A Day

Some days are good days, other days are bad days. Either way, the "day" is used as a unit of measurement akin to other measurements of time such as seconds, months, and even light years. But what exactly consitutes a day? The "day" somehow became a frame of reference due to the simple act of a star in the sky rising from the East and setting in the West? From the twenty four hours it takes for the earth to spin upon its own axis? How is it that a day can be such a single unit, and disregard the hundreds of seconds that compose it--and should not each second be given its own right to exist in singularity? It is, yes it is, but is there ever a saying that goes "those were the seconds?" No. Alas, it is always, "Those were the days."

In life, we write chapters and conclude volumes without knowing when one will start and whether there will be another addition. How we classify these "days," too, enters into an oblivion of memory that is easily identified as a "phase" or "moment in time." For example, people experience emotional phases in life, such as the loss of a dear one, causing them great sorrow for an elongated period of time. Those were the days. Those were the days, when he mourned for the loss of his mother. And, in parallel, those were the days when he and his mother shared such fond times on holidays and family trips. Those were the days, and the days are so clumped together that each day is not paid respect to on a singular level. One day could have passed with an altercation with son and mother, but the days surrounding that one day enveloped much affection.

How can one day make all the difference? How is it that a dragonfly is born and its life can just span the next twenty four hours? Does it realize the passage of time, and does it know how long time really is? Does it matter? How incredible it is that we understand the lineage of time but it doesn't--is it not being cheated? A day can make all the difference for such an insect, but, too, can be life changing for others. A driver who suddenly looses control of his vehicle gets into an accident and changes many lives forever. He may lose his own life or take the life of another--of which both scenarios include the affected families. In love, movies such as Veer Zara or epic literatures such as Romeo & Juliet emphasize the value of one day. In just one day, it is possible that entire lives change based upon the unsteady assumption that both lovers equally care for another. How can it be that one day can change a life?

It can be... Lives were changed forever on a day that is very well-known throughout the world. On September 11th, 2001, the world changed forever. What a difference a day makes. That one morning, we all wake up to a new reality. A new world in which trust has gained yet another level of difficulty. In just a day, the theft of lives provoked the domino effect of the theft of trust, of belief in mankind.

Birth can occur in a day, and death can occur in a day...The fate of an innocent man pressed with guilty charges is determined in just a day. A day can be the date of marriage, a day can be the date of divorce. A day can be recorded in history as revolutionary and a day can be recorded in a diary as suicidal. A day is shared around the world but does not serve a universal purpose; for one man it is a holiday and for another is a mourning. Some see days, some don't. Days pass with time, days start time. Days can be counted, and days can be eternal.

Yes, in just a day. A day is all it takes. What is a day?

Subjectivity

The line is drawn. Who decided to? What was it for? Why was it drawn there?

The questionable nature of a line subjects itself to much invalidation. Perhaps if lines were universally straight, then credibility would follow in parallel. However, in reality, this is not the case. It is true that lines are drawn by convenience, by reasons known to some and not to others, by random people at random times, and...ultimately...by simple subjective measures.

For example, a deliberation constantly following examinations among both students and teachers is the method of grading. The questions range from whether there should be a curve to justify the difficulty of the exam relative to the students' overall performance or lack a curve because the test should serve as an adequate assessment of lessons learned; whether a formal answer key should be established to provide a concrete reference with solutions or lack an answer key so as to judge each student's individual answers and see whether he/she understood at least the overall points; whether the exam should test on impossible material and become a virtual symbol of life or if it should instead be manageable and actually "test" whether a student understood the material or not...Exactly where is the line drawn when it comes to how much should be completely subjected to the teacher? How is the bar set? Do you compare one student to the class or do you set high standards despite the class failing? 


In matters of politics, when the aim of upholding the common public good for all peoples, how is the common good determined, and by whom, and who's standards? The example of Turkey as a secular state is a large paradox considering its majority (99%) population is Muslim, yet it disregards any laws pertaining to religion in order to advance as a modern state. The common public good, therefore, was pre-determined to equal "modernization." In the pursuit of this common public good, how much of the entire public was subjected to a single person's vision of the common good? 


In language--limited as it is--the simple utterance of an apology by saying "sorry" can, too, be subjected to so many different interpretations, yet be applied to any situation. Is saying sorry about not taking out the trash the same as saying sorry for killing a child's mother during war? The next time you say sorry, please question yourself on, from a level of 1 through 10, how sorry you really are, with 10 being the extreme extent to your sincerity. 


Language is, again, so limiting that even a simple phrase such as "I am" (the shortest possible sentence in the English language) can be translated using just as many, fewer, or more words in other languages. Some languages may not even directly translate "I am" and may, instead, say things along the lines of "I be" or "Exist do I." 

Then there's speed limits. Of course, they were invented with a purpose--to save lives. But when it comes to getting a ticket, what's the difference between driving 1 mile over the speed limit and 1 mile under? On the sheet that describes reasons for destructive driving, one of the boxes that can be "checked" as a factor includes a section on weather and time: was it a clear day, a foggy day, was it during night when it was hard to see? There is so much subjectivity that no two circumstances of getting a ticket could be identical.


My favorite point on subjectivity is exception. Where, who, and what are the exceptions? In law, arguably a black-and-white field, a king is distinguished from a peasant. But how is the king defined? By a crown? And a peasant-by his bare feet? In matters of objectivity, a king should not escape the law just as a peasant; if he committed murder, he should be subjected to the same punishment. But why does he get special treatment? Why is power the most easily subjected tool in the world? 


The way I see it, and as my philosophy has always been: If a fly cannot discriminate between you and I, between a king and his slave, then who is to say?

"The human understanding is like a false mirror, which, receiving rays irregularly, distorts and discolors the nature of things by mingling its own nature with it."  

- Francis Bacon