Cattraknoff
06-18-2008, 08:10 PM
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." - Karl Marx
It should come as no surprise to anyone that there is a great deal of injustice in our world; essentially everything is not as it should be; it is obvious that humans do not act as we should. This is in our nature, according to philosophers and tyrants. That is to say that our nature is to be selfish; our nature is to be narrow-minded and apathetic. I for one do not believe that these actions are coded into every person (and thus able to be pointed to as justification for self-centred and short-sighted idiocy), but simply brought to the surface by various aspects of our society. Granted, the potential for every person to be selfish is certainly there, as are the kernels of greed, corruption, etc. The point, however, is that it need not be this way, and it certainly should not be, if we wish to have any hope of survival (and freedom, god forbid).
In general we prefer to ignore or even justify our wrongs, on both the small and larger scales. Typically we avoid looking to the larger whole at all, for fear of what we might (and almost certainly will) find. The result is that people are utterly trapped in the particular, in any given moment, in any given thing, only as it applies to them directly. This unwillingness or inability to look at or grasp the larger whole is the primary reason our existence is (and is destined to be) so troubled. The world cannot change without a change in the attitudes of the people themselves. That is to say that any drastic departure from our idiocy first requires the people themselves to recognize their actions as such. However this recognition alone is not enough, from there they must be willing to act.
There are many things, both domestic and in the world at large, which should cause some degree of outrage amongst the people. While we claim to be against slavery, we overlook the fact that our nations have enslaved the bulk of the world; while we claim to be appalled by such actions as murder, we ignore that we are causing the starvation, poverty, and otherwise suffering of billions of people across the globe. Our lifestyles, our selfishness, our addiction to wealth cause all this. Money is but a means of enacting control over the masses, and it has certainly succeeded in enslaving us, as much as we would like to ignore it.
The atrocities for which we without exception are responsible, that is to say those that we cause by our actions (or lack thereof), are not limited in direction toward other peoples. We ourselves will fall (and have fallen) victim to the system under which we live. Already we are slaves to money, our god whose worship is universal and without which we cannot survive. It is through this unquestioned and absolute devotion to wealth (which is essentially devotion solely to the self) that control over us is maintained. Our lives are based around the acquisition and accumulation of wealth. Where we might focus on living, on all the things which make us human, we will instead dedicate ourselves wholly to material gains. The irony of this entirely self-focused attitude is in that it essentially damns the individual, and the society, to an existence whose only purpose is to serve their masters (those who have larger amounts of money).
As I have stated previously, the core of the problem is the fact that people are unwilling to grasp the larger whole. As we do not think beyond our (generally immediate) position and status in society, we become unable to understand the effects of our actions, and in turn the influences those previous effects will have on our life. It cripples us with an inability to recognize the patterns of history; it makes us unable to grasp the motivations behind political actions, etc.; however, most importantly, it destroys our ability to grasp the necessity of action, as well as the target and/or purpose of said action. While we may be upset with a war for instance, we protest the war and not the causes of it; we complain about an economic crisis but not its cause nor its implications in the future; we are appalled by human rights abuses but remain unaware as to why they occur or perpetuate.
In essence, we have been rendered entirely powerless by our imprisonment in the particular, in minor details (details taken out of their proper context). While some one may become upset with government, their outrage is limited to the immediate actions of the government, not the historical trend which has always been the same. Those in government (Save those as the very top, perhaps), have just as little understanding as the average person. Yes, our government is acting incorrectly, but simply replacing them will have absolutely no effect. If we wish to enact a change, the only way to accomplish such is a change first on the individual level, in every person. Each one of us must ascend from the irrelevant details, to the larger whole; from the particular to the general. Then and only then can a true revolution in government, and our way of life, bring any success.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that there is a great deal of injustice in our world; essentially everything is not as it should be; it is obvious that humans do not act as we should. This is in our nature, according to philosophers and tyrants. That is to say that our nature is to be selfish; our nature is to be narrow-minded and apathetic. I for one do not believe that these actions are coded into every person (and thus able to be pointed to as justification for self-centred and short-sighted idiocy), but simply brought to the surface by various aspects of our society. Granted, the potential for every person to be selfish is certainly there, as are the kernels of greed, corruption, etc. The point, however, is that it need not be this way, and it certainly should not be, if we wish to have any hope of survival (and freedom, god forbid).
In general we prefer to ignore or even justify our wrongs, on both the small and larger scales. Typically we avoid looking to the larger whole at all, for fear of what we might (and almost certainly will) find. The result is that people are utterly trapped in the particular, in any given moment, in any given thing, only as it applies to them directly. This unwillingness or inability to look at or grasp the larger whole is the primary reason our existence is (and is destined to be) so troubled. The world cannot change without a change in the attitudes of the people themselves. That is to say that any drastic departure from our idiocy first requires the people themselves to recognize their actions as such. However this recognition alone is not enough, from there they must be willing to act.
There are many things, both domestic and in the world at large, which should cause some degree of outrage amongst the people. While we claim to be against slavery, we overlook the fact that our nations have enslaved the bulk of the world; while we claim to be appalled by such actions as murder, we ignore that we are causing the starvation, poverty, and otherwise suffering of billions of people across the globe. Our lifestyles, our selfishness, our addiction to wealth cause all this. Money is but a means of enacting control over the masses, and it has certainly succeeded in enslaving us, as much as we would like to ignore it.
The atrocities for which we without exception are responsible, that is to say those that we cause by our actions (or lack thereof), are not limited in direction toward other peoples. We ourselves will fall (and have fallen) victim to the system under which we live. Already we are slaves to money, our god whose worship is universal and without which we cannot survive. It is through this unquestioned and absolute devotion to wealth (which is essentially devotion solely to the self) that control over us is maintained. Our lives are based around the acquisition and accumulation of wealth. Where we might focus on living, on all the things which make us human, we will instead dedicate ourselves wholly to material gains. The irony of this entirely self-focused attitude is in that it essentially damns the individual, and the society, to an existence whose only purpose is to serve their masters (those who have larger amounts of money).
As I have stated previously, the core of the problem is the fact that people are unwilling to grasp the larger whole. As we do not think beyond our (generally immediate) position and status in society, we become unable to understand the effects of our actions, and in turn the influences those previous effects will have on our life. It cripples us with an inability to recognize the patterns of history; it makes us unable to grasp the motivations behind political actions, etc.; however, most importantly, it destroys our ability to grasp the necessity of action, as well as the target and/or purpose of said action. While we may be upset with a war for instance, we protest the war and not the causes of it; we complain about an economic crisis but not its cause nor its implications in the future; we are appalled by human rights abuses but remain unaware as to why they occur or perpetuate.
In essence, we have been rendered entirely powerless by our imprisonment in the particular, in minor details (details taken out of their proper context). While some one may become upset with government, their outrage is limited to the immediate actions of the government, not the historical trend which has always been the same. Those in government (Save those as the very top, perhaps), have just as little understanding as the average person. Yes, our government is acting incorrectly, but simply replacing them will have absolutely no effect. If we wish to enact a change, the only way to accomplish such is a change first on the individual level, in every person. Each one of us must ascend from the irrelevant details, to the larger whole; from the particular to the general. Then and only then can a true revolution in government, and our way of life, bring any success.