I paused, wondering what to say next. I felt I had to say something profound, and quickly, but what? Her face became tenser.

      "It should be deemed the most perplexing aspect of our world, Sylvia, that we promote this isolation between men and woman, since isolation is dangerous and destructive in any other sense, politically, economically, religiously, even ideologically. Isolation also goes extremely deep sexually," I said quietly. "Our sexual and marital division goes much deeper than the East/West division that has been created between the nations, for which mankind is prepared to incinerate the Earth. But how can we fix the superficial, that has become insanely dangerous if we don't address the deeply underlying denial of principle, the principle that we are all human beings? If we deny this truth socially, and fail to respond to it as a matter of principle, what basis do we have to do it politically? We expect the world to react according to this principle, politically, while we deny the principle socially. I say we have to fix that. As far as I can see, the world's political division reflects our deeper social division along sexual lines. If we cannot regard one-another as human beings socially, what hope do we have to do this politically, Sylvia?"

      "So, what is the answer, Pete? We've been everything to each other. Our world was beautiful. What possessed you to risk the destruction of all this? This has hurt me badly. It was mean what you have done. Now you are making a political game out of it."

      "But why should you feel this hurt? I have caused you no harm, Sylvia. Nor did I take anything away. To the contrary, I added a rich new dimension to our world. Nor did I create the political insanity that erupted out of the denial of universal truths and principles that has been going on for centuries. Yes, our small beautiful world is at risk, but it is at risk only because our larger world is in immanent danger. We may loose both worlds. I would say we have to change our thinking, and ourselves, in order to be able to save both worlds. For this we have to uplift ourselves and our world to the level where we regard one-another as human beings, above anything else, and act accordingly."

      "I suppose that you don't want a divorce, then. But, Pete, that would be a simpler solution."

      I shook my head again, "This isn't going to be simple, Sylvia. Life isn't a simple process, if it is to be something rich. We are not one-another's property that can be bought or sold, and split apart to be redistributed. We are human beings. We live and love and embrace all that is beautiful in the world. That is how we met each other. That is what our life has been like, and will always be like. We must go forward with that towards its wider horizons. If we go down the property lane and regard each other as property, then property mythologies, and their poverty, will encumber our life. That is how the whole world has become ruined. But if we reach for the sublime, we have to travel a different road that takes us to the wide open seashores, where love binds human society universally, where we are bound by love to commit ourselves to enrich one-another's existence. What is the point in joining hands, if it isn't to develop one-another's potential to enrich the world in which we live, with our lives, and our love? Love needs to be expansive. It needs to exist far above the level where people are property to one-another. It needs to exist at the level of the sublime, where those lower things that isolate people into countless private little spheres are not a factor anymore. If we don't reach for the sublime, then our love becomes shallow and our lives trail out into dust and insignificance, and our world falls apart. For love to be, it must be free to be universal. I know the idea is scary. It is scary to step out of the property value system, and to embrace an infinite idea, to venture into an unknown world with unknown challenges. It is scary even if the promise is bright with untold riches."

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Stories about  Love from novels by Rolf A. F. Witzsche