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29-12-2012 When I think of rebelling against all that's wrong with this world, I tell myself that no matter what horrors may happen to me, and no matter how bad things get, I'll try to be different. In an irrational world filled with superstition, I'll be the one who educates himself. In a world that's selfish, I'll try to be more compassionate and understanding. In a world with so many liars, I'll try to be someone who tells the truth. Keyword is try. I can't think of anything else I can do really. In the end I'm so insignificant, subject to forces way beyond my control.However, all of that's easier said than done. Very often I have to insulate myself from it all. I can easily fall into a depression so deep that I can't get anything done. When I study the universe, the laws of physics, or work to build new technology, I feel like I'm helping humanity rise above the struggle, in a small way. Thankfully I enjoy the work, which I don't think many people can say about their jobs. Sometimes I like to look at sci-fi, futuristic pictures of cities made by artists on Google images. I think of humanity long into the future, and maybe we've been able to civilize ourselves, change our culture, and maybe even modify our genetics and biology to be less violent, selfish, and everything else. I think of what I could do to move the world in that direction. I decided to become a scientist and help research and build those sorts of things. To be entirely honest, with so many people on the Earth and all the insanity, I often don't feel I'm making much of an impact. It's very important to me that my work is meaningful in some way. I've been trying for a long time to get to a place where I do meaningful work for a living. I think that maybe if I help develop some electronic chip, which is then used in a medical device, which then helps cure an otherwise incurable disease in someone who certainly doesn't deserve to suffer from that sickness, I've accomplished what I set out to do. I want to do that before I leave this world. Contribute or add something meaningful. I know that other people will one day wake up into this place like I did. I want to help clean things up and make this place more enjoyable before the next group arrives. |
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29-12-2012
Thankfully I enjoy the work, which I don't think many people can say about their jobs. That's great! I'm enjoying mine, too. Although I could work more and make more but I'm also enjoying my time off work and my hobbies.
That's a good personal motivation. An example of a secular meaning to your own life. My concern, however, is non-human animals as well. The extent to which we exploit them is horrifying. Oftentimes a more comfortable living for us makes enslaving and torturing one of them. And not that they're having a picnic in the wild anyway but there's no justification for adding to an already existing suffering and worsening it. |
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29-12-2012 I think there are far more insightful and eloquent tirades against society to be found, for instance you may enjoy Chris Crittenden's moving and compassionate Letter to the Future or Derrick Jensen's more environmentally-focused volumes (plenty of his talks are on youtube btw). Recently, I have been exploring the work of Adorno, and I would also recommend the writing of anarcho-primitivist John Zerzan and the psychotherapist R. D. Laing - who you may know already. |
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29-12-2012
Thanks very much for your recommendations, I'll check them out. Meanwhile, here's a good quote from Laing on the subject: "Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent." |
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03-02-2013 The Human Evasion |
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06-02-2013
This book has been mentioned here already, I've also quoted parts from it in some of my posts. Good one. |
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06-02-2013 Wow, a priest(David Williams) mentioned it to you! LOL Needless to say, I am not a priest, so things are very 'diverse' here. I do notice you have an interesting variety of commenters..I'm actually touched that many religious people do seem concerned with suffering on its own terms..it shows a lot of integrity, and it shows that their minds aren't turned off, after all. Otherwise, why would they be at a god forsaken site like this recommending books like that ::wink.gif::. |
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27-08-2015 I like this post, but you forgot about my missing foreskin -- Male Genital mutilation. It's not a big deal though, since its been missing since I was a baby. Gee, luckily a christian doctor did it, and not some blood sucking, baby dick licking ritual or (metzitzah b'peh). Otherwise I might have caught herpes.http://abcnews.go.com/Health/baby-dies-herpes-virus-ritual-circumcision-nyc-orthodox/story?id=15888618 |
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