Me Myself and I

By Roger Colins

Please excuse the glaring hypocritical conflict in the following monologue. The first person pronoun is probably my least favourite of words from whichever language one may find it a part of. A famous prince once said 'No one's interested in you.' I would go the next step and say that people aren't interested in people. We can be interested in facts, actions, horrors and creations of man. I cannot see how we are interested in people as were are, already a person. Talking about other people merely displays a lack of understanding of oneself. The very same can be said in the over-use of 'I'. -The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Biographies are about what the person did, their actions, not their being, not their existence. An autobiography should only ever be contemplated at the end of a highly successful career. 'I' is a coined arbitration that I find loose and highly inaccurate. Having once heard the Mayans replaced hello for 'I am another you' I find this much more pleasing to hear. There's an ego, an id and a superego so goes the common psyche understanding. Which 'I' are we referring to? Well, it seems rather obvious. For instance, I find the discussion of music something interminably unpleasant to have to listen to and thus, any sort of senseless prattle about other people unless it is nothing short of sheer praise or utter condemnation in an attempt to further improve ourselves. If someone has contracted a nasty disease or won the lottery then it is, something noteworthy or remarkable, quite literally. The individual it happened to is entirely inconsequential. To refer to a man's works is not only acceptable but of paramount importance but to talk behind their back; discussing another's disposition in comparison to one's own is to unveil and encourage the slug of human condition in others as well as oneself. But if this disembodied character that appears in the words of others has said something to another disembodied character, sometimes of people we have never even met, replete with names their parents thought up on the spur of the moment to give their rose a sweeter scent then, where is the interest other than practising verbal communication skills? _________________________________________________________ If I had the choice I would remove 'I' from the language and replace it with 'one', 'we' or even, 'myself' which when compare to the 'I' denotes something more akin to a possession or module of the soul. 'I' should never be abused as it is a convenience and should be treated as such. It will never be replaced. For the sanctity of our self respect, I , hope to hear the word lessen in everyday conversation as a fine wine may improve with age.

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