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Walking had the advantage that we could keep an eye open for a place for some real dancing after the theatre. We found quite a few places that looked promising; small places mostly.
"I feel that Anton needs to be helped," I said to Ushi on the way to the to the Bolshoi, the famous ballet-theater. "I know I've screwed up with Anton," I said to her. "I didn't invite her to make our meeting a grand night for her. I invited her for myself."
"How small of you, Peter! Shame on you!" said Ushi and laughed. "You came as a beggar meeting a beggar. None of you came richly endowed with a dance in the heart that would spontaneously inspire a kiss, which is an active expression of love. Nevertheless you are right that Antonovna needs to be helped, as do you."
"I want to be fighting for her, to help her get her life back. I own her that much," I said to Ushi.
"How about standing beside her, Peter, not over her, or behind her, or below her as a fool. If she's the gem worth fighting for, then step out of the mud of vertical thinking yourself and stand beside her. This means dancing your own dance as a human being and make her welcome on that lateral dance floor and give her all the room she might need to explore the dance of her heart."
"Each human being is a sovereign person and deserves to be respected as such without interference by anyone," I commented. "I'm afraid to interfere."
"That's true," Ushi agreed. "Nevertheless, shouldn't we also feel that each person is also one's brother and sister? That's the universal reality, isn't it? We are all children of a common humanity. Wouldn't you find it natural to help Anton laterally if she were your sister? If so, why not in the universal lateral sense where she really is your sister? Aren't we all children of a common humanity? So, why shouldn't we help one-another on that lateral platform. That's not interfering, for then you let her dance to her own heart? Why would you treat her differently in any way, for any reason, so much so that you wouldn't even dare a kiss?"
"Still, is it ethical to violate another person's sovereignty in an attempt to help? Sovereignty is an imperative principle that one must honor," I replied.
"Then you must ask yourself, Peter, whether it is right to rescue a drowning person from a swift flowing river. Don't violate that person's sovereignty! Let the person drown! That's what you are saying. Is this the right thing to say under the circumstances? And is it even possible on the lateral platform."
"Antonovna isn't drowning in a river, Ushi."
"Oh, isn't she, Peter?"
"Whenever I mentioned sex, her smile faded. If she isn't drowning, Ushi, then she is in a dessert. Maybe she had been drowning before and is still afraid of it. She even accused me of being obsessed with sex, as if I intended drown her. So she keeps herself in a dessert."
"She wasn't accusing you when her smile faded. She was asking you a question. She was asking you if you are able to help her. But even if she hadn't asked, what is the principle that's involved, Peter? What determines the platform where love and respecting another's sovereignty are one? Would you have violated her autonomy if you had tried to explore what she was really hoping for and had opened the door to fulfill that? Make the dessert bloom!"
"Right, I hear you Ushi! But wouldn't such probing also violate her autonomy? When is it possible to involve oneself to help, without at the same time violating another's autonomy and sovereignty?"
"Are you saying: don't help the poor, because they like to be poor? Are you saying that they like to wallow in their dirt and poverty? I can't believe that we can say that," said Ushi.
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