I was reading this blog (my own) and chuckling proudly (!) to myself over how much disgust I'm apparently able to spew over inequities and dull, indifferent mainstreamers. I'm still contemplating whether I should make this post or not, I mean, I have to continue in the same fashion as before, *BAM* wall of text dripping with disgust, or it would lower the overall feeling of reading it (I doubt many more than a few are, but that's unimportant).
Anyway, here I am, still writing...After this introductory piece of self-righteousness and salutations of my own moral- and intellectual superiority (lol) I might as well narrow it down and be getting to the point (or AT LEAST starting to beat around the bush). Before I do that (huh! you thought I was getting there! gotcha!) I've gotta warn ya, this post might come off as a bit smug. I'm kinda in the mood for that, but who knows where my fingers will take us?
When I was slicing potatoes earlier for a vegetarian form of dauphinois bolognese, I started thinking, as I always do when in the middle of mundane tasks, washing dishes, mincing veggies etc. I was pondering the fact that if my mind can conceive these ideas of how a form of elevated society might look, and firstly; what in today's society needs to be removed/added in order to lift all our lives from this short sighted and barbaric way of shambling around with our bodies all day, doing unethic deeds out of laziness and calling it "life".
I can formulate ideas and visions in my mind as people have always done before, the way Marx and Lenin did on how we could improve ourselves and each other. (See, not only am I comparing myself with Marx and Lenin, I'm also beautifying social engineering and advocating it. Smug AND untrustworthy). Then can others. In vast numbers. I must believe this for therein lies my faith in humanity. We must break free of the boundaries which limits our way of constructing a vision of society within our minds in order to compare a feasible world with our current reality. First of all, people in general needs to understand this.
This reality where we are now, is not going to be seen as the very best we could do in x years. It is not the utmost prosperity. It will be remembered, I think, as a time of very fast growth and very shortsighted thinking.
There is more. Your mind is limitless if you let it be. You must dare your visions and theories to be taken to the limit and beyond, in your mind in order to really see how reasonable they are, and when you do, endless possibilities of playing with ideas will emerge. In an unimaginable web of cause-and-effect choices in the space-time-continuum, you will begin to see not only how the politics of today in many ways plays on the narrow minded thinking in the likes of "what will I get out of it?". It is absolutely human to allow yourself to think in those lines, but at the same time, the vision that I have of parliamentary democracy is more like constitutional government than "democracy". Or at least, when casting your vote, you must acknowledge this, or (in my opinion) this post and the point I'm trying to make, is unimportant and all hope is lost (no, really).
I do this exercise on a daily basis both for kicks and giggles and as a reality check.
(I stopped writing here because of a terrible stomach ache and I returned to finish this post probably over a month later, so the rest of the post might be hard to follow point wise, as it is not written in the same mood and with the same point as consciously anchored as in the beginning of the post.)
As well as a way for me to let myself in on the fact that this here and now is not some untouchable, eternal truth.
It's refreshing to see the #occupyWallStreet-movement, this somewhat restores my faith in humanity, to formulate massive protests against contemporary ways of life (economics). This sparks a small light that might be hope. It proves that the point I was making earlier actually has a foundation in reality (huh, never thought THAT would happen!).
So, there is hope, and there is definitely a possibility to reshape our society through the general willingness of a more just system where we can live together in harmony, which, believe it or not, is my goal. The problem, still, comes down to the details which is as important as pointing out the flaws and formulating the vision, if not even more important. However, if you're just pointing out flaws and creating the practicals details for solution without connecting this to a vision, it will be hard if not impossible to have reforms and rules in different areas of society working in the same direction.
This brings us again to my criticisms of contemporary politics, especially right winged ones. Many different flaws are pointed out and solutions are implemented. People vote for this because they concur with the idea of the flaw and accepts the practical solution as a logic and feasible one. But if you're not honest enough in letting people know towards what goal or vision you are striving, and one is not interested enough to contemplate this before approaching the ballot, the voter is (partially self blameworthy) not casting a fully conscious and informed vote. While left winged politics might have too much of the vision-part and not enough practical solutions and details which is also quite bad. The vision might be a noble one and the flaws definitely worthy of pointing out, but then we have the "details", as in reforms and possibly sacrifices when it comes to your own comfort. Although I would say that the left politics here are, to me, both a vision I can agree with, as well as flaws I see as imminent threats to our society as a whole AND reforms that I am ready to stand behind, even though it would mean i.e. higher taxes for me personally, there is another problem that I have yet to explore which is PR. I don't really have the energy for it today, though.
To return to the beginning; if we are able to formulate the vision, see AND point out the flaws as well as reach possible solutions which connects the flaws with the vision, then the only thing missing is conveying the message to others around us, discussing and refining ourselves and our theories.
If your stuck in eating, sleeping, fucking and going to work, you're not really using your mind. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" as Dead Prez formulated it. They are right in this. To me, what really differentiates people from animals is not consumerism, it's not careers (as packs of animals also has careers, pecking orders etc) nor is it accepting mainstream and thinking that there is nothing more. It's using your mind. It's letting your imagination take you to places beyond what you thought was possible. It's making use of that lump of fat you have and reaching beyond your greatest self-imagined boundaries. Your inner world is greater than you think, and the more you explore it, the vaster it will grow.
But then again, what are ideas without action?
That is my next step. What's yours?
Monday, 26 September 2011
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