Posted by
Christopher White on Saturday, July 11, 2009 6:06:11 PM
"Man
is a rope, tied between beast and overman--a rope over an abyss... What is
great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end: what can be loved in man
is that he is an overture and a going under..." Friedrich Nietzsche
Psychologists,
political scientists and sociologists argue constantly over the meaning of
this quote; in my mind, Fred is speaking of the constant battle that a man
wages between being a self-fulfilled man or a man who constantly gravels. The self-fulfilled man takes care of himself in his own way. He doesn't feel the
need to flagellate himself or humble himself repetitively so as to get
recognition. He relies on his own strength to get him through the day, not on the strengths and weaknesses of institutions, governments or individuals.
Contrarily,
the "beast" or the man that gravels, has no qualms about saying
whatever is necessary to maintain a steady connection with an individual or
entity; he'll go far and below, if you will, what is acceptable in order to make certain said individual stays within close proximity of him. In
other words, he'll surrender his own-self worth so as to cling to what he
feels is important. Luckily and
unluckily for these men, the road to both the self-fulfilled man and the man
that gravels is a rope that is hanging precariously over the abyss. The man
that gravels can see the fringes at the end of the rope and take the journey
to self-fulfillment; likewise, the self-fulfilled man can be tempted to cross
the precarious rope into the land of self-pity and self-loathing.
The
question then is: Are Americans, en masse, the overman or the beast?
Christopher W.