Proliferation
by Don Magin
I don't have
to listen to the voices, do I?
Yes, you do, I
answered myself.
I've asked
myself that question hundreds of times, but this
is the first time I've gotten an answer in the
affirmative.
What am I,
crazy?
No, you're not.
Wait a minute. Who's
this "you"?
It's you, I.
Distinct
voices, all me.
Wait a minute
again. How can I be you?
Because you
are; because I am. It's a common
misconception that I is singular.
I is singular, we is
plural.
Here I am
arguing with myself over semantics; I'm going
crazy.
No I'm not, I
tell myself as if in a different voice.
You're right
in that we is plural, but that's a special kind
of we, where it's referring to different physical
people, not different I's.
Now I'm
beginning to lose my argument with myself, and it's
beginning to sound logical.
So I give in
and ask myself to clear things up. How
can I be we?
It's simple
really. Every time you make a decision,
you generate a new I. For example,
what shirt are you wearing today?
The dark blue
one with the small white checkered pattern.
Right. Why?
Because I
thought it looked better than the pale green one.
I don't agree,
says a new voice.
Who doesn't
agree I ask?
Me, the you
that thought the green one looked better. When
you decided to go with the blue shirt, you became
you and I became another you. Think of
you as the highest branch on an infinitely large
decision tree. The you that you think
you are is the result of all the "right"
decisions you made. But what happened
to those other branches, the ones you decided not
to follow? We each became we, the
singular we with you. We're all here. What's
the most recent decision you made?
I guess it's
that I need to listen to the voices.
Right, and
here I am, the you that thought you shouldn't
listen.
We're all here
if you need us.
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