By Mark Antony Rossi
There’s nothing worse intellectually than being betrayed by someone in who you had the highest expectations. You want the very best for them but often you receive the very worse. And in many ways you betray yourself for giving such a fool more reason than rope only to get the same result. A good heart in the vicinity of a viper is a target; not a repellant.
Even in a bleak world it is not naive to be generous. The sincere extension of a hand to a person in need is the genesis of social renewal. But the pain runs deeper when that hand is bit. Ingratitude is always a byproduct of unfettered selfishness. Yet in the literary world this phenomena is hard to detect. Unless it turns to attack you and then you must confront it and discover narcissistic nonsense unwilling or unable to distinguish from real or imagined enemies.
There are people you cannot help despite what your best instincts inform; despite the teachings of the Good Book. You have to move on for your own protection. They are disconnected from accountability no different from a habitual abuser of something dangerous. Any healthy relationship requires a reliable and regular plateau of stability. And that’s not possible with people who claim loss of memory, display poor manners and speak on the verge of self-hating rage.
The selfish among us are indeed suffering in their own special hell. Many are battling demons of substance abuse, depression and various traumas that are the underlying reason for their abnormal sometimes amoral behavior. However; speaking as someone on the other end of these outbursts — it doesn’t offer any consolation. Nor does the explanation provide any protection. The same moody maniacal events continue into perpetuity.
I’m not without sin in this drama. But I need to reserve my charity and good cheer for people who do not stalk like vipers in a veggie patch. Ready to strike when their appetites get the best of them. Our better angels might not reach the surface to make their face known. But maybe they don’t need to if our hearts are in the right place.
About the Author: Mark Antony Rossi is a poet, playwright and author of the bioethics volume “Dark Tech” now available from Amazon. His most recent plays have been produced in Liverpool and New York.
http://ethical-stranger.webnode.com/