Ender, speculating on Qing-jao:
Qing-jao, I know you well, thought Ender. You are such a bright one, but the light you see by comes entirely from the stories of your gods. you are like the pequenino brothers who sat and watched my stepson die, able at any time to save him by walking a few dozen steps to fetch his [medicine]; they weren't guilty of murder. Rather they were guilty of too much belief in a story they were told. Most people are able to hold most stories they're told in abeyance, to keep a little distance between the story and their inmost heart. But for these brothers--and for you, Qing-jao--the terrible lie has become the self-story, the tale that you must believe if you are to remain yourself. How can I blame you for wanting us all to die? You are so filled with the largeness of the gods, how can you have compassion for such small concerns as the lives of three species of raman? I know you, Qing-jao, and I expect you to behave no differently from the way you do. Perhaps someday, confronted by the consequences of your own actions, you might change, but I doubt it. Few who are captured by such a powerful story are ever able to win free of it. (pg 307)
She buys so wholeheartedly into a story that she cannot free herself from it. How many people, groups of people, or entire sects do we know that believe so completely into something that they could not see the truth even if it were presented directly to them? How much of what I believe has become such an ingrained prejudice that I am not even aware that I believe it blindly?
What does this mean for religious faiths? Often I wondered, if I had been born into a Jewish family, or one of Islam, Hinduism, etc etc, what would I believe? As the years passed my faith in Christianity became one of reasoning and logic rather than blind faith, but even still, how much of my rationale was already skewed by the story by which I was so enraptured? Can we truly ever be objective of ourselves?
:) Have a good day.
No comments:
Post a Comment