Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A pep talk for the outsider

I write this sort of thing for my own benefit more than anything else, because I have to repeatedly remind myself that most people do not think/act the way I do. But, making the mistake of projecting your own values and ideas onto others is costly and ultimately foolish. It is not ever a good idea to compromise your core principles, but you can't expect from others as you would expect from yourself.

The worst thing we can possibly allow to happen in times like these is to give into the destructive and counterproductive behaviors all around us. Allowing the rabid excesses of a lost civilization to devalue or degrade our own principles is the absolute last thing decent human beings can allow to happen. So many people go through life with no sense of purpose or place beyond money and immediate gratification, it is integral that those who see greater possibilities hold fast to their ideals and dedicate their lives to making more of life than an exercise in futile conformity. Succumbing to the leemer instinct can only cause harm to our hearts, our minds, and our spirits. Succumbing is just another path to subjegation, and a life spent in subjegation to falsehoods and foolishness is a life wasted.

The temptation to give in is always present, because it is easier to fit in, fall in line, and surrender to our own weaknesses than it is to stand outside, break the chain, and find a means to greater, personal fortitude. We spend our lives looking without for reassurance and validation, when in reality the only voice that ever truly matters is the one flowing from within. It is not a coincidence that the notion of being true to one's self has been with us since the days before time was time. People knew the virtues of honesty, discipline, and integrity before we came to understand that the world was round, or that the Earth orbited the Sun. We have known these things for thousands of years, yet here we are, in a moral state not much advanced beyond that of our most ancient elders. Several thousand years of progress has really only netted us longer lifespans, better technology, and incredible population increases. All of the old evils are still with us in one form or another. They may not be as obvious, but the negative constants of human nature, greed, powermongering, and the like, remain integral components of the modern experience in all places and amongst all peoples.

But being a part of that eons-old cycle is a choice. We make a choice to conform, to buy into the notion that material wealth and basal gratification are the most this life has to offer. We choose to believe that our only real purpose on this Earth is to work, breed, do as we're told, grow fat, grow old, and die. Accepting that as a life is a choice. And it may genuinely work for some. I won't argue that there are people for whom this is the best option available, but for those who desire something more, it is essential to resist buying into the monotony at all costs. After all, following and falling in line is how we become the mechanism for making OTHER peoples' visions and dreams come true.

The moral of the story is that rare is the human animal that is genuinely honest, decent, honorable, and committed to something greater than what is right in front of their face. There is more to this life. Even in a place as morally impaired and historically shortsighted as this, there is room for beauty, love, and honor. It is the duty of everyone who believes in these principles to do their best in living them. Perfection is an impossibility, but there is certainly more to life what we are being taught and sold in this modern age.

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Posted by Erik @ 1/10/2007 10:58:00 AM