Who Am I and Who Are They?

There is a dictum that says you are what you write. As I said somewhere sometime ago, somehow it is almost impossible not to reveal oneself when one has to write, especially in a foreign language. Perhaps the reason lies in the difficulty of writing, the highest level in the process of language acquisition. We can tell pretty much the level of education and intelligence of the person who puts his thoughts down on paper from the way he expresses himself. That's why when a sensible person sets out to convince others or to defend himself, he does so in the language he is most comfortable because he does not want to appear as a fool. By trying not to appear as a fool, he usually lays bare his soul and exposes his heart of hearts, besides presenting his thoughts in the most cogent manner he knows how.

There is also another dictum that says a human learns about himself by comparing and contrasting himself with other humans. So, when I look at myself and other humans in terms of what I and they have written, I can safely deduce who and what I am and who and what they are. The results are not pretty and flattering when truth and logic and honesty---not civility, not courtesy, not veneer, not polish, not burnish---are the yardsticks of measurement.