Nostalgia is not a longing for what has passed, but for what never passed.
Nostalgia is not a longing for what has passed, but for what never passed.
― Atrona Grizel
The secret of social indifference lies in being in relationships with others, because only a solitary person can be this acutely aware of its existence. Those who already have friends or a partner simply walk past the very streets that the solitary mind keeps circling, thinking about without end. Society is a shared arena of indifference. Only the solitary begin to think about the rest of society, because their minds are unoccupied; those who belong to a group do not even see the others. And since almost everyone belongs to some group, what emerges is a fragmented model of society—made up of clustered masses, divided into parts, yet still forcibly held together.
― Atrona Grizel
Most philosophers remain in pure abstraction; they do not inject much emotional bias into their thinking, or at least that is how they appear. These are the “ethical,” and therefore harmless—and therefore useless—ones. Because they are entirely theoretical, their views are rarely met with hatred, which requires a strong reaction that usually stems from strong content. They are, after all, pure thought rather than inner conviction. Yet for that very reason, they cannot be unique, for they do not clearly dismantle the norms surrounding their environment. As for those who take the great gamble—the ones who openly contaminate philosophy with subjectivity, without hiding it, since all philosophy is inevitably subjective, but only a few possess the courage to express themselves radically—I suppose I belong among them. I openly resort to generalizations, without caring whether they are true, because I am trying to draw attention to something deeper beyond pure reason. Nietzsche was like this. Rimbaud as well. If all those fiery figures had presented their fire as mere ash, how could they have remained themselves?
― Atrona Grizel
The personality cults of so-called “benevolent” dictators—such as Josip Broz Tito or Mustafa Kemal Atatürk—in fact share the same underlying structure as those of “non-benevolent” dictators. These figures, whose faces are displayed everywhere, whose words are constantly circulated, and whose values are instilled through systematic indoctrination, reveal striking similarities when placed alongside so-called “bad” dictators like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Kim Il Sung. Of course, those living in Yugoslavia or Turkey, having adapted to the societies and cultural environments they inhabit, tend to internalize these narratives. Just as people in National Socialist Germany, the USSR, the PRC, or the DPRK may display a near-mechanical obedience, they too come to believe that their own leader is the greatest or the “best.” They generate myths around them, elevate them to an almost divine status, and it is even possible to hear children comparing God with their founding fathers. This should be seen solely as a cause for concern, as it signals that a process of assimilation is taking place.
― Atrona Grizel
There were times when I was utterly terrified, overwhelmingly lonely, because I didn’t even have the chance to spend time with my inner world. I had become so alienated from people that, if I were estranged from myself as well, I would freeze as if in a trance, because everything would cease to exist. In those moments, I listened to music—emotional songs, intentionally and radically different from the mainstream. Whenever I could, I turned to that niche music that offered a different world and made me forget the ugly one I have been trapped in here. I listen. Maybe at night. Maybe when no one was watching. Even for just a few minutes. Each song was an emotional fuel, like ammunition. One truth is undeniable: North Korean songs, even if I understand nothing about them, make me cry more than any other music. Propaganda? No. It’s because that state is living exactly what I am experiencing and turning it into art. It is such an artistic pleasure that I feel as if I know North Korean culture as intimately as those who live there. How is it that I feel as if I’ve been torn from my lost homeland while listening to their songs and drowning in tears? I have an emotional connection to that noble country. I feel deep pain at its absence. Yet I absolutely don’t believe that my mind has been brainwashed… it is my heart that is speaking.
― Atrona Grizel