audio // 20
Yesterday, I was building a card castle, but I ran out of playing cards. It was the biggest castle I have made yet, so I suppose running out of cards was inevitable. I began building with flashcards instead. I had bought them once by mistake, but they turned out to be useful for building the addition to my card castle. Written on one was the definition of the word "ally". The word has roots in Latin: alligare; to fetter, bind, or fasten.
In contrast, "friend" comes to the English language from Old English--implying loyalty; the antonym of "enemy". It's interesting to think about the two words, with all of the new arrivals. Several of them seem to already have affiliations from their homes--though there are exceptions to that, too. There are people who have arrived alone, and people who have other types of allegiances. This creates an interesting social structure within the city--factions within factions within factions.
Some people think that the key to escaping this city is to work together. As allies, perhaps, if not friends. When you think about the word "ally", it makes some sense. Fettered together, not by choice. When you're fettered, you can't tell who is a good guy, and who is a bad guy. Or can you? If everyone comes here from somewhere else, then there are preexisting relationships. There there are factions within factions--people fighting within their factions, ignorant of the larger problem.
But I suppose that's good. It should be like that. So: are you a good guy, or are you a bad guy? How do you know?
[A short pause.] I have caught three bad guys myself in the last week. I suppose that makes me a good guy.
Also, I got a new cat. I didn't say what happened to the old one, but I will now: it didn't come back to life. Rescuing an animal might make someone feel like a good guy, but it doesn't mean anything, really.
In contrast, "friend" comes to the English language from Old English--implying loyalty; the antonym of "enemy". It's interesting to think about the two words, with all of the new arrivals. Several of them seem to already have affiliations from their homes--though there are exceptions to that, too. There are people who have arrived alone, and people who have other types of allegiances. This creates an interesting social structure within the city--factions within factions within factions.
Some people think that the key to escaping this city is to work together. As allies, perhaps, if not friends. When you think about the word "ally", it makes some sense. Fettered together, not by choice. When you're fettered, you can't tell who is a good guy, and who is a bad guy. Or can you? If everyone comes here from somewhere else, then there are preexisting relationships. There there are factions within factions--people fighting within their factions, ignorant of the larger problem.
But I suppose that's good. It should be like that. So: are you a good guy, or are you a bad guy? How do you know?
[A short pause.] I have caught three bad guys myself in the last week. I suppose that makes me a good guy.
Also, I got a new cat. I didn't say what happened to the old one, but I will now: it didn't come back to life. Rescuing an animal might make someone feel like a good guy, but it doesn't mean anything, really.