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The Hogs of Entropy 0089
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| | ...Hogs of Entropy Text Files Present... | |
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| | "Politics, Freedom, and the Human Spirit" | |
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| | By: I Wish My Name Were Nathan | |
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[ Instructions: read forward from sections I to XIX and then stop. ]
I
Fear has crept into our hearts and paralyzed our will.
II
Ugliness is a virtue! Shitty haircuts rule! Welcomely accept the taboo
and vehemently reject the accepted and the standard! Common sense is banal,
anal, nil, and ill!
III
Our minds are not steel traps, but sponges. Our bodies are the means by
which our mind absorbs information. Our hands, eyes, and ears are the tools
for obtaining information to absorb. Most of us waste these tools, lie
stagnant, and the forces about us -- television, politics, religion, and
advertising -- spoon-feed us, flood our minds, wash away the independent ideas
therein. We must be reminded of free will.
IV
How does thought operate in a capitalistic democracy?
Perversely.
V
Good American citizen: go to school, learn about the real world, get a
job, marry your lover, contribute to society, die happy. This is the tenet of
our country: Schooling gives you the tools, the critical thought, the
experience to become a world citizen. A job develops the work ethic, provides
for you and your family, eliminates the boredom and sloth of spare time. A
full life is enjoyed, your death is paid for.
Bullshit.
A perverse crime against humanity was committed upon wedding the ideas of
democracy and capitalism. Democracy: the institution by which the people rule
themselves; the purest, most idealistic form of human existence. Capitalism:
the institution by which money rules people; the neurotic, paranoid quest for
money as happiness; the fettering away of a life for the goal of working to
live rather than living to work; the destroyer of philosophy; the ill-
conceived mother of spare time.
VI
Anarchy is a pipe dream. Disillusioned citizens look to a world without
freedom-killing laws, mind-numbing standards, and soul-crushing conformity.
That world contains no politics, no judges, no restriction. That world is a
simple conception, born to fruition with the mere act of opening people's
eyes. That world, unfortunately, cannot exist by human nature.
Philosopher A says that humans are inherently evil, and without the
restriction of society, would tear off around the world in a rampage of
selfish, destructive acts. Philosopher B believes that humans are good and
well-meaning, and that the restrictions of society itself influence humans to
do wrong. Philosopher C takes the stand that humans are born tabulas rasas --
blank slates -- and are entirely influenced by the society around them.
Philosophers are humans, living in societies. They are prejudiced by
their own minds.
VII
Take a trip into the animal kingdom. Before the invention of zoos,
animals lived exactly as current supporters of anarchy wish to. Animals roam
free, living off of nature, apparently enjoying life to the fullest. Why
can't humans live like this?
Humans are cursed with consciousness.
Humans are cursed with consciousness.
That sentence was repeated twice. You noticed it. I noticed it.
Notice, as well, that you are reading dots of light shining through a piece of
glass. We take for granted the distinctly human attributes we have. Most
notably, intelligence.
But intelligence is not merely human.
All animals have brains and memories, and can conduct rational thought by
synthesizing memory and instinct. Exactly how these memories and instincts
are formed, no one knows. A squirrel will run across a highway in terror when
a rumbling growling speeding car approaches; the squirrel heads for a tree,
runs to a nice spot, and stops. This is an intelligent act.
An unintelligent being, such as a robot which has precise audio circuits,
mechanical limbs, touch sensors, and a video camera, could be created by adept
human engineers. This robot, however, would run off the end of a high tree
branch to its demise -- actually, it would run into the base of the tree --
realistically, it would sit in the middle of the road and be run over -- all
without an artificially intelligent brain.
Animals, insects, sea creatures, all have intelligence, and in varying
amounts, to be sure. Humans themselves only use 10%-15% of the brain for
active thought. Perhaps the same percentages exist in other beings. The
human's larger brain is only useful for more refined instinct, behavior, and
communication; and a more comprehensive memory. As well:
Humans are cursed with consciousness.
The remaining portion of the human brain is a center of consciousness.
We are aware that we exist. For this sole reason, we are human.
VIII
Why do humans have language? Why do these 256,000 pixels shining on a
VGA monitor make you think, scan your eyes from left to right and top to
bottom? Humans have no more radical a language than animals. A cat's meows
and cries convey curiosity, greeting, and fear. Why do we not simply utter
grunts to convey philosophy and economics?
Humans are cursed with consciousness.
Humans realize, through conscious thought, that separate sounds can
convey separate ideas. A cat only meows because it is not aware that it is
being so vague.
From the womb of a primitive hominid, the first human emerged with a non-
spectacular genetic mutation which gave it consciousness. This human,
however, did not know a thing about passive participles or oblique cases of
pronouns. Language evolved slowly over thousands of years.
A newborn baby does not know a thing about passive participles or oblique
cases of pronouns. Language evolves slowly over several years. The
difference lies in the fact that the baby's parents consciously decide to
teach it everything they know, in hopes of providing a necessary advantage
over the animals.
IX
The human mind acts much as Freud describes, with the three levels of the
id, the ego, and the superego. The id is simply inherited from the animal
kingdom, providing the instinct to survive. The ego and the superego are
shaped by consciousness, providing respectively the drives for personal and
selfish desires, and moral and communal needs.
Animals have subsets of the human ego and superego, such as in the
concept of marking territory and following the herd, respectively.
Humans are cursed with consciousness.
How, how, how are we so cursed? Consciousness gives us the ability to
actively learn, invent, and synthesize. Without consciousness, we wouldn't
have the selfish or communal need to do such things. Why is this a curse?
The human is torn between the ego and the superego. These otherwise
primitive facets of the mind are blown up into opposing and continuously
compromising forces by the means of consciousness, which suddenly makes them
very important.
X
An idealistic anarchy is impossible due to the superego. Anarchy is an
all-ego condition, where everyone is independent, free-thinking, selfish, and
loving it. The superego is what forces people to form governments, organize
themselves, maintain order.
A true communism is impossible due to the ego. This government is an
all-superego condition, where people live together and provide for each other,
no one has power, and everyone loves it. The ego is what causes leaders to
see themselves as individuals, and independent, powerful ones at that, and
which leads to corruption. As well, the ego causes subjects to react against
their superconformist society and rebel.
The basic power struggle is the result of the war between the ego and the
superego. If an anarchy were established, someone would want to control
someone else. If a true communism were established, someone would want
independence, and would want to control someone else.
Our current government, a republican representative democracy, provides
the means for a well-nourished ego and superego. The ego is appeased by
freedom, and the superego is contented with fair law and the right to vote.
But...
XI
Capitalism fucks us over.
Money fucks us over.
Our current American political system provides us with two major parties,
Republican and Democratic. No matter how these parties were created, they are
now mainly the representatives of money. Main planks of the parties'
platforms, such as abortion, national defense, civil rights, are actually, in
a large part, money issues.
Abortion is most often a way to prevent the high costs of raising a
child. The sheer idiocy of having a cost of living itself is a direct result
of money.
National defense is unnecessary, but the Defense continues. The United
States has not been directly attacked as a means of takeover in nearly two
hundred years. Defense spending is an excuse both to protect our financial
interests in other nations, and to give people jobs to enhance the technology
which allows us to do so.
Civil rights on the surface is purely social. Groups of oppressed people
seek dignity and self-worth. But people are guaranteed these things, as well
as freedom and legal power, by the Constitution. Only a money-based society
forces civil rights to exist. Affirmative action is the current topic of
debate. This is clearly related to money. There is a need for civil rights
legislation only for discrimination leading to financial complications.
Otherwise, as mentioned before, we're inherently guaranteed civil rights by
the Constitution. Of course, an ideal vision and real life often clash.
In America, where slavery and dictatorship are illegal, the basic human
struggle for power is satisfied by the Dollar. Economic class provides a
gauge of power over one's fellow citizens. Rising to the top of the money
ladder, whether it be through entrepreneurship or pure crime, is the power
goal.
Intellectual power and conscious thought are useless to an American.
Intellectual power and conscious thought are useless to an American.
Unless these tools can be used to make money flow.
XII
An aside before moving on:
Stuff caused by money:
o education, giving the tools to make money (20th century bent)
o much crime
o materialism
o greed
o social stratification
o taxes
o gambling
o social security
o corruption
Stuff fucked over by money:
o obtaining an education
o fashion
o art
o law
o health
o living
o happiness
XIII
A thinking person will often ponder the eternal question: "What is the
purpose of life?" The purpose of life is to make money. Money is power.
Money is happiness.
This is the capitalist form of happiness.
There are alternatives.
XIV
Humans are cursed with consciousness. Consciousness brought us politics,
prejudice, lust for power.
Be idealistic, though. Imagine a society without any of the bad things
associated with current and past world governments. No politics. No kings or
queens. No power struggle. No corruption. No ingrained spoonfed
philosophies about life's purpose, death, creation, or the bell curve. What
is there left?
Certainly we'll see human equality if all this hierarchy were destroyed.
Right?
No.
Humans are animals.
The male is stronger than the female. Females bear children, limiting
their productivity for nine months at a time, in the name of life. The male
is free to run about and impregnate females, with only a fifteen-minute period
of down time between conceptions. There you have it: males and females
cannot be equal on a physical or gender basis.
Humans are cursed with consciousness.
People have various levels of intelligence. Smarter people come up with
new ideas. These ideas serve the community. People are grateful. The
smarter people are elevated to a position of power. There you have it:
humans cannot be equal on an intellectual basis.
Humans are animals.
Concentrated groups of humans evolved over time in different areas around
the world. In these groups of people, skin color, physical ability, and
mental ability evolved in different ways. Groups of people who sense some
difference in themselves will take advantage of these differences. There you
have it: different races cannot be equal on an intellectual or physical
basis.
Humans are cursed with consciousness.
If I were to continue like this forever, I would eventually demonstrate a
simple fact: everyone is completely different and inherently unequal. The
categories mentioned above are by far the most obvious, and therefore take on
the most importance.
People can pretend to treat everyone color-blindly, gender-blindly,
brains-blindly. But people notice differences. Ignoring them is only a game.
It is a complex game consisting of extensive compromise. No human institution
can play the game perfectly.
XV
In America, we have numerous cultural groups, differentiated by the
groups' native homelands, economic status, race, gender, religion, and
beliefs: New Orleans jazz musicians, inner-city gangs, golf-playing
richbitches, struggling fiction writers, Congressional fatcats, God-fearing
Christians. One often finds that once a person has found his group, he tends
to substitute his group's self-image for his own. Amidst wildly-varying
diversity, there is rank conformity.
Most people today attempt to individualize themselves, certainly.
Unfortunately, their steps away from conformity are small, insignificant, and
bland. Picking from a small variety of popular music, selecting a favorite
hack writer, picking out a unique wardrobe from a Sears catalog, making
oneself look like a glamorous movie star, watching a personal combination of
prime-time networked shows -- this is the American's idea of nonconformity.
Oh, and hobbies as well -- maintaining the fastest and most expensive personal
computer setup in the neighborhood, collecting low-priced stamps, reading
romance novels, buying new fast sports cars, masturbating to the latest
pornography -- are an American's attempt to individualize himself from his
peers.
These steps toward individuality conform to the popular standards of
acceptable nonconformist deviations.
In a free society, we are afraid to truly be free. We are too self-
conscious of our actions. We are embarrassed by _other people's_ actions. We
wholeheartedly condone individuality, but deride or condemn actions which are
truly individual.
In schools, where children are taught the virtues of the American way of
life, dress codes are enforced, long hair is disallowed, earrings for males
are still taboo, and free speech is a joke. Standardized tests and routine
multiple-choice tests numb students' minds into blind subservience. Schools
attempt to destroy the very basis for a happy, individualistic life.
After a decade or two of schooling, where conformity is promoted, the
American citizen is usually left in one of two states. One, as a happily
brainwashed follower. After schooling he looks around him for his direction
in life, leeching off the leeched-off lives of others. Or two, as a
disillusioned angry individualist. This person either keeps his rage to
himself, going insane, numbly becoming conformist, or expressing his rage and
finding a quick trip to jail or Congress.
To find a happy individualist is rare. It also makes you nervous and
embarrassed to be around him.
This is sick. It's got to stop.
XVI
Once again: What is the meaning of life? What is our purpose? For the
modern American, life is usually spent working for a living instead of living
to work, hating politicians and not voting them out of office, watching
television continuously with a vague sense of resentment, and wishing it all
weren't so.
Most likely, the general course of life will follow as such for most
citizens of this era, who will spend it waiting for Jesus to come back, for
another war to spice things up, for a comet to smash into earth, for a
revolution, or for sweet death.
I am doubtful that anything much will change for a while. Don't be
depressed by this. I'm simply telling you the facts as I see them.
So, WHAT is the meaning of life, once all these restrictions are
considered and accepted?
The purpose of life is to be as individual as possible, while you can
muster up the energy, strength, courage, and humor to do so. One person
cannot change the world -- but one person can change himself
XVII
Life is not a drudge. Life is not an inevitable sequence of
disappointments. Life is not written in stone. You have the power and the
freedom in most cases to live as you want.
In order to see this, briefly detach yourself from your immediate world.
Forget your family, your friends, your obligations, your money, your hatred of
politics. What is life? It's about eighty years. What is life? It's about
you.
XVIII
Again:
Ugliness is a virtue! Shitty haircuts rule! Welcomely accept the taboo
and vehemently reject the accepted and the standard! Common sense is banal,
anal, nil, and ill!
XIX
Our will has not been paralyzed. We have simply forgotten that it
exists.
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Copyright (c) 1995 HoE Publications, SoB, and I Wish My Name Were Nathan.
This essay commissioned and financed by the benevolent Exxon Corporation.
All Rights Reserved. #89-5/5/65
