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There is a picture from my childhood in my mind. The picture of the country road, cutting through the village and full of horses, pulling farmer's carts. I remember that I stood on the side of that road, watching the cavalcade, passing by. The proud heads of the families, in their Sunday best, holding the reins in their hands, led the teams toward the church.
I looked with fascination at the horses, raising clouds of dust with their hooves, and I wondered why did they have their eyes covered; there were two square pieces of leather on both sides of the horse's heads, fastened to the bridle. I felt sorry for them, imagined that they could hardly see through those strange veils.
I couldn't, myself, find an answer to this question, so I asked my uncle who had horses of his own, and he explained it to me the best way he could:
"A long time ago the horses were free. They had enjoyed their life, galloping on the prairie, but one day a man wanted them to work for him. As very intelligent animals, they didn't want to put up with the new situation, but the man had invented a few things that made the horses obedient to his commands. If you own the horse, you want it to do what you want it to do. It should work for you without jumping aside. You subdue it by putting this kind of veils on its eyes. Then the horse doesn't see what's going on around. You make it look straight ahead. Besides these two things on the horse's eyes, you have the reins which allow you to make the horse go to the right or to the left. But it depends on you. You choose the direction. Sometimes it happens that the horse is restive and wants to go its way, but you have a whip. This thing also helps you to control its behavior."
Although horses have disappeared from the road, and my uncle has died, the picture of those horses from my childhood and my uncle's explanation have sunk deeply in my mind. I grew up with them. And I wonder why, very often, someone tries to make a horse of me. I regard myself as an intelligent person and I know what I want. My knowledge allows me to judge what's good and what's wrong. I watch the world with my eyes. However, I'm forced to see it the way someone wants me to see it. If I want to "jump aside", there is always someone who tries to "straighten me up." "Don't do this!" "Don't do that!" "Don't look at it!" "Behave yourself!" "You're wrong!" "You don't understand!" "Don't think!"
I know that sometimes running to the left will give me a satisfaction or another time going to the right will make me feel better, but no! Always someone decides for me where to go! Invisible reins, pulled by someone who "knows" better has been choosing the course.
I know that something is going wrong around me and I try to find a solution to it, but the "whip" overhead restrains my activity. I try to get rid of these accessories that don't fit the human being, but although I can't see them, they exist. I nervously shake my head, because I hear that something is happening around me, but the blinders don't fall off. In spite of that I "neigh." I "neigh" with half satisfaction, because the driver had forgotten to put something over my ears. At least I am able to hear. And I am listening. Maybe someday I will hear that someone wants to buy a horse.
But who will buy a blind one?
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