The Spark

The Spark

Alexandr Piatkov



People with well-developed abstract thinking can easily picture in their minds,

for instance, an ideal court of law, or liberty exercised by citizens in

moderation—just enough so as not to infringe upon others—all within an atmosphere

of kind-heartedness, humanism, and openness reigning throughout society.


To achieve this harmonious vision, enthusiasts banish reality from their

consciousness; they find it unbearable. Thus, these ideal mental constructs

detach them from a demonized reality, yet they see no plan for evolution,

development, or improvement, and do not even wish to think about one. Exposing

vices and lancing social sores consumes these fearless crusaders entirely,

leaving no room whatsoever to speak of any means of healing.


The timid imagination of people with a lesser capacity for abstraction, in turn,

rejects the orthodoxy of the views held by the unbridled critics of the system.

Practically minded people try to fit these ideal constructs into the real picture

of the world, only for it to crumble at the slightest contact with the experience

of everyday life, which they know all too well.


What stabilizes society is that both dreamers and realists know far more about

each other’s views than their predecessors did in the days of the newspaper Iskra

a hundred years ago. Wild, far-fetched ideas do not grip the masses or become a

tangible force—fortunately so, and perhaps even to the salvation of their

inspired bearers.



Original text in Russian:

http://proza.ru/2017/02/22/1419


German translation:

http://proza.ru/2026/11/14/1266



Originally published in Russian as «Искра»
© Copyright: Alexandr Piatkov, 2017
Publication Certificate №217022201419
Source Text: proza.ru/avtor/alexanderan
Translated into English by AI (Gemini)