lifetime of Lessons in “Mrs. Dalloway”: Jenny Offill, author of ‘Dept. of Speculation’ and ‘Weather’
(two books I’m super excited to read and know would absolutely love!) applies Woolf’s
own interpretation of reading’s most timeless beauty and joy – that of reading
a book every year, and every year learning something new from it – on her own much
acclaimed book ‘Mrs. Dalloway’. A must read for every serious reader!
“How Soft This Prison Is”: Reading Emily Dickinson inQuarantine: Dickinson bears palpable joys with the rhythms of her words,
and if deciphered and understood, produces an unmanageable outburst of uplifting
intimacy of thought and soul. Author ‘Adriana Wiszniewska’ beautifully
summarizes the joy of reading Dickinson – in bleakness and loneliness of lockdown.
What Makes Some People More Resilient Than Others: Resilience, and its close synonym ‘perseverance’, to me are words
that hones what the best of people are made of, and this article investigates
what ‘resilience’ consists of and why some people excel at it and some don’t.
4: A poem: ‘Seeing Her in Me’ by Alicia Gabe @NYTimes'modernlove'
5: This Week’s Quote
‘History never repeats itself, man does.’ – Voltaire