Now just an ideal
unmitigated by the reality of a living person
there's so much to be said for commitment
she worked the years
into a solid brick of meaning
forged with the mortar of doubt
and human imperfection
forged with the mortar of doubt and human imperfection
she wouldn't wait for the "right" conditions
but decided to facilitate them
we can't wait for the "right" conditions
but rather
we must create them
and everyday that picture stares down at me from the wall and says
I may not have always been right
but there's so much to be said for commitment
Context:
Concrete
Objects of personality cults and political radicals often emerge after their d**hs as an image of what people later decide they represent. This isn't necessarily contrived, but happens particularly in instances where they have died unnaturally, becoming a martyr of sorts. Often the legacy of a person decades or millennia later will only come down to one short phrase or an easy quotation, reducing their achievements, loves, good decisions and bad decisions to an informed conversational footnote. In this case, the subject is Ulrike Meinhof. Outside of the hatred or glamour she garnered over the course of her entire career as first as a respected writer and later, fugitive, the thing that stood out most to me was her intense dedication.