August 19
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. The death of one diminishes all. For all are bound together in the bundle of life. We are involved in Mankind. Yet while there is time, we look with thankfulness upon the broad acres of good earth, the handiwork of the Creator who makes us fellow-workers with himself, and upon the works of men in the industries of this and every land, and we pray: Almighty God, Maker of all things, who has placed thy creatures necessary for the use of man in diverse lands: Grant that all men and nations needing one another may be knit together in in one bond of mutual service, to share their diverse riches. Prosper thou the work of our hands upon us, O prosper thou our handiwork, O Lord, our Heavenly Father."
John Donne, from “Devoting”
August 18
I'm Your Spy
I am the clerk, the technician, the mechanic, the driver.
They said, Do this, do that, don't look left or right,
don't read the text. Don't look at the whole machine. You
are only responsible for this one bolt. For this
one rubber stamp.
This is your only concern. Don't bother
with what is above you.
Don't try to think for us. Go on, drive. Keep
going. On, on.
So they thought, the big ones, the smart ones,
the futurologists.
There is nothing to fear. Not to worry.
Everything is ticking just fine.
Our little clerk is a diligent worker. He's a
simple mechanic.
He's a little man.
Little men's ears don't hear, their eyes
don't see.
We have heads, they don't.
Answer them, said he to himself, said the
little man,
the man with a head of his own. Who is in
charge? Who knows
where this train is going?
Where is their head? I too have a head.
Why do I see the whole engine.
Why do I see the precipice--
is there a driver on this train?
The clerk driver technician mechanic
looked up.
He stepped back and saw--what a monster.
Can't believe it. Rubbed his eyes and--yes,
it's there all right. I'm all right. I do see
the monster. I'm part of the system.
I signed this form. Only now I am reading the
rest of it.
This bolt is part of a bomb. This bolt is me.
How
did I fail to see, and how do the others go on
fitting bolts. Who else knows?
Who has seen? Who has heard--The
emperor really is naked.
I see him. Why me? It's not for me. It's too big.
Rise and cry out. Rise and tell the people.
You can.
I, the bolt, the technician, mechanic--
Yes, you.
You are the secret agent of the people. You are
the eyes of the nation.
Agent-spy, tell us what you've seen. Tell us
what the insiders, the clever ones, have
hidden from us.
Without you, there is only the precipice.
Only catastrophe.
I have no choice. I'm a little man, a citizen,
one of the people,
but I'll do what I have to. I've heard the voice
of my conscience
and there is nowhere to hide.
The world is small, small for Big Brother.
I'm your mission. I'm doing my duty. Take
it from me.
Come and see for yourselves. Lighten my
burden. Stop the train.
Get off the train. The next stop--nuclear
disaster. The next book,
the next machine. No. There is no such thing.
Mordechai Vanunu, a former Israeli nuclear technician, serving an 18-year sentence in an Israeli prison for blowing the whistle on his government's secret nuclear weapons program.
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