Disclaimer: Take this thread for what it's worth to you, but I would ask that you keep an open mind. Remember, your personal experiences
only define the world as you've encountered it, and what I'm about to explain has very little to do with what I've encountered in my personal life.
Indeed, a vast majority of the occurrences that have helped to shape these conclusions are ignorant and independent of my existence. With that said,
please read the entire post before replying. And finally, do not read with the intent to respond - read with the intent to understand.
Good day, ATS. I hope you're game for another session of philosophy and deep thinking, because I'm ready to deliver a truckload of my ruminations.
This is stuff that I was discussing with a friend of mine this morning, and I felt I should share it. Considering how it's very closely related to one
of my previous threads, I decided to make it an installment in what could potentially become a series of threads explaining my views and the world
according to my understanding, for anyone who may be learning from what I have to say.
So, I'm back again with a (somewhat) new addition to my previous elaboration on humanity's search for divinity, how it's a symptom of our predicament
as a species, and what our predicament is.
Let's recap: as I have established in
the preceding thread regarding this subject,
humanity's search for divinity, and its resultant claims to have found it, stem from our desperate struggle to abolish fear. I have stated numerous
times that modern deities are largely hybrids of both who we are and who we want to be. Take the Christian god for example: it displays
anthropomorphic characteristics that bear stark similarities to the leaders of old that have shaped past civilizations. Wise, demanding of service,
promising of great fortune, and generally benevolent towards those who please him/her. Or, if we are disobedient...well, that goes without saying.
As to the 'who we want to be' portion, "God" is also omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent...everything that would render fear obsolete. Who we
are, and who we want to be. You could even say we're worshiping ourselves. Hasn't it been said that our bodies are temple, and that "God" is found
within?
I also raised the point that our struggle to obtain this perfection was used in order to promote vanity, a trait that could easily be maneuvered for
the profit of those in power. Vanity is easily controllable through the use of fear (terrorism) and therefore an excellent manipulation device.
And that's where I'm going to begin. Fear. Without fear, many of our material or aesthetic obsessions that plague today's society would be pointless.
We wouldn't be afraid of being late for work, so we wouldn't mind walking. We wouldn't be afraid of leaving a bad impression, so we wouldn't dress up
or comb our hair. All of the fears that motivate today's society would be gone, thereby leaving every superficial or supercilious activity a pointless
one. But that's only one half of the equation.
As stated on the thread I've linked, there's also vanity. Fear creates a problem. Vanity creates a solution. There's lots of solutions to any one
problem, but we want the one that works and keeps working, right? And we're encouraged by society and the government to practice vanity on a daily
basis, because it forms the mentality that you will be served IF YOU SERVE. Push button, receive bacon. That kind of logic. Except the button is
serving a higher up in order to get what you need to survive. But it isn't survival, it's vanity. A lot of the things we THINK we need to survive are
completely unnecessary, but our vanity mandates it for our survival. And in order to get those things, we must do whatever we're told. It's the vanity
trap. And it makes us feel good as long as we don't think too much about it. Or we're taught that it's just the way it is. Accept it. Fighting it only
hurts you.
In fact, money is one form of this vanity that makes it very clear exactly how vanity works. You sell your integrity by being the slave to
corporations or a firm or whatever business you work with. You are either a slave to the management, or a slave to the consumers. And you do it for
money. And once you have that money, you are giving it straight back to the system from which it came almost as fast as you're making it. You wonder
why money is so important? Because this nation is a business. It's a company. We are all union workers, demanding our rights, healthcare, justice,
reform, all that stuff. And the government makes deals with us to keep us laboring for its precious vision of a perfect nation. And it all revolves
around money. In fact, money is one of the most powerful motivators of corruption because money is what drives everything. If you have plenty of
money, then you have plenty of power. That's why we're afraid of everyone who has a lot of money and is in a position where they can pull invisible
strings and have any number of lower officials dance for them.
So we have fear, and we solve it with vanity. Vanity leads to inflated self-worth, which leads to greed, which leads to jealousy, which leads to
spite, which leads to disdain, which leads to cruelty. You see it everywhere. But the question is, if vanity isn't the solution, what is?
Here's where I start picking on the political parties. Pay attention, and don't start thinking about your reply yet. I haven't explained the
connection, so you have no idea what you're responding to. Please, let me explain my views. So, the political circle. Sorry, but you can't light a
fire and put it out at the same time. Similarly, you can't step forward and remain in place also, which is what the two parties do when put together.
Republican and democrat, conservative and liberal. The reason I bring this up is because...it's all about fear. Creating a problem and a solution.
before I go into this - have you ever heard of Realistic Conflict Theory? Creating the impression of a conflict just to pit people against one
another, then let them help "create" a solution so they feel like they fixed it. But in reality, they only lay down a stepping stool to help the
politicians get where they need to be. Essentially, the two parties are working together to keep us confused. And here's why.
Chaos creates order dissolves into chaos creates order. Yin and yang. These guys were pretty smart when they came up with that, because the nature of
the universe is motion. The more violent or active the motion, the more pronounced the decay is, creating chaos. But eventually, the incompatibility
of the elements within that motion causes a decrease in momentum, resulting in the chaos slowing down. Eventually, everything falls back into place -
but not necessarily in the same configuration. Likewise, the political parties deliberately throw poo storms into the air to make a big fuss about it,
then use the confusion to present an idea that seems clever at the time...only we don't get a look at the small print. And at the same time, problems
are introduced that we, the people, are encouraged to vote upon. Create a solution, they say. Or we'll come up with a solution and you decide which
ones you like. The democratic illusion. I'm sure you've seen the picture with the cows and the halls. But the two halls lead to the same
slaughterhouse. The illusion of choice.
Meanwhile, these problems instill a fear in the people, and that fear is fixed by vanity.
"We're more deserving than those immigrants."
"We're the better country. Those Iraqis are terrorists, we should kill them all because we're better!"
"Give the rich more taxes because I can't afford the rent as it is, and I deserve a place to stay!"
"Give the poor more taxes because I want more money. I'm more deserving of it, you know!"
Vanity. Believing you are better or deserve more than someone else, and expending energy in that pursuit. But see, there's one other problem caused by
our fear, and it brings us to the conservatives. This is just me saying, "Hey look, there's a leak over here. Maybe we should fix it." Not pointing
fingers or blaming anyone, not trying to stir up the townspeople with their torches and pitchforks...I'm making a suggestion, and observation based in
fact.
Again, read the next post of this thread before replying, please. There isn't too much more, I promise.
(Con't)
edit on 28-10-2012 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)