The Talkative God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

– Bible, John 1:1

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.

– Winston Smith in 1984, Chapter VII, p. 103

If you’re going to tell people the truth, you better make them laugh; otherwise they’ll kill you.

– George Bernard Shaw

The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.

– J.R.R Tolkien, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

I didn’t resemble anything in the beginning yet through time up to this modern world, humanity did recognize me. Though, they have varying perspectives about my true nature and know me differently from each other.

Scientifically, Big Bang theorists perceived me as the primordial atom that expanded at an unbelievable speed, resulting in the continuous creation of the stars, planets, and everything in the universe. In Jewish Kabbalah, the human-animal calls me Ein Sof. It signifies a “nameless being” who wished to be named “YHWH” or Yahweh. I symbolized “infinity” in the Hebrew alphabet and I’m the first letter in it; thus, they say, I’m the beginning.

Speaking of infinity, this word reminds me of the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. I deeply appreciate his literary writings as he explored infinity — a concept a narrow and lazy perception will never try to encapsulate.

A “small iridescent sphere with unbearable brilliance”, that’s how Borges described me in his short story “The Aleph”. He and Carlos Argentino Daneri, his beloved Beatriz Viterbo’s first cousin, discovered me in the dark cellar of the latter’s residence in the Garay Street at Buenos Aires. How lucky they are to witness my divine wonders and infinite spectacle there, isn’t it? Or should I say, how sad I’m as I made them wander of the things a mere mortal can truly understand? Yet thanks to the adverse effects of time and those experiences will become memories and be soon forgotten.

According to Merriam Webster, language is “the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication”. And yes, humanity has been using language to share thoughts, evoke feelings, and other beneficial acts for the sake of oneself and relationship ties. Throughout mankind’s history, it became a powerful tool for making sense of one’s essence of existence, adapt to the changing environment, discusses unexplored phenomena, and fulfill a list of simple chores to survive.

But it is not as perfect nor invincible as what people thought. Honestly, yes…

Indeed…Language’s capability is limited. No word, phrase, sentence, paragraph nor article can completely explain my unimaginable totality like Borges who used the word “I saw” to describe the things he saw. Humans can only use words by succession and not simultaneously.

English, French, Mandarin, Nihongo, Hangul, Filipino nor other languages can narrate, depict nor portray all the points occurring in the vast and mysterious universe that can be seen within my small diameter synchronously. As explained in Zohar, I can never be indicated by any symbol.

By the way, you can also call me Mengenlehre, the symbol used to denote transfinite numbers as proposed by mathematician Georg Cantor in 1915. I represent uncountable realities that the naked eyes can see but it’s a far impossible job for the mind to comprehend those all at once.

Why?

Because I’m simply ineffable. Infinity is an amazing figure as it lets human beings go beyond their very conception to unravel its enigmatic delight but in exchange for a philosophical dilemma; keep on pursuing it, only to die before finding or even getting close to its endpoint or stop and forget everything.

To clear things off, I am not here to degrade or tease humanity’s inability to grasp my wholesomeness but rather praise them for developing and polishing their language. They have undeniably surpassed my expectations as they ensured that even the smallest things of creation like the atom, its indestructibility, up to the stellar celestial objects, their movements, and characteristics, will be recorded for next generations to study and look onto.

Like the domino effect, without language, history will cease to exist as without words and symbols, narratives are impossible to be constructed. Without all of these, truth, regardless of its purpose and relevance, will be denied to the entrance of the real world. Lies will venture for sure and feed on people’s ignorance.

The last line of the recent paragraph gave me a goosebump. I once again remembered how and why Truth became a subject of shame. A legend rose from nowhere only to tell the fateful day when Lie deceived every human being by disguising herself as Truth as she stole and wore the latter’s clothes. People became enraged by Truth’s nudity and they insulted her. This series of unfortunate events led to the disappearance of truth in the world and the pervasiveness of sugar-coated lies.

In case you wish to see a portrayal of the story why not search on the web French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme’s 1896 painting entitled “Truth Coming Out of Her Well”. Just a few reminders before viewing it, it’s obscene. I feel dismayed with how Lie managed to distort, alter, or crush the legitimacy of Truth. She was too good in reality that I sometimes applauded for her trickery. Tricking the human person — a rational being composite of body and soul — was never been that easy but she succeeded. Hence, she is a living disaster that can kill millions of people in one big shot.

Besides, I cannot believe that humanity is having a false sense of everything. Ironically, they are willing to accept convenient lies while too aggressive in driving away the naked truth because for them, it causes discomfort like forcing themselves to eat the veggie in their meal as instructed by their Mama, Papa, or an elder at home.

In philosophy, we can tell that something is true if it has benefits and I think that’s the reason why people will most likely choose lies than truth. Therefore, I conclude that truth is nonsense and lie is much better as it provides comfort and satisfaction.

Slowly, as people learn to lie, especially its immense capacity, they will weaponize then take advantage of it to create and recreate false realities in favor of them. They will harness its indomitable power to direct the masses into thinking that what they know and understand is the truth. I call them the “oppressors”. They are vampires who suck their victim’s blood mercilessly as they’re thirsty or hungry so they’ll consume them up to the last drop.

From their name itself, the oppressors’ main objective is to ensure that people won’t know the truth or even try to look for it. I’ll repeat, as you and your fellow men turn blind eyes to the naked truth…

LIE WILL VENTURE FOR SURE AND FEED ON PEOPLE’S IGNORANCE.

Ignorance is a plague. A disturbance that will swallow us once not treated as a serious matter. It’s intangible but it can cause grave threats and at worst, kill, kill, and kill. And if people are ignorant, they’re easy to manipulate like a robot. Oppressors are brainwashers as they can condition the human mind to move left or right.

Throughout history, oppressors can be identified. Up until now, they really exist and their very essence is still the same. Technology and liberation of ideas and thoughts aggravated their strength of manipulation. They can be the government, media, church, and other powerful institutions that invisibly work at backstage and subtly lay down ideological messages.

In the slum areas where the poorest of the poor are residing, they suffer and succumb to social injustice, exploitation, and psychological violence. Poverty, hunger, and silent agony, that’s their common storyline. They are marginalized, isn’t it? But why… Why do they keep on experiencing the same fate as their predecessors? When do the timeline will change?

Then, in their big mansions, the hungry beasts who wear barong tagalog and baro’t saya during the State of the Nation Address are having a feast of a lifetime. What a perfect breakfast, lunch, and dinner they have? It’s complete, full of savor, and a multitude of flavors. Boasting their brand-new cars are their siesta time. Buying new lands for their own use is their favorite activity. They are voted to serve the public but what do they do?

They bag… No! They steal the funds and allocations for health, infrastructure, education, and other sectors. They saved it in their hidden bank accounts so people won’t notice that anomalies are transpiring. This is corruption.

They cement political dominance by letting their family members takeover then they’ll run for another position. This is what we call a political dynasty.

They hire incompetent individuals with whom they share the same “color” to secure that anyone won’t know the real deal. That’s their tradition.

They want to maintain the status quo as it favors them. They never care about the widening gap between the marginalized proletariats and wealthy men of the nation. They spend money for media to broadcast and report their Good Samaritan deeds, projects, and pro-poor principles as a preliminary plan to lure voters.

Media, five letters, an impostor. Baston of truth, the Fourth Estate, and other labels that you could possibly hear related to them but instead of delivering and disseminating the truth, it looks like they emphasize sugar coating and allowing other powerful entities to dictate them. I guess they are not watchdogs but lapdogs; elites force them to kneel. And once hopelessness embraces people, they go to their last resort — faith and religion.

But…As I’ve said earlier, oppressors can even go this far. You can see them carrying the Bible, wears a nice polo shirt or any formal dress, have a gleaming smile, and preaches all out the words of God. Indeed, this could be the most gruesome antic Lie did as she dressed as the Almighty. She feeds on people’s messianic tendencies as they became exposed to the ills of the society that shattered them. At some point, they forget to participate in movements that aim to bring change and the only thing they will do is pray but with no action.

Well, I guess, it is not bad at all but I wish they will soon realize that God also wanted them to do the job done. Trust Him but never forget to fight to make the world better.

Let me take a big break, it has been a long story about myself, of who am I, my school of thoughts, and how I greatly condemn lies and humanity’s acceptance of them while disregarding the naked truth.

It’s totally saddening on my part as I failed to save humanity from ignorance, lies, and vulnerabilities. Forgive me for my offensive, degrading, and destructive opinions and commentaries. Forgive me for letting Lie do her part and spread mischief against my people. Forgive me for allowing the oppressors to take over the entire world. Forgive me for all the sufferings you endured. Forgive me for I am not the perfect being you wanted me to be.

I’m sorry.

But let me leave this message to you who is reading this piece. I will never be perfect but I’ll promise that the next generation will learn, know, and understand the world, humanity, and the meaning of their lives. As a truth bearer and a great provider of wisdom and knowledge, I will become the light that will shed hope among the people.

And I wish that they’ll soon appreciate the beauty of reading me. By reading, you can cure ignorance to combat lies and manipulations.

I’ll teach them to conserve and love their language as it’s great to contemplate the past. I’ll teach them to look at the naked truth directly as it’s the reality of things. I’ll teach them to never let the oppressors succeed in their plans by speaking and fighting for what is right and good for the masses. Vox populi, vox dei. Salus populi, suprema lex esto. Ex aequo, et boño.

I am God but you can also call me Literature.