19

PUPPETS OF LIFE: In theory, though rarely in practice, I do not condemn a man, no matter how obnoxious he may seem, for being what he is, since I cannot understand how a man with an acquired obsession - and we all acquire obsessions - can possibly be expected to act in a way contrary to the dictates of that obsession. In other words, a man who is the inevitable consequence of a combination of former influences is in no way qualified to ignore them.

Thus, with regard to the individual, I do not condemn a tyrant for being a tyrant. I may disapprove of him, but reason compels me to acknowledge tyranny, in all its manifold guises, patriarchal as well as political, petty as well as great, as a fact of (dualistic) life, one of those disagreeable facts like nightmares, earthquakes, wars, famines, and diseases, against which there seems to be no ultimate deterrent.

For whatever a man does, he does because he is basically unable to do anything else. We cannot entirely shake ourselves free from the diverse contexts and circumstances which have made us what we are. To a large extent we are all puppets of life, ingenious marionettes who dance on the strings of our respective experiences and occupations.