For the “Fourth Estate” thread I was searching for a quote I knew Alexander Solzhenitsyn made about the press. In the process I found another of his profound quotes;
Many Americans, which surely includes TBP readers, have seen their savings dwindle. Some may even be living paycheck to paycheck. Yet, none of us have suffered to the extent of Solzhenitsyn’s losing, or being robbed, of “everything”. Although I came damn close with my divorce … I left Michigan with a car, and whatever fit in it …. and not much fits in a Lincoln Mark VIII. Also, I don’t know how “free” a person is who truly has absolutely nothing …. think of a destitute beggar living in the streets of Calcutta. Yet, Solzhenitsyn’s words speak volumes to me, and are an inspiration.
You know I have Ms Feud in my life …….. but I actually can’t stand her namesake. Sigmund’s idea that humans are motivated only, or mostly, by sex and aggression indicates to me he had a small brain, and even smaller dick. Seriously, his whacko ideas have done serious damage to humanity. In terms of Non-Violent Evil Fuckers, I would rank Freud in the Top 5.
I prefer another Austrian, Victor Frankl. He said that a human being’s dominant driving force is to find meaning in life. I agree with that 100%.
By way of background, Frankl did not lead the cushy bourgeois life that Siggy did. Frankl was held prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. He saw his family, friends, and neighbors cornered, captured, and transported to mass murdering sites where they were dehumanized and murdered. He himself was tortured. He, in fact, lost everything … that was his reality.
So, a really good question would be; “What kept Frankl from giving up his relentless fight for his life? Quite simply, he found meaning in his struggle. After his concentration camp experience he published a book called, “Mans Search For Meaning” — a book everyone would benefit from — and here is a nice one line summary; — “He who has a WHY to live for can bear almost any HOW.” Frankl also wrote, “In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.”
Therein is the Power Of Purpose. Whether this government of ours will sink to the lows of Nazism, or Stalin-ism, or Maoism … and implement torture, brutality, and other inhumane actions upon us … well, who knows? But, Purpose will supersede ALL they can do to us. Purpose is what will give us strength to carry on. Purpose will give you the strength to continue despite dire conditions, difficult changes, and deprivations of all sorts. My own mother survived a Russian Concentration Camp by eating boiled bark and grass.
So, when you see your income going down, you’re becoming poorer, and life is getting harder, you might consider that it’s God’s way of setting you free. If that’s true, it’s a Difficult Truth. Most will reject it. But some will embrace it, …. and find a New Purpose.
Thanks Stuck, I now have “Mans Search For Meaning on my to read list.
Google has become indispensable.
“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
I think George Carlin had it right, and the answer is plastic. The earth decided it wanted plastic. So someday, when we’re all gone, it will just be the earth, but with plastic.
I did order that book for my Nook, though – sounds like he has some interesting things to say.
Hope lost is difficult to replace. I’ve found that I have to abandon what I ‘knew’, and disregard wealth as a gauge for intelligence. Watching some friends ‘killing it’ in a false and bullshit paradigm stings sometimes, even worse when only one of ’em listens to another perspective. Still, this downward mobility thing sucks and stings and knowing why ain’t the salve I was hoping for. Anyway, new hope is there but knowing it hinges on some assholes’ evil desires is unnerving.
Nice Stuff, Stuck
As an American, your WHY for being alive is to buy shit and consume. Drink Coke, and you’ll get happiness and love (their commercials tell me so). Drive a Subaru and eat at McShits and you’ll get love (their commercials tell me so). So, when you drink Coke, drive a Subaru and get fat eating at McShits, and you don’t have any love, only unwanted pounds and debt, you either watch some more TV and consume so more, or you feel depressed, angry, and cheated.
Then you go to the doctor and get on pills, and consume them. The whole while, your soul is dying. So, while you wait for the Zoloft to kick in and your blood sugar to drop again, you stare at your phone and look at funny pictures of cats, or your neighbors post about the excellent bowel movement they had; yet your soul continues to die. And pretty soon more people are committing suicide than are dying in car accidents.
And since spirituality isn’t politically correct, and might even get you labeled as a terrorist, people are dying on the inside. Our society is devoid of what really matters, and it shows. We’re de-evolving back to animals. What purpose is there other than to consume? Work hard so your family can consume more, pay taxes so those that won’t work for a living can consume. People don’t seem to have any other purpose in life. And how do you give them a purpose? You don’t, which is why I don’t buy into our society and all the bullshit.
And I’ll add one more thing,
I’ve been all over the world, to some of the poorest countries in the world. The poorer the country, the happier the people are, every single time, without fail. You are truly free when you are unencumbered by all the demands and expectations put on you by consuming and having stuff. And Americans are the most miserable people I’ve ever seen in all my travels. They are locked in an endless cycle of working, buying stuff, storing stuff, and buying even more stuff. It owns them, not the other way around. Thanks for the reminder. I’m not giving away all my stuff and moving to Africa just yet though.
I think Admin is gone baby gone….off to find true peace somewhere in the 30 blocks. Deep undercover I think – face paint, Escalade, bitches….the whole enchilada.
Whoever’s in charge these days, please delete this if it is not okay. If its gonna be on teevee then I’m guessing they want it spread. Anyway, I’m sure there’s a bullshit angle later on down the line…..but fuck this looks like it may be worth some of my time till I find out otherwise.
http://safeshare.tv/w/UAGOcLSuLX
Seriously….just take a look (Jeff Daniels is ‘the man’).
Thanks Stuck.
You said above “He said that a human being’s dominant driving force is to find meaning in life. I agree with that 100%.”
That may be true of bright people. But do you really think that the average joe and below (for example folks with IQs below 100), of which there are some 150 million + in the US, spend one fucking second trying to find meaning in life? Seriously, that is not happening.
The folks from the thirty blocks would not even understand the concept of meaning of life.
“The folks from the thirty blocks would not even understand the concept of meaning of life”
Oh, common man. They have a meaning of life: screw the man, screw some bitches, screw the government, grub some SNAP food, smoke some blunts and drink some forties, sell some chronic, steal some bling, throw some garbage onto the street, graffiti some walls, knock out some white folks, and avoid, at all costs, getting educated or married, working, or acting like an Uncle Tom.
Nice comments. To those ordering the book … cool …. it also happens to be one of Ms Freud’s all time favorite books. (She also thinks Freud is a dick.)
The Solzhenitsyn quote — that’s one reason the government will never take all your shit. They’ll always give people enough shit to keep them enslaved. Many here have said it before …. just imagine what would happen if they shut off EBT cards …. they would lose ALL their power … people would be free …. free to tear down the system. Even though there’s No Money, it’s one plausible reason why I feel EBT, Social Security, and other key bennies will always be there. It’s not for the people, it’s to keep their power. (Until it’s not, then The End Will Come)
Well, off to the restaurant. Ms Freud’s son is treating us today to dinner …. all you can eat home-made ravioli (7 kinds) for under fifteen bucks. Ravioli will set you free!
IIRC socrates said something about the poor being closer to God.
“The fewer our wants the more we resemble the Gods.” ~Socrates
Bernays is livid…-KB
Ravioli will set you free! -Stucky
Well, enjoy your dinner, but Ravioli is far too many carbs, which turn to sugar, that I can handle.
8^D -kb
The meaning of life was summed up by Tom T. Hall:
“Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money.”
Keep your overhead low, keep your butt out of debt, and it’s amazing how little money it takes to at worst be content.
“The folks from the thirty blocks would not even understand the concept of meaning of life”
True, nor do banksters, its all about the same thing, free money and little or no actual labor.
@Stuck: I’d love to meet you and Ms. Freud. I bet we could have some fine conversations and laughs together..
And no, I’m not going North of the Georgia line if that’s required.
MA
treemagnet says:
I think Admin is gone baby gone….off to find true peace somewhere in the 30 blocks. Deep undercover I think – face paint, Escalade, bitches….the whole enchilada.
fucking Tre, I was going to comment something serious and then you write this hilarious stuff.
Dang Stuck, you circle back to my favorite textbook. I suppose you’ll bring up MAUS next?
Stucky,
Liked the story, and my wife being German, I know what the Germans had to go through after losing the war. I just smiled when reading about your Mom eating bark and boiled grass, that is why she is on the mend from her fall, she is tough stuff.
llpoh ——you are certainly correct. I’m thinking along Maslow’s hierarchical needs. The folks at the bottom don’t have the time, inclination, resources, and perhaps even ability to think about Higher things like purpose.
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@Muck About — right back atchya! That would be great.
.
Well, I ordered the baby back ribs … meat just fell off the bone … soooo goood. But, Ms Freud ordered the ravioli. And, yeah, I ate them too. After she ordered the SIXTH plate, the waiter said “How are you putting all this away??” Ha!!!
At the absolute lowest points in my own life I have found some degree of comfort in “Mans Search For Meaning”
Man’s search for meaning is by his own admission, man’s search for god (super meaning).
http://www.firstthings.com/article/2008/08/004-viktor-frankl-at-ninety-an-interview