The Forgotten Measure of Man
A commentary on how systems redefine human worth by output, compliance, and spectacle—while severing the true measures: vitality, relationship, continuity, and conscience.
Invocation of the True Measure
Let the measure be restored.
Not by title, not by wage, not by applause.
Measure the human by vitality, by conscience, by care, by continuity.
Let the steward remember what the system forgets.
When a system cannot control the human directly, it controls the measurement. It defines value by what the human produces for the machine—then calls that definition “reality.”
Worth equals productivity. Rest becomes laziness. Recovery becomes weakness.
Worth equals obedience. Conscience becomes “attitude.” Discernment becomes “risk.”
Worth equals visibility. Quiet builders are erased. Performers become authorities.
Worth equals buying power. Identity becomes a market segment. Memory becomes branding.
- Vitality: sleep, breath, strength, stability, recovery.
- Relationship: ability to keep trust, build family, keep community intact.
- Continuity: skills, land, stewardship, rites, transmitted memory.
- Conscience: truth with consequence; restraint with power.
This commentary aligns with The Scroll of Sinners: when measurement is corrupted, distortion becomes normalized and defended. The culture war is fed by manufactured definitions of worth.