Why is Discordia more relevant than ever in the year 2008?

[Cramulus]

I dig that answer.




note: I edited the OP for zaniness and launched a paralell discussion at 23ae.  Check in, if interested. http://23ae.com/index.asp?post=446

[The Good Reverend Roger]

My two cents?

Discordia is.. an ideal.
Not for true chaos and strife, but quite simply, for a dynamic and fluent change.
Discordia is relevant because we're being bogged down, we're being static and even entropic at times.
This has been happening for a while and now, the discordian ideal is coming true -
There are many people who now symbolises this ideal and this could've only happened when the world suddenly got a lot more smaller
  (You can blame technology for that one)
We're sick of being fed the same thing over and over again, we want to think for ourselves,
- No thanks, I won't have any emotionally suppressing fries with that life of mine. -

Discordia is more relevant simply because more people are understanding it.
More people are learning to use their mind, think freely, think openly and widely.
We're still just a small plankton in a sea with the thought police as fishes, but it's growing.

People are finally seeing and talking about the damned elephant in the room, there's only a handful of people who can actually see the Black Iron Prison, but you're getting through to people. People who care will be able to find Discordianism now. GASMs are working and when we shake the masses out of their shell and make them think for a little, we might grow a little more.

Discordianism is a name for a simple ideal of freedom of the mind.
It's represented by Chaos and the lovely Eris simply because of it's antithesis of Stasis and Bureaucracy.
We can think for ourselves, see and understand (even break at the rare occasion) the social and philosophical barriers of the mind.
This is what makes us Discordianist and we're just trying to get others to see it.
If we can make them think, truly think, for themselves and understand the barriers then our job is done.
It seems more relevant just because humanity seems so close to see our point of view.
(that doesn't mean accept or convert. Heck, just getting what we're talking about and why we do things will do for now.)

Although if you just want a quick answer -
Q: Why is Discordia more relevant than ever in the year 2008?
A: Why not? Seriously. Think about it.

THIS.

EDIT:  NEEDS POOP.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

My two cents?

Discordia is.. an ideal.
Not for true chaos and strife, but quite simply, for a dynamic and fluent change.
Discordia is relevant because we're being bogged down, we're being static and even entropic at times.
This has been happening for a while and now, the discordian ideal is coming true -
There are many people who now symbolises this ideal and this could've only happened when the world suddenly got a lot more smaller
  (You can blame technology for that one)
We're sick of being fed the same thing over and over again, we want to think for ourselves,
- No thanks, I won't have any emotionally suppressing fries with that life of mine. -

Discordia is more relevant simply because more people are understanding it.
More people are learning to use their mind, think freely, think openly and widely.
We're still just a small plankton in a sea with the thought police as fishes, but it's growing.

People are finally seeing and talking about the damned elephant in the room, there's only a handful of people who can actually see the Black Iron Prison, but you're getting through to people. People who care will be able to find Discordianism now. GASMs are working and when we shake the masses out of their shell and make them think for a little, we might grow a little more.

Discordianism is a name for a simple ideal of freedom of the mind.
It's represented by Chaos and the lovely Eris simply because of it's antithesis of Stasis and Bureaucracy.
We can think for ourselves, see and understand (even break at the rare occasion) the social and philosophical barriers of the mind.
This is what makes us Discordianist and we're just trying to get others to see it.
If we can make them think, truly think, for themselves and understand the barriers then our job is done.
It seems more relevant just because humanity seems so close to see our point of view.
(that doesn't mean accept or convert. Heck, just getting what we're talking about and why we do things will do for now.)

Although if you just want a quick answer -
Q: Why is Discordia more relevant than ever in the year 2008?
A: Why not? Seriously. Think about it.

That was an awesome response!

[Golden Applesauce]

My two cents?

Discordia is.. an ideal.
Not for true chaos and strife, but quite simply, for a dynamic and fluent change.
Discordia is relevant because we're being bogged down, we're being static and even entropic at times.
This has been happening for a while and now, the discordian ideal is coming true -
There are many people who now symbolises this ideal and this could've only happened when the world suddenly got a lot more smaller
  (You can blame technology for that one)
We're sick of being fed the same thing over and over again, we want to think for ourselves,
- No thanks, I won't have any emotionally suppressing fries with that life of mine. -

Discordia is more relevant simply because more people are understanding it.
More people are learning to use their mind, think freely, think openly and widely.
We're still just a small plankton in a sea with the thought police as fishes, but it's growing.

People are finally seeing and talking about the damned elephant in the room, there's only a handful of people who can actually see the Black Iron Prison, but you're getting through to people. People who care will be able to find Discordianism now. GASMs are working and when we shake the masses out of their shell and make them think for a little, we might grow a little more.

Discordianism is a name for a simple ideal of freedom of the mind.
It's represented by Chaos and the lovely Eris simply because of it's antithesis of Stasis and Bureaucracy.
We can think for ourselves, see and understand (even break at the rare occasion) the social and philosophical barriers of the mind.
This is what makes us Discordianist and we're just trying to get others to see it.
If we can make them think, truly think, for themselves and understand the barriers then our job is done.
It seems more relevant just because humanity seems so close to see our point of view.
(that doesn't mean accept or convert. Heck, just getting what we're talking about and why we do things will do for now.)

Although if you just want a quick answer -
Q: Why is Discordia more relevant than ever in the year 2008?
A: Why not? Seriously. Think about it.

That was an awesome response!

A little to evangelical for my tastes.  But kudos for the thoughts.

[Professor Mu-Chao]

If we can make them think, truly think, for themselves and understand the barriers then our job is done.

This is what I used to say before I became confused as to what I really meant by "think for themselves". Did I mean that my aim was to get them to think like I thought they should think? (Whoa. Gotta clear the paragraph after that sentence.)

We are all a collection of what we have experienced, read, seen... how much of us is there apart from that? To avoid being a douche and asking a bunch of questions without revealing my opinion: Not a whole hell of alot. Sure, people process things differently, but isn't that just due to a combination of different experiences that make up that person's worldview, mixed with the bubbling cocktail of strange chemicals and hormones cooking in the brain? I tend to think so. I also think that it is a rare combination of these powerful forces that, when appropriately mixed, results in A Discordian.

Back to my original thought, though: Is A Discordian's brain really better than anyone else, or is it really just a rare world view, special for its relative uniqueness and nothing else? As you can see, I tend to have bouts of debilitating nihilism. The great thing about being A Discordian that cannot be denied, however, is that I can argue with this post tomorrow and not be locked up, since I am fairly consistent in my inconsistency - the voices say this means I'm on the right track.

[Orion]

Is A Discordian's brain really better than anyone else,

Perhaps we can have a brain beauty contest.
*insert imagination here - talent contest and bikini contest.*

I think that's the true beauty of discordianism -
  A question asking all the questions.
  Including the question asking the question asking.
the self-referential and 'meta' nature of Discordianism.

[Jasper]

Back to my original thought, though: Is A Discordian's brain really better than anyone else, or is it really just a rare world view, special for its relative uniqueness and nothing else?

Plainly speaking, I think that the Discordian mind adapts to information that changes everything much faster. 

-If it's being done my way.  Mileage may vary.

I don't dig the poetry or the art or beauty stuff so much as use Discordia as a round file for anything that's got to do with my approach to reality.  Discordianism as a religion is just an excuse to violate norms.  It's a convenience. 

[East Coast Hustle]

wow, how amusing and funny. thanks for adding that incredibly interesting post to this thread.

[Payne]

Needs more attacks on veterans, YD.

[the last yatto]

actually i think he is pro-war since he said forget world peace i want a pony

[LMNO]

Orion,

Nice post.

More thoughts plz.

Try the TFY, S! subforums.

[Orion]

If I could vote, I think I'd vote for Vermin Supreme.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

If we can make them think, truly think, for themselves and understand the barriers then our job is done.

This is what I used to say before I became confused as to what I really meant by "think for themselves". Did I mean that my aim was to get them to think like I thought they should think? (Whoa. Gotta clear the paragraph after that sentence.)

We are all a collection of what we have experienced, read, seen... how much of us is there apart from that? To avoid being a douche and asking a bunch of questions without revealing my opinion: Not a whole hell of alot. Sure, people process things differently, but isn't that just due to a combination of different experiences that make up that person's worldview, mixed with the bubbling cocktail of strange chemicals and hormones cooking in the brain? I tend to think so. I also think that it is a rare combination of these powerful forces that, when appropriately mixed, results in A Discordian.

Back to my original thought, though: Is A Discordian's brain really better than anyone else, or is it really just a rare world view, special for its relative uniqueness and nothing else? As you can see, I tend to have bouts of debilitating nihilism. The great thing about being A Discordian that cannot be denied, however, is that I can argue with this post tomorrow and not be locked up, since I am fairly consistent in my inconsistency - the voices say this means I'm on the right track.

Good to see you around Prof!

I think that there is a difference between thinking for yourself and not thinking for yourself. However, I think that this is not something that people can just 'do'. I can shout TFY,S! at someone, but it just seems to confuse them. I also seperate TFY,S! and 'Discordian'. While a Discordian probably (hopefully) thinks for themselves, I don't think its necessary for TYF,S! to agree with Discordian viewpoints.

Someone could be religious, and think for themselves. Joseph Campbell is a good example. He found value in attending Church, he found value in myth and in ritual... not because the Preacher told him to, but because he thought for himself and determined what was valuable to him. For a man that understood 'The Dying God' archetype and the silly state of the idea that God is a Old Man in the Sky... He held no belief in the Truth of the Bible, but he found value in the rituals, tribal traditions and Bliss that came with spirituality. I would not consider him a cabbage, nor would I consider him Discordian (he didn't seem to grok the world as absurd at all), but I would definately say that he could think for himself.

Sure, our favorite and zaniest examples of people that think for themselves, might be Discordian or Absurdist in nature... Antero Alli, Mark Twain, RAW, Omar, Mal-2, Emperor Norton, etc etc etc... but just because people think for themselves, doesn't mean that they'll draw the same conclusions, or tentative viewpoints that an absurdist might. I think.

I don't think the Discordian view is better than all other views, I don't even know if we can define a single Discordian view. I would say that Thinking for yourself, asking questions rather than being content with answers, active exploration of reality, rather than static stagnation of our thinking faculties.... all of those appear (to me) as far better than the state of mind most humans seem to have today. I think the world would be a much better place if everyone made use of those concepts, I doubt that they would all, most or even half of them would become Discordian, but I think all of them would perhaps, have a far more enjoyable life... 

[Cain]

I've previously given my thoughts on this here.

Its a good thread, and well worth reading.

[Professor Mu-Chao]

I don't think the Discordian view is better than all other views, I don't even know if we can define a single Discordian view. I would say that Thinking for yourself, asking questions rather than being content with answers, active exploration of reality, rather than static stagnation of our thinking faculties.... all of those appear (to me) as far better than the state of mind most humans seem to have today. I think the world would be a much better place if everyone made use of those concepts, I doubt that they would all, most or even half of them would become Discordian, but I think all of them would perhaps, have a far more enjoyable life... 

Before my drunken ramble got off track, I meant to make the point that "thinking for yourself" is often equated with curiosity or, as you say, "active exploration of reality"... and I agree that the world would be a much better place, etc...

But I find it very difficult to tell when I am thinking for myself (perhaps its the whiskey). I can follow a logical chain from one thought to the next, certainly, but so can the most uncreative non-discordian (once in a while). I can throw a golden apple into one of those thoughts to "randomly" morph it into something totally different... but is that really thinking or is that just throwing a bunch of other people's thoughts into a pile, picking out two pieces and making a correlation between them? How many of us can point to a truly original idea they have had? I can think for myself in terms of politics, say, but am I thinking or am I just weighing what I hear O'Reilly and Olbermann say and choosing my beliefs based on my emotional reaction to them, and then using whatever flawed logic I can come up with to prove I am right?

I'm not sure if I'm just being pedantic/overly semantic, but I tend to think the phrase "think for yourself" is pretty empty. Until I wake up as an idealist again one of these mornings and deride people who talk like this, of course.