Today is Saturday. A large group of people got into the US Capitol on Wednesday and disrupted the proceedings there. Many commentators and thinkers are reacting to that event and related ones. I have not read all that much about the people involved or events that occurred. The best thing I have seen is this
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/elaminabdelmahmoud/trump-mob-social-media-insurrection
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I have been thinking about final words and summative comments and essays. Humans know for sure that a newborn baby is helpless and needs everything done for it. It can breathe and suckle and eliminate body waste and that is about all. Food and warmth and protection are all needed. So, we are accustomed to the idea that older humans know things.
Another common stance among humans is fear of death, or at least a strong desire to avoid dying. Strangely, a strong fear can lead to a respect for those who are more actively dying, those who are near death.
Respect for and interest in those who have lived long and those who are near death often leads to a feeling that now that he or she is aged and close to death, now that he or she has seen the whole of a lifetime, maybe that person has some wisdom, some overview, some understanding of what life is all about. There will almost always be some final words, the last words written or spoken. However, those words may not be the most important ones.
I read of a Zen master or guru who seemed to be crying out in the last moments against what he saw or thought. If he or some leader or teacher or writer says in a final breath that all of what he wrote or stated earlier in life was in error or misguided, that doesn't guarantee that it was. I like to be cautious about summing up. I know that I can't remember all the things I have adhered to. I certainly can't remember the circumstances that surrounded me at the time I advocated various principles and positions. Depending what the topic is, I may or may not believe in what I did yesterday.
