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The Truth is a difficult thing.  It keeps changing from one moment to the next.  Just when you think you,Äôve got it, it slips out from under your feet.  Yet we keep trying, we keep looking around at the world trying to make sense of it all.  We keep asking ourselves the same questions, just in different ways.  We wonder if we,Äôll get to the end with still no more answers than when we started.  The sad truth is that no one can tell us with any certainty exactly what it is we,Äôre headed toward, yet we can,Äôt just sit down in the middle of the road and watch life pass by.  We each have to go through it and hope that things will turn out all right in the end.  We flock to the old standards of Heroes fighting impossible odds to finally prove superior to the Evil Villain (who himself epitomizes the darker sides of ourselves) in order to win the attentions of the ,ÄúPerfect Match,Äù (the One True Love with whom we will never be cross or disappointed).  We hold out hope day after day for our own lives, happiness and fulfillment because the Hero always wins.  Yet increasingly I see people telling stories of Reality, stories about the times in your life you realize that there are some things you can't take back.  There are stories out there that helped me see.  This is one of mine.

For some people, the ever-dangling Carrot of Bliss just isn,Äôt enough, and they start to look around them.  If they look hard enough in different places eventually they find reward and stumble upon something attainable, something visceral and real.  Some people hold onto what they find, assuming that because it is the first taste of Truth they,Äôve had that it holds the sum of Truth for everybody else.  Others get curious about the rewards that can be found by a ,Äúshare and share alike,Äù mentality.  Some people are never satisfied once they,Äôve tasted something, flitting from one thing to the next, without ever completely committing.  Others learn the trick of Taste with Appreciation, of Experience with Meaning. 

Along with the Carrot there always comes the Stick of Reprimand.  Some people learn to fear the pain and do everything in their power to avoid it.  Some people get addicted to it, so much so that when they find a truth they spit it back out again.  Others have the thought, however briefly, to see where that stick is coming from.  Imagine their surprise when they realize that the sticks are all held by people just like them.  The idea of correction is necessary, because without a new idea there can be no growth, but once people realize where the correction comes from they become individuals. 

Individuals become selective in the others they will allow to correct them, some deciding to eliminate everyone else's sticks entirely.  Society is simply about having the most advantageous sticks in place for the good of the individual and the group.  A small truth is that we have to work with the environment we live in.  I tried waving a magic wand three times clockwise, but there was no ,ÄúPoof!,Äù  The bigger truth is that we get to work with what we make.  If your particular view of the world should be shared, then give, but don,Äôt force it.  Offer someone your Truth, but take a bite of theirs too, and only use the process of correction to make things better.

The Academic System could use some refinement.  I've been thinking about school myself, and came across http://www.goddard.edu/   It looked like the kind of education I would enjoy.

I'm not sure what to do with all of my thoughts to get them to the most appropriate audience, where I can influence the most people, but I figured I'd share with you all, and ask for ideas.  I've never set up websites, but I'm learning what I can.  Also, I don't mind intelligent criticism.  I hope to post more, but I spend most of my time reading what I've found peripherally off this site and others about the state of the world. 


Capitalism.  The American Way.  A ,ÄúSurvival of the Fittest,Äù struggle for dominance in the financial arena, the modern Coliseum.  The people who inherit the earth are the ones who can own it.  It,Äôs a simple con, really.  Just convince somebody that something has value, and get something better out of them in trade.  They have made the biggest game in town ,ÄúLet,Äôs see who can own more stuff.,Äù  It may just have been a natural convergence of the Alpha Males of the hairless ape.  But then I remember that there are people who are trained by right of birth to expect to influence the world.  There are people who are prepared from pre-conception to uphold the ideals of the privileged class. 

Inherent human tendency is to justify superiority over anyone whose experience in life is different than your own.  It,Äôs reinforced by the natural desire to support the school one is assigned to, to cheer for the home team.  But every interaction in people,Äôs lives is based on me against you, or us against them.  The dangerous thing is how people have risen from successive generations to own 90% of everything in America, and unrelentingly plot to own the rest of the world.  People make it their sole mission in life to part other people from their paychecks.  Every advertisement that we come across as a matter of courseα, hundreds of times a day, and rising, is the result of greedy people trying to make money.  Every new product screams that it will make your life better, easier, more comfortable.  The cost is deferred on ,ÄúNo Payments, No Interest ,Äòtil Three Years From Now!,Äù  ,ÄúAct now to lock in this GREAT interest rate!,Äù

There is always a cost to pay, sometime.

Every day there are more people adding their voices to the symphony of intelligent thought.  Scientists who have spent their lives in pursuit of all knowledge in a given field have come from many specialties to tell the world about the consequences of global warming, pollution, fossil fuel use, the rainforest, and the list goes on.  THE PLANET IS DYING!  Every year there are more people trying to live like Americans.  Every culture that emulates the piss poor behavior of Consumerist America helps to drag the furthest edge of the future a step closer to the present.  The US produces a quarter of the world,Äôs garbage.  We only have five percent of the population.  Ruthless business practices have produced fledgling industries in other countries where government oversight might be lacking.  All the time, the people who make the money instil Their particular brand of ethic upon the indigenous population, setting a horrendous example of ,ÄúBusiness as Usual.,Äù 

The American people do not realize the severity of the situation.  Like all people, they are concerned with what concerns them, taking care of the kids, trying to afford all the stuff they,Äôve been sold, and the never ending quest to get the work done.  Joe Everyman thinks that because his life ain,Äôt so bad, as a matter of fact, then it,Äôs just going to stay that way.  He thinks that Tsunamis and Hurricanes happen to somebody else.  He thinks that it,Äôs a shame that gas prices keep going up, coincidentally along with record profits.  But mainly he thinks that it,Äôs his God given right. 

The American people have been sold the worst kind of propaganda.  The lie is that they have the right to not care about anything but comfort.  They have been told from birth that if you work hard enough you can live a life of luxury.  That if you don,Äôt work at all, you still deserve enough to get by.  And the quality of what we need to ,Äújust get by,Äù is in reality a level of comfort that would seem unimaginable to the rest of the world.  The entire nation has gone to sleep.  I don,Äôt know if it was the effect of ever increasing technology, the dividends of creative minds, or if there was a Lullaby playing in the background to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner.  What I DO knαow is that the people in America need to open their eyes and realize that when the World Community protects themselves against the direction that Our Elected Leaders are taking the planet, they are not the threat they,Äôll appear.  Joe Everyman will need to understand that voices of rationality have to prevail against the propaganda.  Difficult decisions are ahead for more than just America, but I feel that if there is a world wide understanding of Wise Courses of Action, then the outcome will be favorable.

And let's take his stance on gay marriage - it destroys family values, yeah. Nevermind that divorce is the number one destroyer of families. We don't see him banning divorces - oh, no. Anyone with any wit whatsoever can see that the entire reason men and women can no longer be bothered to stick it out, ride out the bad times, work on their problems, and honor their promises to each other is because them unholy fags have cheapened the concept of marriage, right? Right! That's morality in action for you, right there! A shining example of it, in fact.

Marriage is the leading cause of divorce in this country. 

Marriage originally was 1-  A way to increase survivability of the family unit; and later became 2- A way for men to exert control over women.

In the modern era where natural selection is an ever decreasing part of the life equasion and where the state seems determined to develop children to it's own standards, the institution of marriage is superfluous.

I find it the height of arrogance to expect to be everything a partner would need for their development for the rest of our lives.  Add that to the reality that I am not the same person from one day to the next, much less one year to the next, it would be unfair to expect another individual to grow in the same ways that I do.

I like the Heinlein model of family where groups of people live communally with understanding and love, each performing according to their strengths, but then, since there are people involved, with all their attendant feelings and tendencies to get those feelings hurt, I really don't know about the practicality of that setup.

Also, I find the inundation of america's children with the Disney Ideal of a One True Love that will ride in and sweep the Little Princess off her feet to his castle to Live Happily Ever After to be a deplorable practice.  Brainwashing children to expect an Ideal results in disappointment.  People are fallible, mistakes inevitable, and it is unfair of the entertainment industry to offer any other version of reality.


As far as the main concepts of the post go, I view morality as a function of the indoctrination of the general viewpoints of the larger society a person grows up in, as that code relates to the intellectual revision applied due to personal experience and expedience of the moment/circumstance in which applied.  The most important thing though, in my opinion, is to explore yourself, and be comfortable with what you find, or change.  But above all, the standards must be your own, not blind obedience to what everyone else seems to expect.

He he, Rabid Badger gave me the Clap, he he.

I'm glad you like it, ECH.  95% of the stuff I"ve written lately seems like just a reiteration of concepts already posted, but this little bit, I felt, had some merit.  I've been going over so much stuff here recently that I was starting to feel like a pervy gym teacher staring at the boys in the shower, so I decided that I'd post a few of my thoughts.

Some perspectives I've been having lately.

Power is the ability to get other people to do what you want them to.  People all over the world and for as far back as history records, have vied for control of others.  War, government, religion, family, work, school, everything in life is about doing what is expected of you, or not.  Those who do not conform will be punished.  Strong over weak, clever over stupid, resources over no resources.  Everything comes down to control and the pack mentality.  Every group that people identify with becomes a pack.  Some people belong in the back of every pack they're a part of.  Some people will never be satisfied until they are in charge of every pack they are a part of.  Humans are social animals, constantly preoccupied with hierarchy, worth, and status.  "I am better than you and I need you to tell me you understand, or I will attack you until you do." 

Eris told me once, "You're unique, just like everyone else."  I try to realize that I am no better than everyone else, but somehow I'm not convinced.  I see other's mistakes, and their inability to process information to the degree that I can and get frustrated.  I feel a need to be the boss, which makes me want to rally others to my opinions, yet, when I look in the mirror I find that I make mistakes as well.  I find that there are and were many times when someone else gave me information in a way that I couldn't process, that I have been "dumb" myself.  The difference is timing, is perspective, is living in the moment and being flexible in order to accept new information, adapt it to fit the things I'm working on, and adapt myself to include the new, while not losing the lessons of everything else that came before.

Eris provides me with that sense of being my own highest authority, yet the feeling of being a part of something larger.  It allows people to be the leaders of their own pack, while recognizing everyone else's right to do so.  It forms a social model that shows, not tells, that we are what we choose to be, so we should choose well.

When I found discordianism I was floored that there were other people who think about things intelligently, and even when there seems to be no logic, it is done in a way that stimulates my brain to higher pursuits.  I find myself in the minority of the masses because I enjoy a challenge, because my brain feels good when it must exercise.  I am completely convinced that there is enough oddity and chaos in the universe to attract any mind that is curious enough to Discordia, yet I feel that I need somehow to let my own voice ring from the rooftops proclaiming "Wake the FUCK up, Sheep!  There is LIFE to be lived!  There is FUN to be had!  Do whatever YOU want to!"  To which my imaginary ANTI voice yells "Shut up, It's three AM, and I just got my infant to sleep, and I have a huge presentation for the boss tomorrow, and I kind of like not having to think for myself about the mysteries of the universe, I mean, really, does it put food on my table?"  At which point the original thought voice replies, "Why bother living if you're just trying to get to the end?"  Then, the ANTI voice realizes that it won't change the other's mind, shuts the window, turns off the light, and goes to bed, but lies awake thinking. 

Therein lies the conundrum.  How to balance practicality with ideology?  It's easy to walk around fnording all the time, just to get attention, but it is difficult to find the exact moment when the universe wants you to fnord, in order to make life better for you and everyone else around you.  Fuck the minds, challenge paradigm, walk the levels of perspective from small to great, then rotate 90* and do it all over again, until we're all skewed, but do it in a way that makes things better than they were before.

Without pain there can be no change.  Without change there can be no growth.  Things often hurt before they get better.  Pain is necessary.  Being uncomfortable is inherent in life.  The trick is to take perspective from the pain, and change to avoid it, or accept it.  The better trick is to seek the best changes before having to go through the pain in the first place.