Power
"Even if truth isn't a function of power, power is a most important truth, don't you think?" asked Photographer.
"I do," said Director. "What other sorts of truths would you say there are?"
"Weakness is a truth," Student said with a grin.
"But it's a function of power, relative power," said Photographer.
"Why, Photographer," said Director with a touch of facetiousness, "you turn your nose up at the truth of the weak? I thought you took pride in showing the underdog's side."
"Yes, I do - and that's because an underdog must have strength, a strength many do not or cannot appreciate." He cocked his head into an angle of pride.
Director couldn't help himself and broke into a smile. "So you're not so much concerned with the relative strength of the sides at war as you are with the strength of those individuals who find themselves in that war, however likely or unlikely they might be to win."
Photographer sniffed. "I think that's a fine way of putting it."
"Student, what do you think?"
"I think weakness itself, not the relative lack of strength, needs more attention."
"How do we know something is weak unless we compare it to something strong?" asked Photographer.
"Maybe there are characteristics that always make something weak compared to anything else that comes along, even other weak things," Student suggested.
"Do you wonder, then," asked Photographer, "if there is something that is always strong compared to anything it meets?"
"I think it's likely there is.
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Nick Pappas, pappasnick.typepad.com
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