31. No Title Required
Posted by T. T. and P. R. in July 2019
In present societies, the holding of titles can benefit each
title holder. In a company, the head of a section may carry the title of Section
Manager, whilst the head of the company may
have the title of President, or Chief
Executive Officer; clearly elevated above a Manager. Each of these titles can
carry the benefit for the title holder that
fulfils the requirements necessary simply to do business. In sports the winner
of a title match will be a Champion. In a less prestigious game, perhaps just a
local one, some kind of title will be given to the winner. In academic circles,
a title is advantageous when seeking promotion or a better job and it also help
significantly when competing for large research grants.
When competing with many brilliant title holders, a person
having no title is likely to fade away and be forgotten. But, a sensible poet
saw that each moment of each person looks brilliant as it is, regardless of whether
or not they held some kind of title. A Polish poet, Wisława Szymborska (1923-2012), a
Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature, wrote a poem, No Title Required. In that, an insignificant event of sitting under
a tree beside a river is depicted as a moment of full of richness and unique existence,
so that it is no one else’s.
The last verse of the poem is:
When I see such things I’m no
longer sure
that what‘s important
is more important than what’s
not.
(Translated by Clare
Cavanagh and Stanisław Barańczak)
At first glance, these three-lines seem logically tricky.
However, the embarrassment may be caused by a prejudice that the importance of
a person is measurable by a one-dimensional scale. Actually, the importance of
a person is not measurable even by a multi-dimensional scale, such as a school
report. It is likely that there may be a fatal prejudice in the present culture
which may hurt a great many innocent persons.
In our present world, titles are seen as protective walls
which benefit persons inside to enjoy a respected life. If all walls created by
titles are removed in the remote future, every person can fully enjoy their own
respectful life without being guarded by walls. Then, a world where No Title Required will be reality.