A Day Dreaming Metaphor

This post is simply another reflection of mine. It is one of my many enjoyable ventures below the surface of my mundane life.

I found myself departing from this plain of existence yet again yesterday, as I sat there attempting to study political science. As I stared off through the concrete walls of the study room I began to reflect on the progression of humankind. I did as I most often do. I used my humble eclectic knowledge of history, politics, culture and contemporary society to come up with a basic analogy for the progression that human cociety is slowly going through.

Now, I am not going to purport to explain why human beings as a whole naturally work towards progression. Instead I think it is safe to say that we simply do. It is in our nature and that is a good thing.

Ok, back to that metaphor, I sat there and envisioned society as a single human being. This person finds themselves in a building full of escalators running backwards reaching to unknown heights above. This person begins their journey a large out of shape bare foot creature but filled with a sort of unexplainable drive from within. This drive tells them that for some reason things are going to be better the higher they climb. So, they begin to climb the escalators. The initial climb is slow. The person is out of shape. However, as they climb higher they become more and more accustom to the gruelling task of climbing these escalators. They find themselves struggling and making it to a new plateau once and a while. Sometimes they find drives of inspiration that push them up these downward runnign excalators with ease. A problem arises when they decide they might be better off just staying at the same level they are at. They attempt to walk slowly on the escalator to stay in this same comfortable place. However, the constant effort eventually wears them down to the point where they tumble backwards to the last plateau.

This was one way I decided to dream about society. I found it difficult to explain why we feel the need to progress in terms of an ultimate goal. However, I found that it was intrinsically necessary to constantly do so. Perhaps it is the simple realization that there is a potential for a better society? When I speak about the motivation for progression I generalize and apply this to everyone. There are however a vast majority of people who wish to simple perpetuate the current state of affairs. In my opinion these are the people who cause our society to grow tiresome and tumble backwards. Whom might I be speaking about? In a generalized term I am speaking about the rich elite. These are just a few of the people which find radical change or even change at all to be negative. It is detrimental to their state of affairs. It poses a threat to the existing order and must be suppressed. But you know what? I think that the suppression doesn't come in a physical or confrontational sense but instead in the mere up keeping of the status quo. A lot of people speak about the New World Order as something to fear. However, I don't believe we should necessarily fear a radical change for the worse so much as we should fear the gradual degradation of our society by the stagnation caused by our lack of progression. Do not fear the New World Order so much so as you should fear the Same World Order. Gradual progression is natural and arguably required. Don't be coerced into believing conservatism is a positive thing. Perhaps for those who are well off now. But what about the rest of our friends? What about the rest of humanity? We owe it to them to not let things stagnate. Change is in order. The next plateau is only a little ways away.

A tangent for your thoughts...

I was sent this article by a professor of mine earlier today. I found I agreed strongly with the notion presented that the fast paced way of life we have all grown accustom to, hinders much of our ability to become the good human citizens we often aspire to be. Although this veers away from the line of thought we were on, I think it is fairly interesting and you should take a look. The idea that time is a major factor in why we often neglect to be the progressive thinking and acting people we want to be is a problem that E² should discuss. Perhaps it is not even a problem. Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

Slouka, Mark. "Quitting the Paint Factory: On the Virtues of Idleness."
Harper's 309 (November 2004): 57-66.

This is from p.58:

Idleness is not just a psychological necessity, requisite to the construction of
a complete human being; it constitutes as well a kind of political space, a
space as necessary to the workings of an actual democracy as, say, a free
press. How does it do this? By allowing us time to figure out who we are, and
what we believe; by allowing us time to consider what is unjust, and what we
might do about it. By giving the inner life (in whose precincts we are most
ourselves) its due. Which is precisely what makes idleness dangerous. All
manner of things can grow out of that fallow soil. Not for nothing did our
mothers grow suspicious when we had "too much time on our hands." They knew we
might be up to something. And not for nothing did we whisper to each other,
when we were up to something, "Quick, look busy."

Mother knew instinctively what the keepers of the castles have always known:
that trouble-the kind that might threaten the symmetry of a well-ordered
garden-needs time to take root. Take away the time, therefore, and you choke
off the problem before it begins. Obedience reigns, the plow stays in the
furrow; things proceed as they must. Which raises an uncomfortable question:
Could the Church of Work--which today has Americans aspiring to sleep
deprivation the way they once aspired to a personal knowledge of God--be, at
base, an anti-democratic force?

....

what the democratic mind requires, above all, is time; time to consider its
options. Time to develop the democratic virtues of independence, orneriness,
objectivity, and fairness. Time, perhaps ... to ponder the course our unelected
captains have so generously set for us, and to consider mutiny when the iceberg
looms.

Which is precisely why we need to be kept busy. If we have no time to think, to
mull, if we have no time to piece together the sudden associations and
unexpected, mid-shower insights that are the stuff of independent opinion, then
we are less citizens than cursors, easily manipulated, vulnerable to the
currents of power.

Phase 1 of the Re-action Plan

Due to a few unconnected but inspiring events, I have regained my enthusiasm towards attempting to make a difference. One friend of mine provided me with the confidence boost I sorely needed and another pointed me in a direction that I think this organization needs to take.

Action. Or, as I have referred to it in the title, re-action is what we need. I refer to it as reaction primarily because I believe that is what it is. A re-action to what we see as some of the many faults within our society and subsequently within us. Anyone who has read previous posts has already grown familiar with my list of these faults. However, the next step for E² must be unarguably some form of action. Precisly what form of action is yet to be determined. Perhaps we can develop a few ideas in the fallowing discussion that could spawn an internal projection of what I belive E² stands for, progression.

First and foremost, E² as an organization can simply progress its goals by increasing its numbers. A primary function of E² is the dissemination of awarness and education. What better way to help eliminate apathy among members of the general public then to make them a participating member. This I believe can be done by any current member on a personal level. I would encourage any member of E² including those who simply read this blog and agree with some of it (I would consider you members), to speak to anyone who you may think of as interested in our ideas. Now, this does not neccissarily mean undertaking on an evangelical conversion approach. A simple discussion of societies problems and potential solutions furthers E² cause more then you would imagine.

That starts me thinking about more potential actions that coudl be taken. Some sort of campaign attempting to induce awarness would be a good idea. Not only on the personal level, but perhpas in the form of posters or flyers. Encouraging people to re-evaluate their view of what is acceptable in todays culture of consumption. Witty attacks on the notion of “more is better” and the common misconeption that the accumulation of wealth will bring you ultimate satisfaction could prove to be the push that a few indivuals needed to change their lives.

Furthermore, I would like to say that for E² to act as a type of recruiter to increase the memberships of organizations such as Amnesty or World Vision would be more then an admerable goal. In fact, E² members would be encouraged greatly to participate in one of those or many other organizations, especailly in these early developmental stages. However, I believe it would be wise for E² to attmpt to take a different approach then those organizations. Primarily, it just doesn’t make good sense to encroach greatly on the territory of well established effective organizations. Instead, E² should facilitate these organizations by bringing about awarness in the populations.

Well, as it would seem, we now have a small start to the development of an action plan. Everyones input would be much appreciated. It is going to take sometime getting together an effect action plan. But, you know what? I have already spent many late hours sitting and enjoying talking to others about issues that need to be adressed in our society. I am sure that many of you do so inadvertantly all the time. We are on the way to doing something. We just need to push ourselves to do a little more. I quote Rage Against the Machine in saying, “What better time then now? What better place then here?”

A Lucid Dreamers Contemplation

There is this overwhelming sense of futility that seems to blindside me ever so often. I find myself full of thoughts, overflowing with intention and without the means for these things to manifest into action. I even begin to question why I fill my head with these thoughts? I venture out into the depths of cyber space to post a few hallow rants on the state of affairs in which we live. I do so, only to have them collect dust and stagnate. I provide myself with one-sided discussions. I egocentrically fulfill my unexplainable desire to speak and act as though I am some sort of positive progressive humanitarian do gooder. I pretend I will make a difference by expressing a few opinions to a seemingly non-existent audience. I am in fact laughing out loud to myself as I sit here and contemplate the extent of my vanity. Where do I get off thinking I will make a difference? Many far more intelligent, charismatic, well-intended people have come before me only to fall short of making even the slightest difference. Perhaps instead of pathetically attempting to be the reforming revolutionist, I should play the game by the rules. Dance the self-centred jig to the tune of our money hungry society. I think I will work my corporate job raking in the cash, walk quickly past the homeless teenager to my luxury sedan and drive my ass back to the suburbs. There I will watch my TV making sure to flick quickly by the horrifying news stories from around the world muttering from time to time, "sad stuff". Watch my twelve millionth re-run of the Simpson’s and then go to sleep. Take into account slight variation from day to day, rinse and repeat until I am 65 years old. At which point I will find solace in my ability to complain about how corrupted society has become and how things are not like they used to be. And that will be that, due to a hereditary heart condition and my poor nutritional choices from sheer lack of concern.

Game, set, match … society.