I haven't been posting because there's really not been much to post. I'm at the point where I threaten repetition with every word I type- ominously close to that point where a sitcom has run out of steam and carries on for a few more seasons before shutting down.
I'm officially the Blog world version of Nick at Nite.
I did come to a mini-epiphany a few weeks ago. I think people are drawn to the idea of celebrity not because we think we'll ever get famous, but knowing there are people whose lives are dictated solely by their desires gives us comfort. Getting up early to slay the beast that is life day after day gets tiresome. It helps to know that someone, somewhere, is sleeping in. At least we've got that.
Here's the thing- every so often I see a guy standing on the street corner, asking for spare change. Usually there's either an explicit or implicit sob story to boot. I wonder what would happen if I sat there with a sign that read, "I'm simply tired of working." I think a lot of people would identify with that, and probably appreciate the honesty to boot. I'd give that guy a dollar.
Somehow our society has driven us into an individualistic mentality that strives to get everything and share nothing. And as a result, we all must struggle harder to get the things we need. Somewhat ironic, no?
Look at ants. Simple, common ants. They're smart enough to know that they have to stick together to survive. They work to build a common shelter. They're smart enough to realize that it's easier to build one giant house than one million tiny ones. If one finds food, he tells the others, and then brings some back to the rest of the community. If we were to find a bunch of money in the woods, who would tell the community? No one, would be my guess.
Why? Because we think that if someone else were to find the money, they wouldn't share it either. So we take what we can get our hands on, because that's what the next guy would do. So we don't trust each other because we don't trust each other. Get it? And we each stubbornly roll our own rock up the hill, and kill ourselves in the process. A very lucky few get their rock to the top, and it feeds the illusion that it's normal to achieve success alone. Meanwhile, the mass of men struggle to get a decent grip. And our pride refuses to ask for help, and our neighbor's recalcitrance hinders him from offering- even though he needs some help too.
This is only a country by name. Sure, every time there's a tragedy we run up a few flags on a pole and sing some old songs, but we don't really give a damn. Our country runs to our property line, and stops there. Our only real allegiance is to ourselves, and the little fiefdom we happen to occupy. We can't be bothered with helping others, because there's always someone whose rock is a little bit higher than our own.
Perhaps one day we'll realize that maybe the point of life isn't pushing rocks up hills. That we shouldn't have to work for half our lives to afford a box to live in. That if we built things closer together, our own two legs would serve us well. That we've set up a world where we are forced to adapt to technology, instead of the other way around. That if we made a dog do something it didn't want to do for eight hours a day we'd be looked at with disgust; yet millions of us do it everyday, despite our inherent nobility. That there are far better targets than green pieces of paper to shoot for. That our greatest treasures lie far within us, and not on Amazon.com.
Perhaps- but I doubt it.
