Quiroga - 201

 THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY

No one knows for sure what consciousness is, but not knowing its functioning and nature does not mean that consciousness does not work, and because it works and we are unaware of it, it knows us more than we know ourselves, and does not let us pretend that we do not know what we know, nor do we not know what we do not know.

We can become dexterous in the art of lying and put a layer of wax on our face, to be impassive in lying, but when it's time to put our head on the pillow to sleep, our conscience informs us of the truth.

In practice, therefore, one must be seriously sick in the head and feet not to recognize, in the depths of one's heart, the mistakes we make and how much we seek justifications to legitimize our mistakes, instead of accepting that we are wrong.

The problem, except for serious pathological conditions, is the laziness of recognizing our mistakes, because if we recognize them, we also have to take responsibility for fixing them.

Aware of our mistakes, we who are minimally healthy need to stop looking for justifications in the reports of other people, who are as mistaken as us, but who have learned to fake lies so well that they deal with mistakes naturally, as if we could sit on the couch from the living room with serenity while the entire house is being inundated by a flood.

The attitude of taking responsibility for mistakes is a work of conscience, and is also a service to the community, because, by suspending the search for justifications (which are nothing more than lies) we nullify the possibility that, if those who are mistaken become the majority, they will impose the tyranny of error to those who cultivate righteousness.

Rest must come after tiredness, otherwise it becomes laziness. Rest is a product of the constant need for comfort, because most of the time our humanity lives in tension with something that doesn't even happen.