MASKING: Some thoughts about authenticity and identity

	Excuse me while I put on my face –
	I'm not ready to see anyone yet.
	Just a moment to adjust this smile
	And get things properly set.

	[pause]

	OK, now everything is set.
	I can say what's expected
	according to prescribed protocols:

	"Hello fellow citizen.
	Good to see you today!
	How's blah, blah, blah?
	Everything here is hah, hah, great!"

	"Work is wonderful –
	management is a joy.
	Yes, I 'm very happy with the government
	and productively employed."

	"Of course I have faith in the System –
	It's the best in history!"

	"Our leaders are Supremely Wise
	and care about you and me."

	[pause]

	Why do so many people live this way –
	fostering delusions of wellness
	that are fake?

	The answer is obvious;
	if too many people wake up
	revolution will be at stake.


Brice: 	 (looking at a image) Hmm. What I sense here is a person afraid to reveal himself.

Devani:  Nearly all people are like that. It's a common survival strategy.

Anya: 	Yeah, but it's too easy to become disembodied and exist solely as a mask.

Carlos: (raising his eyebrows) Isn't that what spiritual death amounts to?


=====================================================================================
from POEATIONS: Explorations in meta-poetry by T Newfields
Summary: Reflections on contact protocols and secret identities, and public personas.
Keywords: authenticity, identity, genuineness, verisimilitudes, fictitiousness

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955 - ?)
Begun: 1993 in Shizuoka, Japan  ☆ Finished: 2024 in Yokohama, Japan 
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

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TRANSLATIONS

ESPAÑOL   https://www.tnewfields.info/es/mascara.htm
NIHONGO   https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/masukingu.htm
ZHŌNGWÉN  https://www.tnewfields.info/zh/yanshi.htm