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No Man Is an Island

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.” John Donne

  

 

Maybe I can begin talking about the poem with another poem. A few people, I think, have no idea about what means to be human being. When I think or feel like an individual person, I can’t see mankind. If I think in this way I’m susceptible to have prejudges like racism. For instance, every war in the world ends. But, at the end, it is the opportunity to change our feelings. It is the time to recognize our mistakes and repair the damages. It is the time to learn and forget, even though it seems like a contradiction.

On the other hand, when I say ‘any man's death diminishes me’, I want to say people need to be people. The Markovitz’s case is a clear example. Here we can look how some people receive the help of the others like a gift. A real gift, a real present because is now when they need and receive the mankind’s help. This is not about religion, gender and race. It is about people helping each other and themselves.

            What is my learning today about this? I can ask the opinion of others. Or I can have my own opinion and share it. I prefer the second for one reason. If I did not utter a word, I am exposing to accept the general opinion. So, not always the general opinion is the correct one. This is true when we are talking particularly about on issues of prejudice.