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Tcahr Issue 32
>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>> >>> >>>>>>>>
<<< <<<< <<< <<< <<< <<< <<< <<< <<< Vol. 2, Iss. 8
>>> >>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> 09 FEB 02
<<< <<<< <<< <<< <<< <<< <<< <<< <<<
>>> >>>>>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Polymemetic File Three
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S3 Devi must have been watching me dejectedly strolling through the compound
during the last week. I was sitting in my office looking at the stacks of
requested viruses, project summaries, and status reports. I was not happy; TCAHR
had a problem and I didn't know how to solve it.
When the phone rang, I was tempted to pick up the receiver just so I could slam
the blasted thing back down. Instead, I listened and spoke the usual words.
"Jet Jaguar. How may I help you?"
"Coffee?" queried a voice tinged with an Indian accent.
"Hello, Agent Devi. I'm sorry. I can't leave HQ," I said as I eyed the
towers of paper. "Ever again."
"Then meet me in tunnel 93."
I heard a click on the line right as I began to argue. Only S3 Nadja Devi, my
top troubleshooter in the Memetic Applications Department and best friend, had
the chutzpah to hang up on me. I walked out of my office and headed toward
T-93.
I smelled coffee. Not just any coffee, but the coffee of my youth. My mother
would only allow the coffee of her former homeland to be brewed at our American
home. Drinking it always reminded me that there was a place where I could walk
the streets without being stopped by police, where neighbors didn't lock their
doors at night, and fruits grew rampant to be picked freely from the trees.
That first sip always broke my heart a little more every time.
Nadja turned off the coffee maker as I came near. We sat on the ground and
drank while exchanging small talk. Then she sprung.
"Why is textfile 32 late?"
I stirred a bit of sugar into my cup and took a sip. I could almost feel the
Caribbean sun.
"Why is textfile 32 late?" I repeated. "I think I've made a mistake making
TCAHR public-accessible."
"Wow, you really must be conflicted to go against doctrine you helped create.
Is this about declassifying the duck theory?"
"No, it wasn't the duck theory. It's just that when we involved ourselves in
operations like infiltrating troupes of artists, hackers, and anarchists to
spread our memetic agenda it was always covert."
"Okay, but you changed that. The number of hits on the website support that you
were right. Infection has been achieved at a more productive rate. That's
nothing to be upset about."
"But when we were covert, we understood our philosophy," I countered. "Now I
find myself struggling to explain what we're doing and why. Sure we can
explain ourselves by writing about our ideas, but I'm afraid that I do that
only by using well-worn labels which mean nothing any more.
"What good is it to affiliate our ideas with Nietzsche, Machiavelli, Taoism, or
socialism in a world where a surplus of unread poseurs use the same ideals to
describe themselves? I'm beginning to feel that there is no TCAHRian philosophy.
I have nothing to offer the world.
Instead of the sympathy I expected, Nadja laughed.
"Hey, thanks for the coffee," I began to get up. Nadja knocked me back down
playfully.
"I'm sorry, but really, is that it? That's why you're walking around as if
someone shot your dog?"
She sighed and poured herself another cup before she began talking again.
"Have you ever of the book 'Marketing Warfare'?"
I answered in the negative.
"In it Al Ries and Jack Trout use the military strategies of Karl von Clausewitz
and apply them to marketing. There's a part in the book where they write that
the best defensive strategy is to attack yourself.
"Take that piece of advice. Although you have an affinity for people like
Gandhi, Dostoevsky, and Malcolm X you don't agree with absolutely everything
they believed, do you?"
"Well, of course not!"
"Then take aim at the philosophies that have or still inspire TCAHR. Instead of
writing 'I like Crowley', write the points you disagree with him. That way the
organization benefits from using well-known labels to define itself, but then
shows how it's different. Plus, it may inspire you to think about new ideas."
I took another sip of coffee and felt the warmness all over myself.
"Fuck me, I've been an idiot! You should really let me promote you to S1
status."
"No thanks. I can live without the voluntary lobotomy leadership seems to
require."
I smiled as I excused myself. I headed to my office to get back to work.
Jet Jaguar
TCAHR CEO
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I. The Will to Comfort
II. Visiting the Wasteland
III. The Indian Superman
IV. Jesus the Rebel
V. But Was Jesus A Socialist?
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I. The Will to Comfort
Some greater-than-thou philosophers mock books like "Thus Spoke Zarathustra"
and the concept of the "Superman". These philosophers are either fools or
hypocrites. To understand Nietzsche's obsession with power, we have to
understand Nietzsche's life. He was afflicted with ill health, chronic
headaches, bad eyesight, and a sensitive constitution. Later on in life,
Nietzsche went mad; most historians attribute this to syphilis. Which
among us has never dreamed of the power to break free from terrible
situations and weakness?
Still, I have my reservations about Nietzsche and his "Will to Power". I
believe he very nearly got it right. As an exercise, let's change "power"
to "comfort". While some people may act aggressively to achieve a
sort of freedom through real power, I believe that most people act more to
make themselves comfortable. An endless quest for vanity will not bring
about freedom for most of us.
Instead of real power, we strive to change our surroundings so that they
will not resist us. Let's take friendship as an example. Much as we
decorate a room to reflect our tastes, we "influence" our friends and
associates to reflect our tastes as well. Friendship is based on agreement.
I refuse to believe that anyone would consider a friend someone who
disagrees constantly on their choice, whether it be religion or what bar to
go to. We also end friendships which reflect badly upon ourselves. We
tend to rid ourselves of those people who cause us more strife than profit.
Any other actions are signs of masochist leanings.
Most of us don't try to change to world; merely those parts of it we come in
contact with. Our will to power is limited at best. The "Superman"
philosophy is more valid than most intellectuals believe. It does, however,
need some fine-tuning. The "Superman" is so closely related to the "Will to
Power" and most people who consciously strive to achieve it suffer from the
same inferior taint. The superman intially asserts his or her power in the
acquisition and maintenance of the state of comfort, thus he risks becoming
a slave to his ego. That is the superman's greatest weakness.
II. Visiting the Wasteland
Could Aleister Crowley be considered a superman? Sure, if all that was
required of the Nietzschian superman was talk. On the surface Nietzsche and
Crowley have the same ideas, but Crowley punks out by infusing religion.
Unfortunately, there's a bunch of children running around aping both Crowley
and Nietzsche while calling themselves Thelemalites, Satanists, and, logic
help us, vampires. Naturally, they align themselves more with Crowley than
Nietzsche. This is a testament to the cowardice of people: instead of
choosing a philosophy without god in which they are ultimately responsible
for their own actions, they instead choose one with a different god who
gives them the all-clear signal to screw up their lives.
In Crowley's whole career of hoodwinking people, he only popularized two
things of brilliance. The first was, of course, The Book of the Law.
Studied as a mystical text, The Book of the Law is garbage. Studied as
existential verse, it is haunting and absolutely beautiful. Crowley, we
should remember was an intellectual and a poet. Who better to write the
theories of existentialism as an ALLEGORY?
The other stroke of genius was a simple line: "Wanderer of the Wasteland".
However, Crowley was neither worthy of it, nor was he the only one who
could lay claim to that title. As the Wanderer, Crowley saw misery due to
the human condition everywhere he went. Throughout history, there have
been many who seen nothing but misery. Unlike this pompous twit who could
afford to publish sumptuous volumes of his work and a fine education to
better express himself, they had no way to voice their misery to a ignorant
upper-class easily bedazzled by fairy-tales.
III. The Indian Superman
I believe that the "Will to Power" only comes after the "Will to
Comfort" is transcended. People famous and infamous have gone beyond
comfort to power. The example that usually comes to mind is that of
the person who, incorrectly, is associated with Nietzsche. That is Adolph
Hitler. Most dedicated bigots would usually end up joining a group of like-
minded bigots; perhaps coming together once in a while to beat someone
unconscious before sliming back into their nest. Hitler was one of those
few who went beyond comfort and into the realm of power.
But going beyond comfort does not always lead to horrific results.
There are examples of others who achieved power and changed the world for
better. They have, like Nietzsche's fantasy, fought the established systems
which hindered them whatever the cost. Among these are Mohandas K. Gandhi.
Gandhi began his career in civil rights merely to make himself comfortable.
His becoming of a lawyer was not based in any desire to help the common man.
The decision was made so that he could one day qualify for the position of
a Diwan. It was the hopes of his family that he would one day make enough
money to support them. To achieve this he studied in England; this action
caused him to be outcaste. His travels afterwards to defend people in
South Africa started as a move for financial security.
Gandhi's strove for comfort. If he would have found it, there is no
telling who would rule India today. Lucky for the rest of India, Gandhi's
comfort was hindered by the treatment of Indians by the English. In
his youth, Gandhi was not immune to use his status as a lawyer to achieve
things such as attempting to be seated first-class on a train. He came to
realize that it didn't matter that he was a lawyer, he was still an Indian.
When Gandhi threw his lot in with the common Indian whose comfort
was also threatened by England, he began to transcend comfort.
Consider this. The more Gandhi fought for his people, the more in tune he
became with his culture. While some may scoff at his eventual emergence in
religion, he would have to be considered a trailblazer at that due to his
fight for equality of the 'untouchable' class. Instead of comfort,
he chose celibacy, poverty, and activism based on his interpretation of many
religions. Gandhi not only fought for independence, but tried to reform
long-established sanitation practices as well. He broke unjust laws and had
been jailed and beaten for it.
Gandhi was the 20th century's greatest answer to the superman.
IV. Jesus the Rebel
In general, Judaism has a few good memes in it. I'm not a religious man, but
I see nothing wrong with most of the 10 commandants. I have no problem with
"thou shall not steal" or "thou shall not kill". Too bad the god of the
Israelites was a bigoted god which then proceeded to instruct the Israelites
on a massive killing and looting spree. Those who would like to argue these
points should read the first five chapters of the Torah. God does not love
all people, he loves his chosen people. After the Israelites received the
commandants, the "word of god" then sent them to conquer lands by killing the
residents and then stealing the gold, silver, and brass to build a temple.
Nice.
Now if I'm going to hoodwinked and manipulated by a religion, I'd rather
that religion be more inclusive. Originally, Judaism preached love your
own. Attributed to the historical Jesus are stories which promote love
over the letter of the law. Instead of punishment, Jesus spoke about
forgiveness. When the government demanded obedience, Jesus said no. While
powerful members of the Israelites shunned the dregs of society, Jesus
preached inclusion. That inclusion consisted of the same rights to
property and life that "the chosen people" practiced among themselves.
Being a danger to a powerful religion and to a government based on cruelty,
Jesus was run out of town and eventually arrested and executed. My valence
against supernatural mumble-jumbo makes me ignore Jesus the spiritual being,
but I can not ignore Jesus the human rights advocate.
Christianity, much like Taoism and Buddhism, had potential. How absolutely
pitiful that when an emperor of Rome was finally converted to Christianity,
memes of peace and unity were spread throughout the known world by the point
of a sword. Once again, A rebel's words of togetherness were used to
install another repressive regime. Christianity has become the religious
equivalent of Communism!
V. But Was Jesus A Socialist?
It doesn't take much study to realize that the western world is endebited to
Judaism for the origin of its laws and to Christianity for its acceptance
and memetic replication. So why does the western world act in ways contrary
to their most sacred beliefs? Let's take, oh, I don't know, the United
States of America for example. Most people in this part of the world would
consider themselves Christians. Most of the people currently in U.S.
Congress are Christians. U.S. history could be said to have been shaped by
Christians.
Since Christianity is such a major influence on the oh-so-great-and-holy
United States, let's take a peek at the New Testament. Jesus stressed that
the second greatest commandment was to "love your neighbour as yourself".
If someone was starving, you fed them. If someone was naked, you clothed
them. The divine leader of so many rich American executives and politicians
is quoted as saying
You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin; but you have
overlooked the weightier demands of the law -- justice, mercy and
good faith. It is these you should have practiced without
neglecting the others.
Hmmmmm. On the subject of childen, Jesus says
But if anyone causes the downfall of one of these little ones who
believe in me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung
round his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea...Such
things must happen, but alas for the one through whom they happen!
You think Jesus was talking about Nike? This doesn't sound good for a
supposedly Christian nation. Let's check out another.
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the first
and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and
despise the second. You cannot serve God and Money.
Now do the above pieces remind you in anyway of Capitialism? No, I'm afraid
not. In this country, people like me are constantly hit over the head with
Christianity and Capitalism; this usually by leaders who usually sing the
praises of both. Only when money is not powerful enough to sooth the
common citizen, are Christian appeals used by leaders here (and vice versa).
Religion, like everything else in a Capitalist system, has become a tool for
the acculmulation of wealth. There is no chance for equality when rogues
and villians preach brotherhood to the masses.
Oh, well! They do call religion the opium of the masses for a reason!
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I've seem to hit our limit on this issue just when I started heating up.
There's so much more to write about, so this train of thought will continue in
next week's *very* Socialist issue of TCAHR...which will be on time. I
promise!
Jet Jaguar
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The Committee Against Human Rights -- http://maq.port5.com
TCAHR Manifesto -- http://maq.port5.com/disman.html
The Polymemetic Textfile Project -- http://maq.port5.com/polymemetic.txt
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tcahr@hotmail.com Copyright 2002
