Reality Check
Every few years, I do an experiment where I wander out into the (virtual/textual) World at Large and interact with other humans. Every time that I do this, I find the same thing(s), i.e. that it takes way more time and energy than it returns, and that it just distracts me from much more important uses of my time.
I have been thinking about a few things….
Per a very useful (gasp! in person!) conversation that I had earlier this evening, I heard a great line (Pardon me while I paraphrase.): "Arguing about politics has only slightly more effect upon actual political decisions than talking about sports has on the outcome of a game." It's true - all the emotionally laden, back and forth arguments do next to nothing (and I'm being generous) to change anything whatsoever about the fate of the world. Unless that writing and debate is happening with someone in office or in a very large public forum where one is the one speaking to an otherwise silent and enrapt audience, then the effects of that debate are minimal….except, of course, to keep one sitting very still engaged in drama.
And then it struck me: It is no different than television, only in this game of distraction, I get to be one of the (millions) of actors with my (metaphorical) mouth moving. Yes, my brain is engaged more actively than if I were watching TV (heck, brains are more active when they're sleeping than when they're watching TV) but the net result is the same, i.e. I hold very still staring at / becoming engaged with the drama. That drama never ends; like a soap opera, it goes on and on and on and on. Sometimes the faces of the actors change, but the elements of the story remain the same.
I've also been interested in the idea of motivated reasoning strategies, or deciding what one believes and then using logic backward to "arrive" at that conclusion. ( Motivated reasoning is essentially starting with a conclusion you hope to reach and then selectively evaluating evidence in order to reach that conclusion ) No one wants to hear other perspectives, no one is listening to each other, and no one cares how the "other side" feels or thinks. I find this depressing, ineffective, and pointless to engage in…. aha! but it's so dramatic! (schluuuuuuup! sucked right in!)
Right now, I feel like I am watching a sock puppet performance. On one side, there is government; on the other side, corporations. They nip and bite at each other in this little mock performance, while the American citizenry sits on the sidelines arguing over which sock is "right," i.e. the most convincing. Truth has been replaced by believability, and everyone is confused and arguing over socks. Meanwhile, the two arms of the same being continue playing their parts of the "battle" for the edification of the audience. (Bread and circuses anyone?) Like God and Satan, they form the two roles in the drama while people argue over who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist, never questioning the entire performance in the first place, and never even considering that they don't have to participate in the drama.
I have three priorities: Health, family, and career. These are the three things most likely to bring happiness, peace, prosperity, fulfillment, joy, support, love, integrity, longevity, connection, progress, etc., etc., to my life. I have known these to be my priorities for a while now, yet I do not always live up to my fullest sense of focus and purpose 100% of the time. However, because I do drag out the Nietzschean hammer on a pretty regular basis, I don't typically stray from my path for long.
I am wasting my time. I only have so much of that. I know how to influence culture if that is what interests me; my current means does not do that effectively.
Once upon a time, I had a motto for conversation that I lived by pretty consistently. When confronted by someone who just *had* to discuss politics with me (and my definition of "politics" is pretty broad and includes all forms of gossip) I would usually say the following: "I would rather stand neck-deep in dog shit than talk about politics, because at least afterwards, I can wash the dog shit off of me." Then, I'd change the subject.
I feel largely the way that I did post-9/11, i.e. sick and sad, mostly because of the way that "normal people" react than by the events themselves. Wow. Just….wow. In a few days (or hours - who knows - I process pretty quickly) I will turn this into an empathy exercise, will look at it as yet another experiment with the same result, and then will go on in my regularly scheduled life. That's the thing - no matter the result, I always continue onward anyway; I know where I'm going, but occasionally I get distracted by the melee on the side of the road and think that if I briefly stop, perhaps I can do something to stop it, as it is wholly unnecessary. Suffering, suffering, and more suffering…. some of it is perhaps unavoidable, but the largest part is self-created, especially if/when one looks at "self" as the whole of humanity. Micro, macro, it's all the same to me…..
And now I revert to my Ivory Tower, my 2009 Monkey Experiment drawn to a close. Have fun monkeys!!!! Or, whatever it is that you do instead.
I have been thinking about a few things….
Per a very useful (gasp! in person!) conversation that I had earlier this evening, I heard a great line (Pardon me while I paraphrase.): "Arguing about politics has only slightly more effect upon actual political decisions than talking about sports has on the outcome of a game." It's true - all the emotionally laden, back and forth arguments do next to nothing (and I'm being generous) to change anything whatsoever about the fate of the world. Unless that writing and debate is happening with someone in office or in a very large public forum where one is the one speaking to an otherwise silent and enrapt audience, then the effects of that debate are minimal….except, of course, to keep one sitting very still engaged in drama.
And then it struck me: It is no different than television, only in this game of distraction, I get to be one of the (millions) of actors with my (metaphorical) mouth moving. Yes, my brain is engaged more actively than if I were watching TV (heck, brains are more active when they're sleeping than when they're watching TV) but the net result is the same, i.e. I hold very still staring at / becoming engaged with the drama. That drama never ends; like a soap opera, it goes on and on and on and on. Sometimes the faces of the actors change, but the elements of the story remain the same.
I've also been interested in the idea of motivated reasoning strategies, or deciding what one believes and then using logic backward to "arrive" at that conclusion. ( Motivated reasoning is essentially starting with a conclusion you hope to reach and then selectively evaluating evidence in order to reach that conclusion ) No one wants to hear other perspectives, no one is listening to each other, and no one cares how the "other side" feels or thinks. I find this depressing, ineffective, and pointless to engage in…. aha! but it's so dramatic! (schluuuuuuup! sucked right in!)
Right now, I feel like I am watching a sock puppet performance. On one side, there is government; on the other side, corporations. They nip and bite at each other in this little mock performance, while the American citizenry sits on the sidelines arguing over which sock is "right," i.e. the most convincing. Truth has been replaced by believability, and everyone is confused and arguing over socks. Meanwhile, the two arms of the same being continue playing their parts of the "battle" for the edification of the audience. (Bread and circuses anyone?) Like God and Satan, they form the two roles in the drama while people argue over who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist, never questioning the entire performance in the first place, and never even considering that they don't have to participate in the drama.
I have three priorities: Health, family, and career. These are the three things most likely to bring happiness, peace, prosperity, fulfillment, joy, support, love, integrity, longevity, connection, progress, etc., etc., to my life. I have known these to be my priorities for a while now, yet I do not always live up to my fullest sense of focus and purpose 100% of the time. However, because I do drag out the Nietzschean hammer on a pretty regular basis, I don't typically stray from my path for long.
I am wasting my time. I only have so much of that. I know how to influence culture if that is what interests me; my current means does not do that effectively.
Once upon a time, I had a motto for conversation that I lived by pretty consistently. When confronted by someone who just *had* to discuss politics with me (and my definition of "politics" is pretty broad and includes all forms of gossip) I would usually say the following: "I would rather stand neck-deep in dog shit than talk about politics, because at least afterwards, I can wash the dog shit off of me." Then, I'd change the subject.
I feel largely the way that I did post-9/11, i.e. sick and sad, mostly because of the way that "normal people" react than by the events themselves. Wow. Just….wow. In a few days (or hours - who knows - I process pretty quickly) I will turn this into an empathy exercise, will look at it as yet another experiment with the same result, and then will go on in my regularly scheduled life. That's the thing - no matter the result, I always continue onward anyway; I know where I'm going, but occasionally I get distracted by the melee on the side of the road and think that if I briefly stop, perhaps I can do something to stop it, as it is wholly unnecessary. Suffering, suffering, and more suffering…. some of it is perhaps unavoidable, but the largest part is self-created, especially if/when one looks at "self" as the whole of humanity. Micro, macro, it's all the same to me…..
And now I revert to my Ivory Tower, my 2009 Monkey Experiment drawn to a close. Have fun monkeys!!!! Or, whatever it is that you do instead.