When Pluto, a Spartan, and a Face Mask walked into a Bar:
Will we leave here a better person began Plato?
The Spartan: I walked in here as a Spartan and I am not sure I will leave here different than I walked in?
Don’t give me that stare said the Face Mask.
Then I interrupted, but with a near end of the world experience like what we have today?
Then Plato in his usual aristocratic eudaemonistic gaze, winked and took a long drink.
He turned and asked me if I know Thomas Hobbes “Leviathan” where he wrote about the “nature of man” in 1651.
With a wide bewilderment I nodded No!
Then he began:
“In such condition, there is no place for industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving, and removing, such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”.
We could all hear the stridulating cricket outside.
The Spartan slowly moved his shield closer to himself, stood up and gave us all a reassuring nod and walked away. “I got this he said”
Then I turned and saw his Helmet, How about this man?
He turned, looked us over again and turned towards the old familiar door and took some composed staggered steps forward looked over his shoulder and screamed as he walks away, “Mama said; “Come back with your shield or come back on it”
The Face Mask became uncomfortable, gave a suspicious look, and took another Ale.
Then it all came together:
In all of Plato’s work on earth, he was not able to enlighten men that much, neither has the primal instinct of man changed that much, we just transform and evolve with civilizations.
So in conclusion: if before the lockdown you are not nice, you will not come out a nice person except you make a conscious effort in doing so, But if you are a good person you will come out maybe the same or worst depends on which of your wolf you feed, how else can I explain all the madness going on today.
And this worried me.
I became drunk of my self sorrows, the imbecilic nature of things, the uncertainties and global depression, the pain of lonely deaths, the nameless days and long hours of silence and the thinking and the dreaming and sleeping and waking up.
Then I seek to speak to Plato about his work “The allegory of the cave”
Of subjects and objects, of realities and shadows, of what is given and what is not, of masters and servants, of tyranny and perceptions and constructed and deconstructed narratives.
He moved closer to me, I could smell his age, his wisdom and intelligence, he looked me in the eyes, I saw pity, I saw compassion and empathy, but for who?
He said that is all we need as humans.
How did he mean, How would he have known I noticed?
Then he smiled again and pointed me to a dragonfly rustling over the old lamp, “old skins are made new in birth” he said.
He told me about darkness and light, for we all from the old darkness, some of us went towards the light in birth, some fight towards the lesser light and some just embraced the shadows; the darkness. It is a binary, it’s “exnihilo” he added.
We are all from the same old womb, all mankind was formed in darkness (the womb), and some choose differently and became higher light, while others became lesser light.
And like the Spartan he reminded me if we could hold our shields up like in a phalanx for each other, we will win the battle, but if one of us drops his shield we will repeat the cycle: death and birth, birth, and death.
Then I looked up, turned to the Face Mask, he felt distant like a ghost, he nodded in affirmation: do not unmask the masquerades, hence you will all be social ghosts.
Slowly I took my last drink turned and woke up.
Nduwhite Ndubuisi Ahanonu
Artist, Curator and Cultural Art Manager.
Co-Founder IICD-Center, Abuja
