On pragmatism, necessary concealment and spiritual capitulation

I have often wondered at what precise point prudence begins to darken into self-erasure. It never shows itself as cowardice. It comes colored as wisdom, as maturity, as the necessary language of survival. It says: lower your voice, choose your battles, and do not bring the whole of yourself into the room.

There is nothing contemptible in survival; history is filled with people who lived because they learned when to speak and when to be silent, when to show a name and when to hide it. Pragmatism, in such conditions, is intelligence under pressure, the mind’s attempt to keep the body alive.

Yet the danger begins when the temporary tactic, born under the pressure of a hostile hour, is permitted to outlive necessity and harden into a permanent philosophy. What began as protection becomes a habit of the soul. A person who concealed himself to survive may later conceal himself because concealment feels like identity. He no longer asks, “What must I hide today to be?” He asks, “What part of myself is excessive?” And there, disappearance begins.

The great seduction of pragmatism is that it never demands surrender all at once, because it asks for........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)