The issues of Character, Fate, and Death

O.J.Simpson, Ego, Violence, and the issues of Character and Death

They say character is destiny/fate. Like any saying, the statement has limitations in validity. Obviously, it does not take  into account the factor of chance. However, in the cases of OJ and the other man, the element of chance was absent. The two ex-football stars are in jail because of their character.

Ever since I came across the phrase,"Character is Fate" in my Shakespeare college class in 1969, it has haunted me. The way my life has turned out is due largely to my character. I have modified my character to some extent but the inner core has been the same since childhood. 

I am still abrasive, but I no longer gloat on my victories and I now gracefully accept my mistakes, errors, and defeats. I am more acutely aware of my mortality ever since quite a few of my contemporaries started kicking the bucket, biting the dust, and saying goodbye to all that was near and dear to their hearts. I am positive, certain, absolutely sure that they are dead, extinguished, gone, and never going to come back. Death is death, in my book. No heaven, no hell, no reincarnation bullshit for historical, time-bound organisms. 

I am living the remainder of my life as if I have only one more week to go: with more honesty, dignity, joy, and freedom. I have a few regrets, but I have made peace with my conscience. I wish I had more courage and love in my heart so I would do more for Vietnam. But I have done what I could have done, given my limitations. One thing I just decided I would never do since Aaron Hernandez was arrested:  I would not resort to violence as a solution to my problems. Violence is not a solution, unless it is purely a matter of self-defense. More often than not, it adds to the problem, as OJ and the other man already found out. 

As I stated in an earlier piece, we are what we think, not what we feel. What we feel is in reality the early phase of what we think. The problem about "feeling" is two-fold: first, mistaking the nature of feeling; and second, making the initial phase the permanent, final phase without going through a rigorous analysis. Few humans admit publicly they are wrong in their thinking  and thus their behavior. Heck, most humans don't really know how to think logically, free of bias and prejudice and personal baggage of hang-ups. Most humans are terrified of truths. Most humans don't have emotional and intellectual courage. They all crave for respect but they don't want to earn it except through pretense and acts of hypocrisy, but they are too stupid to realize that they are not smart enough to hide their true character forever. 

Wissai
June 29, 2013