[ Her expression pinches just a touch. And, predictably, she answers: ]
I'm not a cub.
[ Then, with a shake of her head - ]
Even if I had been naive enough to think that everyone gave a damn about what was going on, three days with the Resistance would have cured that. Watching everyone be apathetic would have cured it. Hearing that I ought to just stay quiet and obedient.
No, I - That's not why I - I don't need sympathy for it. That's just how people are. If I get sympathy, everyone ought to get sympathy, and there's not enough time in the world to go about patting everyone on the back. Because everyone was treated that way. Everyone is treated that way, everywhere.
You are wrong, if people remembered the pain of others more often, perhaps the world not be so wretched. ... But there are many people, in many places, where they are not treated that way. Compassion is what many have been raised too.
[ She shakes her head. Unsure. Kitty hadn't exactly understood when it came to faith, when she had fought so loudly with Deacon. ]
At least it is not just me then. [ Which is a relief, truth be told, she felt like she was going mad. ] It is strange. I have... known many faiths. When I ruled, yes my people were mostly Hindus, as I am. But there were many others. Amongst all of them, even those not anything like my own, had a common ground in a simple truth. Compassion. That it was good, to want to better the lives of others. That God wishes such love to be shared, in however His way dictates.
Well - I mean - [ Kitty considers that a moment, then says - ] Religions can be one more system of power, can't they? Another means of control. So the people who are in power, they're going to shape the religion in such a way that it supports their own power. Here, the people in the Chantry have found it helpful to tell stories of - you know - spreading their doctrine. Expansionism.
Faith is different from religion. [ She thinks, that little frown sat in her brow, before she shakes her head. ] They can. I have watched many do so. I have heard something similar from your - [ She's at least a little respectful. ] - Englishman's faith, about when Jesus has his name known in all the world. But do you know what else, I have heard from them? "Love one another as I have loved you." That is not so different from certain words I know. So with them I could always find common ground in that part of faith. Faith shapes values, needs, desires, in people.
Anyway, that'd be quite nice, if they included something like that. Definitely. But belief systems evolve in different ways. If you're looking for universals, things that are inherent to every human belief system - well - I don't know if compassion's necessarily going to be it.
It isn't nice, Kitty. [ Lakshmi leans a little more into it, squaring to face her. ] It is integral, I have seen it. Do you know how many lands I travel through? From India to Russia, and as many in between. I saw it, repeated many times, from Muslim to Christian, to Sikh, to Jew. A simple understanding. Even when they do go to war as these people do, to destroy faiths not as their own, as has been in our homes.
Well - the people here haven't fallen to pieces without it, have they? And they're still capable of kindness and goodness. And their faith's lasted a long time. And anyway, if your Sikhs and Christians and all the rest are going to war against each other, doesn't sound like their religions are really teaching compassion, are they.
Because it isn't just a matter of... whether there is a God or not. Belief is for many... is what dictates good behaviour. As such it covers a great deal. I am not saying anyone has ever gotten it completely correct... but...
Most people here can't either. They rely on the chantry to teach them, guide them, show them how to look at the world. They spend their time in farms dispersed amongst rural villages. What does the chantry teach them?
[ And all this back and forward, she comes to what truly worries her. ]
'Be afraid of others who are not like you, it is their fault you suffer.'
And what lesson do you think got shoved down our throats? "Magicians are the great and grand benefactors of your nation. Obey them, and throw over anyone who might stand up to them. Our enemies are foreigners and traitors."
Us. We do. I mean - maybe our families, if our families understand those sorts of things. [ The Hyrneks, for example - they understood. ] Or maybe just...something in us, that rings an alarm bell when things are wrong. Sometimes you just know.
I mean - [ A breath. ] I grew up in a wicked system, and my parents were - part of it. The system, I mean. The things that I was taught in school, about the greatness of magicians - that shaped my thinking. Fed it. But it didn't determine it. Your religion, saying be decent, that didn't determine anyone's thinking either, or make them virtuous. It presented them with an option. But they had a choice whether or not to follow that option. D'you see?
Not being told, be kind, that doesn't really make anyone anything. It just gives them different patterns to follow or to push away from.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2018-12-22 12:25 pm (UTC)I'm not a cub.
[ Then, with a shake of her head - ]
Even if I had been naive enough to think that everyone gave a damn about what was going on, three days with the Resistance would have cured that. Watching everyone be apathetic would have cured it. Hearing that I ought to just stay quiet and obedient.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-22 12:42 pm (UTC)[ She takes her hand, carefully, gripping it firmly before she relents in it. Her hands settling back. ] I am sorry they treated you in such a way.
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Date: 2018-12-22 12:54 pm (UTC)[ A bit of a flush comes into her cheeks. ]
No, I - That's not why I - I don't need sympathy for it. That's just how people are. If I get sympathy, everyone ought to get sympathy, and there's not enough time in the world to go about patting everyone on the back. Because everyone was treated that way. Everyone is treated that way, everywhere.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 08:43 am (UTC)[ Because she shakes her head. ]
You are wrong, if people remembered the pain of others more often, perhaps the world not be so wretched. ... But there are many people, in many places, where they are not treated that way. Compassion is what many have been raised too.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 09:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 09:17 am (UTC)But her mouth opens, closes, and she frowns deeply. ]
Kitty... have you... The Chantry. Have you been listening to their stories?
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Date: 2018-12-23 09:20 am (UTC)Yeah. Of course.
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Date: 2018-12-23 09:25 am (UTC)Have you heard any tales of... this Maker, loving his people? Teachings about compassion, kindness, charity? Anything like that at all?
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Date: 2018-12-23 09:26 am (UTC)Mostly just stories about him returning when everyone's singing the Chant. Why?
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Date: 2018-12-23 09:32 am (UTC)At least it is not just me then. [ Which is a relief, truth be told, she felt like she was going mad. ] It is strange. I have... known many faiths. When I ruled, yes my people were mostly Hindus, as I am. But there were many others. Amongst all of them, even those not anything like my own, had a common ground in a simple truth. Compassion. That it was good, to want to better the lives of others. That God wishes such love to be shared, in however His way dictates.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 09:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 09:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 09:54 am (UTC)Not mine.
[ But - ]
Anyway, that'd be quite nice, if they included something like that. Definitely. But belief systems evolve in different ways. If you're looking for universals, things that are inherent to every human belief system - well - I don't know if compassion's necessarily going to be it.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 10:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 01:55 pm (UTC)Well - the people here haven't fallen to pieces without it, have they? And they're still capable of kindness and goodness. And their faith's lasted a long time. And anyway, if your Sikhs and Christians and all the rest are going to war against each other, doesn't sound like their religions are really teaching compassion, are they.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-24 01:32 am (UTC)Kitty, do you believe in God?
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Date: 2018-12-24 01:34 am (UTC)Religion's not really part of my culture.
[ This isn't a question: ]
You do. It's important to you.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-24 03:35 am (UTC)[ Her life, before, had been steeped in faith. ]
Because it isn't just a matter of... whether there is a God or not. Belief is for many... is what dictates good behaviour. As such it covers a great deal. I am not saying anyone has ever gotten it completely correct... but...
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Date: 2018-12-24 03:52 am (UTC)Well, I think I'm rather moral myself. And I never had any belief.
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Date: 2018-12-24 03:59 am (UTC)You can also read, Kitty.
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Date: 2018-12-24 04:13 am (UTC)Yeah. Unlike most of the people I knew. They could be moral, too, even being illiterate.
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Date: 2018-12-24 04:19 am (UTC)[ And all this back and forward, she comes to what truly worries her. ]
'Be afraid of others who are not like you, it is their fault you suffer.'
no subject
Date: 2018-12-24 04:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-12-24 04:46 am (UTC)So, then, who decides your rules? That murder is wrong, that compassion is good?
no subject
Date: 2018-12-24 04:53 am (UTC)Us. We do. I mean - maybe our families, if our families understand those sorts of things. [ The Hyrneks, for example - they understood. ] Or maybe just...something in us, that rings an alarm bell when things are wrong. Sometimes you just know.
I mean - [ A breath. ] I grew up in a wicked system, and my parents were - part of it. The system, I mean. The things that I was taught in school, about the greatness of magicians - that shaped my thinking. Fed it. But it didn't determine it. Your religion, saying be decent, that didn't determine anyone's thinking either, or make them virtuous. It presented them with an option. But they had a choice whether or not to follow that option. D'you see?
Not being told, be kind, that doesn't really make anyone anything. It just gives them different patterns to follow or to push away from.
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