YOU AND I ARE BUT JUICE pt II

[BADGE OF HONOR]

I've been listening to this song obsessively.  Over and over.  It's been bothering me, weighing on my like an abcess on my Id.  Something about the simple progression from childish attention-seeking to pure megalomania has been getting to me.  Words have been seeping in, and now they're spewing out.


Part of being human is ignoring how at the mercy you are to the rest of the world.  You hop into your car, despite the danger.  You go to work, hoping to have a good day.  You order a meal, not wanting to know what goes on in the kitchen.  But secretly, underneath it all, you know how you're just surfing on the edge of your own life, that shit can and will happen at any moment.

It manifests in the little escapes that we manufacture, in alcohol or drugs, or sex, or video games.  For the smallest moment, we no longer have to submit to life, for a moment our scope is sufficiently narrow that we can honestly say, "I am master of all I see."  In giving up control of the greater world, we gain that much more control over a tiny portion.

It manifests in ambition.  The need for control, for power, for moral authority.  For the ability to make change.  For the ability to destroy.

It's all from evolution.  It is thought that schizophrenics suffer from the same genes that initially gave us hominids the ability to think and create, the very genes that helped us become top of the food chain despite our physical weakness.  But intelligence isn't the only thing.  There is also drive, ambition.  The burning need to be faster, stronger, smarter, sexier, than any and all comers.  History tells me those who are the most grasping, the most driven, the most insane, are the ones divinely favored.  Happiness doesn't come into it.  They are holes needing filling by one thing--power. 

We are genetically programmed to have hierarchy.  Some people will be content with controlling the petty things in their lives, what to have for breakfast and whether to wear yellow today.  And others, others will need, desperately, to tell everybody else what to have for breakfast.  Those are the people who seek the positions of power, and those, sadly, are the ones who get it.  The old tired adage is true. 

We will always be a pile of rats clawing our way over our fellows towards the top.  That, I don't think, will ever change.  But what gets me every time, every god damned time is how the rats at the top are trusted by the people who think they put them there. 

The ultimate power is the power to destroy. 

[LMNO]

But what gets me every time, every god damned time is how the rats at the top are trusted by the people who think they put them there. 

Oh, FUCK yeah.







Incidentally, to whoever was confused why some of us gave RBoG what looked like a "pass" while we harshed on Uncle BadTouch-- this is why.

So far, the hebephile hasn't put anything like this up.

[Chairman Risus]

Good song, great rant.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

At some point this series is going to be used to Rickroll us.

[Adjective Noun]

Of course, in a way we are all victims of our own species' success. We see people at the top and wonder how they got there (who hasnt thought 'I could run the country better than them, why cant I try?'). Many ape them, hoping the magic will work for them too, or hope to somehow attract the attention of what seems like a demi-god.

You forgot to mention one obvious thing though - this forum. We have our own little place on the internet, where we meet up with generally like-minded people and can be almost certain that we will outnumber any others that happen to migrate in. Some of us have the power to go further in defending our little fort, kicking out invaders and erasing their traces.

And what about the pyramids? Todays monuments? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_High_Tower ? All by people who want to make as big a mark on the world as they can, simply to say 'I was here, look how important I am'. Leaving footprints (not to mention a flag) on the moon, the various people that have stars named after them, species as well, even the odd element. Ok, so thats why you missed some stuff out. Its almost the whole list of human achievement.

Ultimate power is destruction though? Of all the power available to us, perhaps it is. Certainly the most permenant, from the point of view of the thing destroyed.

[Adjective Noun]

Also, that song is too damn catchy. Keep playing it back through from the 'it feels so good to be alive, and on top', that bit is too good. Yeah, the megalomania bit ...

[Thurnez Isa]

badger 

its cold outside

[BADGE OF HONOR]

Of course, in a way we are all victims of our own species' success. We see people at the top and wonder how they got there (who hasnt thought 'I could run the country better than them, why cant I try?'). Many ape them, hoping the magic will work for them too, or hope to somehow attract the attention of what seems like a demi-god.

You forgot to mention one obvious thing though - this forum. We have our own little place on the internet, where we meet up with generally like-minded people and can be almost certain that we will outnumber any others that happen to migrate in. Some of us have the power to go further in defending our little fort, kicking out invaders and erasing their traces.

And what about the pyramids? Todays monuments? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_High_Tower ? All by people who want to make as big a mark on the world as they can, simply to say 'I was here, look how important I am'. Leaving footprints (not to mention a flag) on the moon, the various people that have stars named after them, species as well, even the odd element. Ok, so thats why you missed some stuff out. Its almost the whole list of human achievement.

Ultimate power is destruction though? Of all the power available to us, perhaps it is. Certainly the most permenant, from the point of view of the thing destroyed.

Interesting.  I would define that as a need for a legacy, proof that one can affect the world in a permanent way.  Still a reaction to the vulnerability of day-to-day existence.  Hmm.  This may lead to a part III, but it'll take a while to marinate.

[Adjective Noun]

Leaving a legacy ... yeah, guess some of those are. Also, thats something most people try to do in some way ... from epitaphs to simply having children to carry on your name.

Also, seems I forgot your mittens. Here they are!