Submitted by Thad Beversdorf via First Rebuttal blog,
“I’d Like to Change the World, but I Don’t Know How So I’ll Leave it Up to You”
What a great lyric that is from the late 60′s, early 70′s English band ’10 Years After’. I believe this describes that uneasy feeling of discontent that sits deep in the stomach, beneath the day to day exteriors, of so many people today. The world is like a black hole in that it seems to be getting smaller and smaller as the years go by but also heavier and heavier with each passing day.
When I was a teenager and my friends and I were taking reality obscuring substances, one of my buddies (this means you Nichol) would stop us at certain points throughout the night for a reality check. This was just a few moments where we’d all gather our senses to make sure the world was still right and then we’d venture back into obscurity. I feel that reality is an old world term. There is no reality anymore. With advances in technology came unending possibilities of if you can dream it ‘they’ can make it so. The ubiquitous flow of information ensures that the truth is always available but never known with certainty. It means there is no such thing as a reality check. It’s like that dream inside a dream inside a dream. Which reality is real anymore? How deep does the rabbit hole go?
We are raised with pretty standard ideals of what the world is meant to be but these ideals seem to take place only in the movies. It must be incredibly difficult for our young people to reconcile the two worlds, I know it is for me. That which they learn as a child and that which they find has replaced it as a young adult. Our ‘leaders’ our despicable arrogant and egotistical fools who pretend we elect them because we don’t see them for what they are. But we elect them because we feel we have no choice. We know what we want the world to be. We know what it should look and feel like. And we know it is not the world in which we live today. “I know I’d like to change the world but I don’t know how and so I’ll leave it up to you”. And so we continue to move forward down this path each step uneasy as though something ungood is lurking just around the next corner.
We are able to put that feeling out of our minds for the most part but our subconscious is always aware that things are off. We have all kinds of self help books and new – new age theories that attempt to make sense of it all and explain why we just aren’t happy the way we envision happy should be. Perhaps the only reality is the reality that the world isn’t what we had hoped it would be and we don’t know how to make that right. I’d love to say that if we just stand up and do the right thing, act from our hearts and have good intentions that it could change the world. But quite honestly there are ill-ententioned people that are constructing this new world in which we sub-exist. It is ‘them’ and us but they’d never say it that way. Certainly though their intention is not for us to co-exist along side them.
But so we carry on and we, move forward, to the best of our abilities. We accept the good with the bad and acknowledge that everything is a trade off. We believe that if we go to college we stand a better chance in life and so we borrow our first 10 years of post college wages to get an edge over the next guy who is doing the same. When we get out of school we know that it is time to buckle down and get serious. We put our ‘lives’ on hold in order to focus on the future with the idea that one day we will be sitting on the porch with the person we love, the one we put on hold for all those years and we will then enjoy our life’s work then.
But then we get further in debt because we need a sleeker car and we need a bigger house but it’s ok because we can just work a little more. And then the kids come and as far as we got to know them they are great, I think. But it’s ok because they just finished college and now they’ve moved back in as the job market is tough out there and so we’re paying off their student loans. Eventually they get away and begin their life’s journey and they take their debt with them. And then we realize, god I’m almost 60. But it feels great because that means soon I’ll be there on the porch getting to know the one I love again and life will be grand at that point.
But then we turn 65 and we realize all those policies that were implemented by all those ‘well-intentioned’ decisions makers have actually left us with very little. And we say it’s ok because we’d be bored anyway just sitting on the porch. And so we take a job waving at people in Walmart but feel like OMG how did I get here. But the shift ends and we go home anxious to spend time with the one we love because although it’s a terrible thought we are aware we’re both getting long in the tooth. And so we arrive home only to realize the one we love is now sick and that it’s too late for our days sitting on the porch getting to know each other again. We do everything we can but we cannot afford to help that person who stood quietly behind us all those years as healthcare costs are unrealistically out of touch with ‘reality’. And then it hits us that despite taking all the ‘right’ steps to ensure we have a great life we failed to ever really be happy, to really love and to really accept love. And then it really hits us, this world provides but one shot.
Well then that feeling of uneasy discontent that shadowed us when we were young is now an intense pain in our heart. And we look out at the world and we ask ourselves how could this have happened? I did everything ‘they’ told me I was supposed to do, I did everything ‘right’! And it becomes clear that life was a chance to change the world, but we didn’t know how and so we left it up to….
I read that on Zerohedge.
It’s the only post on Zerohedge that has ever made me cry. This guy gets it.
1) Be the person you want to be. Even if you are a pale shadow of what you think you can become it’s far better than being the best fake version of someone else. This either makes complete sense or you’re not ready for a change yet.
2)Tell the truth even when hurts. Especially about yourself, to yourself. This reduces the static in your life to less than zero.
3)Eat, sleep, work and live well. Don’t poison your body, give it all you’ve got whatever it is, don’t mail it in, be yourself.
4)Do for others even- especially when it requires extra effort.
5)Care for other living things and their needs as you would your own.
6)Never forget that on the macro level- race, politics, religion, gender, history, society- the individual is moot. Unless you were born a Naploean or an Alexander, there’s nothing you can do to alter or influence any kind of change in any one of these areas. Trying to will guarantee frustration, anxiety, cynicism and hopelessness and guarantee that huge swaths of humanity will hate you. Your best play is to live the kind of life that may, without your ever knowing, influence someone you interact with to be the kind of person you’d want to be in community with.
I think we are too easily influenced by falsehoods and deceit because we are not inherently false or deceitful. We accept larger fictions- like attaining happiness through consumption, perfecting society through political means, etc. because we accept smaller fictions, like if I work hard enough at something I don’t like the reward will be worth the time spent away from the ones I love, or my vote counts.
It sounds trite, but be the change you want to see is the most powerful thing you can do in this world.
Easy peasy.
I have a house right in the middle of two hundred Amish farms. They live in the closest thing to reality that I have seen in my lifetime. Working with the land, animals, milling wood into lumber by hand, building furniture etc. They care not what the Dow closed at or that it is Stuper Bowl Sunday this weekend. I love to watch them in their “Little House On The Prairie” lives and I long to be so grounded.
I have been blogging this very message for years that we live in a construct managed by the tv and other electronic devices. They will convince you that you must dedicate your life to accomplishing this or that and in the end, it is all a lie.
We were all lied to, from the earliest age. Our parents were lied to from the earliest age, and they told us all the same lies thinking they were truths and not knowing they were lies. Many of us have been born with tremendous potential and talents to reach them. The ones that attain, reach their potential, acquire wealth and status, whatever; are they lucky, smarter and more talented than the rest of us, lacking in conscience and scruples, or a combination of all these things? I look back on my life and, though I have little, can tell myself that I did what I could without stepping on others and at least I awoke from the dream of the sheep and can believe in myself.
Bewildering. That’s what it is.
Living in the US is like solving 1,000 simultaneous equations, with 1,000 unknowns.
People like Bill Gates and people in my profession (computer science) have wrongly lead people to the opinion that ‘change’ is good. People who can endure endless – needless – unrelenting change are smarter and stronger.
So now there’s nothing to ‘hang your hat on’. There are no norms, no standards, no path to a satisfying career – cause the game / parameters change everyday.
Bullshit! While this washed-up, drug addled former hippy is now disappointed that he/she was too fucked-up to really enjoy life, some of us faced “reality” and got with the program. Sure we had disappointments. Loss of jobs, family members, friends, &TC. So what! That’s part of the deal known as human life. True happiness comes from within, but it is certainly influenced by our choices in life. Buying more shit we don’t need with money we don’t have is a recipe for disaster and unhappiness. So what if I don’t have the latest IPhone. My Samsung MK1 Mod0 works just fine. I don’t drive a fancy Benz or BMW and I don’t want to. My old truck does everything I need in a vehicle and it’s paid off. We all have a choice when we get up in the morning. We can decide to enjoy the day and be decent to the people around us, or, we can be a miserable prick that is despised and avoided at all costs. After 67+yrs, I have come to the conclusion that the former is a whole lot more fun than the latter. Y’all have a great weekend!
Well, I’m 68 and much as I’d like to sympathize, I’m afraid I can’t do so to any great degree, having followed a different path. No debt, no mortgages, kept it simple, swallowed the bitter pill for a while and did what I had to do to amass some capital, took a very active part in raising my children, and staying true to myself. If i sound a bit smug and self-satisfied, it’s because I am. I continue to pare away inessentials, meaning in a coupe of years, the internet will be kept to a very bare minimum if nor entirely eliminated. Adult kids are doing well, my small and simple goals are met… I don’t feel in the least cheated or misled. “Reality” has always been very clear and I depend upon no one else to define it. More and more I’m glad I encountered Zen in my teens and took its teachings to heart.
I can accept that the world in 2015 is not what we hoped it would be. What I have a hard time accepting is that my son who is in college may have a much more tough time than I did at life.
Here’s a book (haven’t read it) that might help some:
“The “End of America?” Most likely. The “Demise of liberty?” You betcha! The “Destruction of Western Civilization?” Of course! But why let all of the above get you down? Learn to “Enjoy the Decline!” “Enjoy the Decline” is mandatory reading for all conservatives, libertarians, Americans, and lovers of freedom who are mourning the slow, but sure death of their culture and their country. America is over. Freedom will be curtailed. Liberty is dead. And above all else, it is inevitable. But the answer is not to get depressed and give up hope. The answer is to change your attitude and learn how to “Enjoy the Decline.” You get one life on this planet and Aaron Clarey explains how to get the most out of it even though socialism and tyranny are all around you. From learning how to adapt your psychology to learning to let go and take advantage of the socialist system, “Enjoy the Decline” carries the freedom loving American through the 5 stages of grief and puts them on a path to enjoy their life regardless of what is happening to their beloved America. Dark, macabre, and morose, but truthful, helpful, and practical all the same, it is guaranteed to make you happier than your socialist counterparts even though they have everything they want. Make leftists, liberals, and progressives miserable. Enjoy the Decline!”
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[/img]
@ Rise up: ” You get one life on this planet and Aaron Clarey explains how to get the most out of it even though socialism and tyranny are all around you.”
That’s bullshit. Aaron can suck cock if he wants.
Wanna wind up like those fucks in Greece – keep thinking that way.
Anon, you deny that “socialism and tyranny are all around”?
Keep drinking the kool-aid…
Interesting post as I was just reading another reality memed article
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/want-to-be-evil-be-dull/
which leads you to a film called ‘Bitter Lake’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/entries/ae14be85-3104-3c74-a9da-85807434a38e
“There’s a difference between school and real life: in real life, the test comes first”. And then you get the lesson. Every person who has heard that joke has responded knowingly, acknowledging the epiphany of the truth it speaks. That is, that the truth we are all seeking does not lie here, in the verbal realm, but in our experience, in the Tacit Realm. There are no words in the Tacit Realm by definition, only the grist for the meaning of that joke. You cannot speak the truth, because the first word after “the truth is…” contains a falsehood. Try it. Prove me wrong.
It follows then that falsehood lies within the verbal realm, which is the subject of Thad’s lament. He states, “The ubiquitous flow of information ensures that the truth is always available but never known with certainty”. Oh yes it is. It’s just not AGREED UPON! That is because we have been brainwashed into believing that scholastic achievement gives us “that edge”; that going to school to become a wood cutter (New School) is superior to 30 years of experience in the craft (Old School). But is it? “Don’t believe everything you think” reads a bumper sticker in my neighbourhood. What does that mean?
It means that we have been programmed to believe the conclusions put forward by the dominance hierarchy, that every lesson in school, every news report on the MSM (main stream media), every pronouncement by our ruling elites is propaganda: paid for by others and designed to shape the way we think. In fact, the comment I am writing, or all third-hand information for that matter, also fits this category. Us “Idea Salesmen” (intellectuals) have a vested interest in making a sale. But, unlike school, the MSM and our leaders earnest desire to have us become Good Consumers, you don’t have to buy it. Caveat Emptor.
Here’s my best pitch: our culture is committing suicide. We have lost our hope, we don’t know what is good and what is cultural relativism, and like the eulogist in the movie “The Big Chill”, our training has not prepared us to deal with this ugly reality. He says, “are not the satisfactions of being a good man amongst our fellow men enough to sustain us anymore? Where did Alex’s hope go? It makes me angry, and I don’t know what to do with my anger!”
“There are ill-intentioned people that are constructing this world [but] their intention is not for us to coexist beside them”. Just so. And how does one go about deceiving others? Through falsehood, disinformation, dissimulation, taqiyya, deceit and verisimilitude. In short, the verbal realm. And might our elites cover for them by betraying us and serving their interests? Possibly, If they too have been brainwashed, if it is in their electoral interests, if they have a hidden agenda, or are motivated by hatred, self-loathing, or any number of possibilities that inhabit the human heart.
“It’s not what people don’t know that will hurt them, but what they know for sure that just ain’t so” said Mark Twain. Who are you going to believe, the MSM or your lying eyes? Can you “learn to think for yourself” as Gerald Celente advises, or are we still hung up on consensus? We are told what that consensus is, but whose interest is served by it? Which reminds me of the line from the forced-situation comedy series, Firesign Theater in which a stoner shouts out, “what is reality?” as Principle Poop addresses the suckers at More Science High School.
It is what it is. Not what anybody says it is. The Buddhist aphorism has it that, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. Which suggests the power of enlightenment rests with the learner and when that is manifest, then epiphany is at hand and repentance is the path forward. I end with another maxim from rock an roll, from the past, about the future: “We Don’t Get Fooled Again” by the Who.
P.S. The last line in the lyric should read, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. Pete Townsend is a genius!
PPS. Not all teachers are evil, just their overseers.
PPPS. Are collectives inherently corrupt? No, just some individuals within them that hijack the agenda to serve themselves over duty. And what can the collective do about psychopaths once they have power? How about sing songs? Like, this line from Credence Clearwater Revival:
“singing songs that they carry inside,
Mostly say, hurray for our side”
Yeah, sorry there Maudlin Thad… I realized the worldview that was being pushed on me – the one you described being disenchanted with – was a load of green shit and I abandoned it. Made my own way.
We live life pretty much on our own terms and as it comes. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I will work up until the day I die, and I’m completely okay with that.
The whole concept of “retirement” is a Western invention, and personally I don’t see a reason to stop working – provided I’m working for myself and not some wage slave. My great Grandfather made his own way, too.
Learned a trade, earned his “Meisterschaft” in Germany, then used that to start his own business here in the US. Built it up until he had over 50 employees and he still worked every day of his life. When he finally relented and the business passed to my Great Uncle Hans, great Grandpa dropped dead less than a year later. He didn’t really retire, always having an interest in the business…
Who says you’re supposed to retire, anyways? Why buy bigger and more shit? Because some other folks have “more and better” than you? Who says? We have our little 100 year old farmhouse, live in the middle of nowhere and I’m happy working this land. I’ll be even happier when the shop gets built and I can finally hang out a shingle. I’m content here, and I consider this “better” than commuting to some city somewhere, even if it pays more and I end up with a bigger house and more shit…
We have almost no debt, pay our bills on time, every time. I have no desire for the latest, greatest iShit or a flashier car (that’s still not as well built as my 73 Ford F250) or trendy clothes or Custom Artisan Bee Spit bought at Trader Joes…
My clothes are sometimes worn and threadbare and a little rumply. They’re also comfortable. I’m wearing the same boots I was wearing 10 years ago. My hair and beard are long and I thoroughly enjoy saying “FUCK YOU” to society in general… what’s not to love?
@ Chuck Fire: “Here’s my best pitch: our culture is committing suicide.”
This is why I said out current state is “Bewildering”. Literally in all aspects of our lives we are now bombarded with an endless source of info (true / false), rules, regulations, manipulations.
So ‘some things’ are true for some people, but not others, but that’s just today, tomorrow it may all change.
For those who say “I don’t have a fancy… I live within my means” – These are truely simplistic statements. The problem isn’t consumerism or materialism.
The problem is our society. Instead of trying to establish a reasonable path for young people, where you can have some expectation that you will get out what you put in – we are more interested in fucking with every aspect of life – just to make a buck – control people – dominate people.
@Dutchman: I had an erudite answer to your querey but unfortunately I hit a wrong button (control?) and my loquacious repartee just disappeared! We will have to collaborate in the Tacit Realm as I struggle with what it means to “boot my computer”.
If you quote a song, please get it right.
Ten Years After wrote these lyrics:
“I’d love to change the world
But I don’t know what to do
So I’ll leave it up to you”
I’m kinda underwhelmed. Here are 10 observations from an Old Guy.
1. Think for yourself. This is critical. There is truth out there, but you must wade through and discard all the adolescent internally inconsistent garbage put forth by today’s culture as guidance and then you must ignore your neighbors and friends who have all the answers and know what’s best. About everything. Well, they don’t. Most individuals in this culture are arrogantly ignorant, everybody having all the answers for everyone else. Think for yourself and trust your own conclusions. Just ignore the nonsense.
2. Work for yourself, and keep trying until you can get as close to that ideal as possible. If you go along to get along, you will always be under someone else’s thumb and they will keep you down and keep you poor.
3. Be born at the right time. I was born at the tail end of The Silent Generation, meaning when the culture still taught sound and fairly consistent moral values.
4. Love truth.
5. Realize that historical trends move in great cycles, not endlessly repeating but definitely rhyming, all driven by human nature. Try to determine where you are in the current cycle and what makes the cycle what it is. One example is that we are at the end of Failed Enlightenment whereby Materialism has led to empty prosperity, starving the soul while feeding the body. As cheap energy becomes dear, that cycle ends.
6. Know that this life is anything but all there is. Understand that we are each one small point of divine light that is underpinned by a vast substrate of energy, not substance, and that that substrate is driven by divine emotion, feeling tone.
7. Realize that we are in school, here to learn and experience, and are only at an intermediate level, if that. After we pass, those lessons are integrated into our greater soul. Not an end, a transition to greater awareness and understanding. Realize also that it is possible to understand this before we pass.
8. Realize that human nature has flaws and weaknesses and pay attention to them as they act upon the culture.
9. Be lucky, win the lottery or inherit money (yeah I know, sarcastic, see Point 10), but always press whatever advantages fortune passes along and eschew debt except for the best of reasons, which certainly do not include the newest Chinese shiny bauble. Fortune does always give us a few tips of its hat, often small, sometimes large. Recognize them for what they are, take advantage of them and be grateful.
10. Retain your sense of humor and thus your sanity. People are funny.