still on words

not words so much;
more patterns of words:
discourse.
Discourse, essay and logic are western classical inventions.
Starting with an idea, the orator must prove it by discourse.
Science, it might be argued, follows in this tradition,
as do the law and politics.
The lawyer may be called upon (in the name of truth?)
to argue that even black has a little white in it
or that 2 and 2 might sometimes make 3.
This tradition is so fundamental to our western civilisation that,
without it, establishments would crumble.

pilate said, 'what is truth?'
I recall my lawyer saying the same,
as though the truth were something negotiable,
flexible even.

this is not your way;
that much is clear.
but why does this seem important just now?

where you are: words muddy the waters.
discourse, far from clarifying,
builds truth after its own fashion;
and leads to obscurity and confusion.

of course, discourse and logic have their place.
but they must know their limits.
how far do we, in the west, understand those limits?