Misdirection

One man sins, the other is punished.

As a young dog picks up a stone and worries it with his teeth, inflicting no damage in return on the one who tried to strike him with it, so men let their real enemies elude them, and with bared teeth hunt down those not charged with any crime.

Reading W.G. Sebald’s book On the Natural History of Destruction last week, my mind was drawn, despite itself, into thinking about the current war, and its injustices. I wondered how important among its causes was misdirected revenge; and I speculated on the kinds of revenge it may, in turn, inspire, and how these, likewise, would likely be misdirected. Typically, my thoughts tangled themselves into knots before any worthwhile conclusions could be approached.

On the subject of injustice, I can’t forget this little poem:

Injustice
My wise little dog
Has ended his short life
Without even realising
The world’s a riddle.

- Leopold Staff.