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The Curse of the One Eyed

Rodin
@Rodin
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In regione caecorum rex est luscus
“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”

The proverb was popularized by the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus in his Adagia (first published in 1500; the relevant entry is III, IV, 96). The implication is one of power. But in real life it seems to be more a curse. When you are “aware” and no one else is, how frustrating is that!?

This thought came to me in reading the story about the Muslim man who drove a van into a crowd at a Berlin “Pride” parade. And the reaction of the TQ+ is to blame “the right” rather than understand how incompatible their identity and preferences are with Islam.

“Seeing” is necessary but insufficient. Seeing without believing or being believed is fatal. Survival in a state of seeing without being believed leads to madness.

The one-eyed man is not king if not believed. He is damned.

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Discussion (8)

  • Susan Quinn@SusanQuinn
    Rodin (View Post):

    “Seeing” is necessary but insufficient. Seeing without believing or being believed is fatal. Survival in a state of seeing without being believed leads to madness.
    The one-eyed man is not king if not believed. He is damned.

    So profound and true. I think many of us feel this is the existence we are living. We are all the king in our own right.

  • Terence Smith@TerrySmith
    Rodin (View Post):

    “Seeing” is necessary but insufficient.

    I would go a bit farther and say one cannot usefully "see" (understand) without believing. The danger of course is when ideology leads you to misinterpret what you are seeing. For that reason, it's good to test and refine one's belief system

    I admit I do not understand or accept the rest as I would prefer to be the one-eyed man.

    Seeing without believing or being believed is fatal. Survival in a state of seeing without being believed leads to madness.

    The one-eyed man is not king if not believed. He is damned.

    But it is not uncommon for me to miss the point.

  • Rodin@Rodin
    ReplyingtoTerence Smith
    Rodin (View Post):

    “Seeing” is necessary but insufficient.

    Terence Smith (View Comment):

    I would go a bit farther and say one cannot usefully “see” (understand) without believing. The danger of course is when ideology leads you to misinterpret what you are seeing. For that reason, it’s good to test and refine one’s belief system

    I admit I do not understand or accept the rest as I would prefer to be the one-eyed man.

    Seeing without believing or being believed is fatal. Survival in a state of seeing without being believed leads to madness.

    The one-eyed man is not king if not believed. He is damned.

    But it is not uncommon for me to miss the point.

    Would you? Say you had unique knowledge of an approaching danger and the single action that could be taken to save everyone who would be destroyed. You run from person to person, you tug on their sleeves, you get in their face, but everything you say is ignored and you are written off as a kook. No matter what you do or say, nothing changes. How does it feel to be the “one-eyed” man?

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