thoughts on discourse

The thing about me is that I love to debate. Putting yourself out there and being vulnerable to critics makes you stronger in terms of developing your arguments. I just think that it's essential to be able to analyze systematically the issues confronting us, and not just blab incoherent and inconsistent opinions just for the sake of doing it. Debate and public discussion should be treated in a healthy manner. Having contrasting opinions is a given. How you engage in your opinion is the craft. Public discourse is an arena to challenge, debunk and persuade. And in the process you learn and improve yourself.

However, the thing that hinders an open and healthy discussion is one's ego. One treats a conflicting argument as a personal attack therefore closing all the possibilities for engagement, of improvement. It's hard to establish open communication especially when the person is antagonistic in welcoming criticisms. There is something wrong when one thinks that his or her person is always right. Unfortunately, in that situation you no longer listen, you no longer see, you no longer analyze. You are blinded with your own subjectivity. Therefore you no longer grow. And there you are stranded and stagnant.

Personally for me, it's hard to level down my stand in conversing with other people. Because as much as possible I want to enrich the discussion. I want to open up new horizons that we fail to look at in our every day lives. I'm merely trying to dig deeper and not just settle in the surface.

A colleague told me that such ideas, such ways of discussing is not "pang-masa". So I should stop being philosophical.

 I'm kind of pissed about it for several reasons. 

One, he avoids discussing societal concerns because he thinks that it's not tangible. This is a misconception. Nothing is outside politics. The more you think you're outside of it, the more you're in it. Maybe others are just afraid to engage because they might bruise their ego when they could no longer hold their ground. So the common I-don't-care-trumping-argument comes in. Apathy, what a perfect escape. What a stupid thing to do so.

Second, he assumes my  being philosophical is out of this world. But really I'm not in that zone yet. Plus, it's a fallacy. Philosophy not necessarily discuss things that are transcendent to the material conditions. In fact, it asks questions of reality, the sort of questions that some of us do not dare to ask. For me, being philosophical is being eager. You express your eagerness to ask and to answer. Being philosophical is not being complacent--not complacent to who you are and what you know. You always find a way to get out of your comfort zone, explore and discover. 

Third, he assumes that the "masa" are ignorant. I disagree. They can be the most intelligent people if we just give the opportunity to empower them, to take hold of their lives, to strengthen their capabilities. And one way to do that is to dig deeper questions for them to reflect, assess and analyze answers deeper.

My point is that our society can be a much better place if people would just throw the egoistic mindset that hinders genuine, sincere and open communication. Because that's the power of a conversation, it can change you.

Klaus

I have watched every episode on every season of The Vampire Diaries. And yes, I'm a fan rooting for Delena since day one. Yet, along the way, the series gave birth to a more interesting character--Niklaus Michaelson.

He started off as the viscous villain, the epitome of evil in Mystic Falls. But as the story goes, we fell in love with his anti-hero character. He is the Original Vampire and Werewolf combined, the Original Hybrid. 

I believe behind his mask is a vulnerable person aching to be loved, wanting to be saved. And yet he fears to let other people in, maybe because he thinks that loving is his Achilles heel. He pushes away the very things he want, thinking of it as a source of weakness. His obsession with power consumes him to be a person that is to be feared rather than loved. He is so afraid to be hurt that he prevents it by hurting other people first. He is so afraid of disappointment that he expects the worst among people. He is so afraid to be loved that he kills every part of him that seeks to love and trust.

I remember a scene in The Originals (The Vampire Diaries Spin-Off): "he is angry, and lost... he wished that he could control his demons rather than his demons control him", this is very Klaus. All he wants is love and family, and yet he runs from the very hope of a future with it. 

I think we love this character because of the perception that there is no humanity in his person, and yet the struggle within is the very manifestation of humanity itself.  I still believe that Klaus can find his redemption. I know that despite how he embraces the darkness, he still dreams of walking into the light. As Caroline said, "every person that is capable of love deserves to be saved".