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7:22

Commentary

[27]

Commentary

The poison in our standing water | Essay

Aaron Brown
[28]

Aaron Brown

November 30, 2021 7:22 am

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

In some bohemian coffee shop you might find a lively argument about who
is more unusual, the poet or the artist. But poets and artists might
agree that few were stranger than the British poet-artist William
Blake. He had prophetic visions, greeted guests to his home in the
nude, and believed that he had daily conversations with the dead. Even
sexual deviants of his time agreed that Blake was a bit much.

And yet his work was groundbreaking and otherworldly. Anyone who
believes in the spiritual realm could see that Blake was tapped into
it.

In a complex poem about the struggle between God and the Devil, Blake
once wrote, “Expect poison from the standing water.” Now, this is
literal truth for anyone who studies hydrology. But Blake actually
meant standing water of the human mind. We grow stubborn in our
opinions. And this invariably poisons us.

Flashing forward some 200 years, we find stagnant opinions to be the
chief commodity of our modern political discourse. Blake knew all about
America. Even in England, he supported the American revolution.
However, he grew weary of the new nation when he realized the
institution of slavery and the financial interests of rich men would
become two of its early priorities.

Blake would not live long enough to see the United States grow and
change, as all nations do. But his sentiment of poison in the standing
water has occurred to many over the years, even in the remote small
towns of northern Minnesota’s Iron Range.

For instance, this editorial published Sept. 11, 1923 in R.W.
Hitchcock’s Hibbing Daily Tribune:

“The most important reason why governmental functions are not better
performed, why a democracy is so sluggish, why so many needed
improvements lag, is that citizens do not take the trouble to keep
themselves informed as to what is going on.

“They read a headline or two, have a bit of superficial argument with a
neighbor, and are merely confirmed in their established prejudices,
without clearly finding out out the facts in any given case.”

You could probably find a similar sentiment published during Blake’s
time and another shared on Facebook this morning. The point is that
people spouting self-centered political opinions untethered from logic
or reality is hardly new. In fact, it’s an American tradition. Maybe
even a human one.

If anything is different, it is the way the phenomenon becomes
supercharged by the way we share information. Social media, in
particular, now directly ties to reduction of health and wellness and
an increase in misinformation and political instability around the
world. And that’s just what we read in Facebook’s internal documents.
The reality might be worse.

People are noticing. A November 2021 poll by CNN showed that a huge
majority of Americans agree that Facebook makes society worse, not
better. And while there seems to be agreement about this, there remains
persistent division in so many aspects of American life — disagreement
based as much on cultural and psychological perspective as simple
politics.

We live in an Age of Stagnation. We are unwilling, perhaps unable to
learn new things or change our minds so long as these conditions
persist. Powerful forces achieve their objectives by maintaining a
constant sense of unease in the population, such that we continue to
buy things but distrust the government too much to demand change.

Yet a troubling message remains embedded in this dull thrum. Such
stagnation empowers a dangerous prophecy. Perhaps if our streets were
patrolled by authoritarian forces or local warlords, our government run
by a tyrant (“our” tyrant, of course), then things would be better.

This might seem a soothing departure from the constant confusion and
change of the world. But really, it is only our technology that allows
us to feel that the confusion and change are worse than before. Each of
us carries the Library of Alexandria on our phone, and then use it to
play Candy Crush. Every age has its challenges.

William Blake kept a tortured relationship with religion. He grew to
despise the church, but love the teachings of Jesus. In fact, his later
poems could be described as the work of someone who believed himself a
prophet in the Biblical sense.

Blake ultimately adopted the perspective that the sum goal of human
existence was to forgive and understand.

If Blake were here today, he might not be wearing pants, but he would
have thoughts about what we see happening in our society.

Forgive people you don’t agree with for having opinions that are
different. Understand that they feel as strongly as you about some of
the same things. Put away the guns in our mind, the ones we imagine
firing at our perceived enemies. Tear down the imagined prisons where
we expect to lock up all those who displease us. Because those guns are
actually pointed at ourselves. Those prisons are for us. And it is time
to walk away from them, free at last.

It’s highly unlikely you need to post poison on social media today.
It’s not necessary tomorrow, either. In fact, it’s even less likely
that you need to see it. Not so long as the sun is rising and air
passes through our lungs. The facts of the matter are knowable, and
best revealed by looking at the object from all angles. If you’re mired
in standing water, the least you can do is avoid drinking it.

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The poison in our standing water | Essay

by Aaron Brown, [30]Minnesota Reformer
November 30, 2021

<h1>The poison in our standing water | Essay</h1>___________
by Aaron Brown, <a href="https://minnesota
In some bohemian coffee shop you might find a lively arg
And yet his work was groundbreaking and otherworldly. Any
In a complex poem about the struggle between God and the
Flashing forward some 200 years, we find stagnant opinion
Blake would not live long enough to see the United States
For instance, this editorial published Sept. 11, 1923 in
“The most important reason why governmental function__
“They read a headline or two, have a bit of superfic__
You could probably find a similar sentiment published dur
If anything is different, it is the way the phenomenon be
People are noticing. A November 2021 poll by CNN showed t
We live in an Age of Stagnation. We are unwilling, perhap
Yet a troubling message remains embedded in this dull thr
This might seem a soothing departure from the constant co
William Blake kept a tortured relationship with religion.
Blake ultimately adopted the perspective that the sum goa
If Blake were here today, he might not be wearing pants,
Forgive people you don’t agree with for having opinions__
It’s highly unlikely you need to post poison on social __
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com">Minnesota Reform
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Aaron Brown
[32]

Aaron Brown

Aaron J. Brown is an author, community college instructor and radio
producer from Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range.
[33]MORE FROM AUTHOR

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