The Salty Taste of Sweat

(I am not putting photos of real sweat)

Last night my body was in a peak state of perspiration, and I made sure to get my facial sweat all over my friends when we had our last group hug of the night. Ever so occasionally I will be sweating masses out and will be blessed with the opportunity to taste my skins secretions. It’s such an odd taste, kind of salty yet kind of sweet, a flavor I personally find hard to define. 5/10☆!

Saltiness is more than just a flavor; it can also be used to represent feelings of resentment in the face of defeat. For example, I get salty whenever my parents force me to stay at family gatherings late, while they continue to put off on driving me home. But alas, I am powerless as I’m unable to talk back or drive home myself.

But that brings me to the question of; when did we stop caring about the little guy? I mean, my parents may have more capabilities than me, but am I not their son? Does that position not give me priority… or does that lack of power leave me as something to be brushed off.

(That would be nasty)

Last year during 10 Honors English… when that still existed… we talked about how power influences the human morality as a prerequisite to reading the Lord of the Flies. We learned from experiments that when people gained power, they began to view others as less than human. Treating them cruelly despite our shared humanity.

It’s always fascinated and scared me about how quickly we can lose our attachment to humanity when we gain control over others. Our attachment to community is lost and we begin to step on people as if they were ants.

It often the little guy who is the foundation for life as we know it, the farmers in the fields, the workers in the factories, and the sons and daughters that create family. We can acknowledge that their roles are lesser than, but crucial to the systems that rely on them.

It would be expected that we nurture what gives us stability, yet it is more often that these people are seen as pawns rather than players in the game of life. If we don’t change our perspective on human life, then we’ll only continue to see less care for the lesser.