Mad House

On the other hand, the word mad itself is tricky business.
It’s one of those labels that almost always walks hand in hand with contempt.
But then again — most labels do.

So let’s leave aside those who truly fight their mental battles every day, supported and cared for by medicine.
Let’s look instead at the other houses — those built on power, not therapy.

• Houses of splendour.
  
• Houses of tradition.
  
• Houses of consequence.
  
• And houses so vast that one could easily lose one’s way inside.

In those halls of marble and microphones, even the powerful get lost.
And their mistakes, though profoundly human, often lead entire nations into confusion.

“That’s mad!”
“He’s completely mad!”
“Don’t let them mislead you!”

What a word.
Packed with stigma, misunderstanding, and, unfortunately, injury.
It hurts those already struggling with their minds — and yet it rolls off tongues every day as if harmless.

If there were a health warning for language, it might read:
“The term mad may cause psychological harm and unpredictable consequences. Use with caution.”

And yet, the word keeps slipping in — especially when one of those powerful houses releases another outrageous statement into the world.
The public shakes its collective head and asks,
“What on earth was that?”

When the first shock fades, the question lingers:
“Is he out of his mind?”
Or maybe just out of his role.

But most of the time, behind the loud one stands a quiet group of invisible influencers who steer the man of confusion and contradiction through a storm of chaos and misinformation.
Chaos isn’t just a theory; it’s a force.
When life itself starts to feel mad, logic packs its bags and takes a nap.

I admit it — I’m a word lover.
A hopeless romantic when it comes to language.
Even though I can only speak three of the world’s thousands of tongues, I’m endlessly fascinated by rhetoric — this delicate weapon lodged somewhere between head and throat.

Because words, when twisted or repeated enough, turn toxic.

• They cloud reason.
  
• They provoke emotion.
  
• They manipulate.

And after endless repetition, even the dumbest, wildest statements start to sound like truth.
Now that’s mad.

Because such phrases don’t build communities — they corrode them.
They divide, dull, and damage what we so proudly call civilization.

Thankfully, there’s still light in the room.
As long as scientists and journalists keep talking freely, manipulation doesn’t get the last word.
Their task is to pull the curtain back and remind us: clarity is resistance.

• Education — what a marvellous thing.
  
• Education of knowledge.
  
• Education of language.
  
• Education of society.
  
• Education of humanity.
• And, most importantly, education in the fine art of rhetoric.

Cheers to education.