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.