Response to “The Plague”
This is both a post about life and inspiration and a reply to “The Plague” by Ezra over at Grimjow.net
Mostly the question is, is normalcy right, or even good?
Of course in this question we get a few distinct parts that I will discuss:
- Can we recover from despair?
- Is society captivity, what is the effect of such?
- How do we overcome, or become ‘above’ ordinary life?
The first two points I want to cover are a response to this:
Can something completely tainted and plagued by relentless despair recover? Even if it can be rebuilt will it be the same as before or will it always be missing that one piece of the puzzle that makes you a drone to society and to everyone else’s views and restraints? They say a bird held in captivity can never be reintroduced into the wild. Shouldn’t the same apply to a person?
Ezra
First, despair is a state of mind. It can be recovered from. However, just like cancer, despair can easily be considered a disease and the process of overcoming it can be just a difficult and fraught with peril. The recovery does change a person.
In some ways recovery from despair does force a person into the mold of society. As I see it, the majority of despair is caused by not being able to reconcile the self with the society one is faced with. At the same time I do not think this makes someone a drone, or even more likely to become one. Being always at odds with society will always crush the individual.
Is society captivity? Yes. At the same time though, we live in a time where being a functioning member of society requires far less than any time before. Ezra used the following line that I like very much, “Why should I have to jump through circus hoop after circus hoop endlessly just to live an ordinary life.”
Life and society is a circus. There are prescribed roles, and everything is organized into a very complex dance that often requires the suppression of the individual so that the full show can be accomplished. At the same time though, all the people jumping through hoops are only in one ring of the circus. Or to put it another way, even though the shows relies on submission to being in a show, there are a lot of people doing things that are totally independent of other parts. Thus, in order to exist freely and outside the normal role of the cog in the wheel, we need to assume a role which exists in society but allows us to become an independent actor.
Luckily, this has existed in society for a very long time in two ways. The Jester and the Shaman.
These two roles were very important to society, and very much within the walls and rules. At the same time, they are not ordinary life. Both are also positions that rely on an endless quest for knowledge and wisdom.
Obviously these jobs have changed a great deal with modernization. Most think they have disappeared. However, this is what our counselors, artists, priests, comedians, and others are doing. They exist outside the normal shell of the machine in order to keep things running smoothly and in order to point out the parts that are hurting the machine.
When done properly this should entail that the society is being evolved and moved by these forces in some subtle ways. When improperly done, these people serve as harsh enforcement tools by the state to correct “wrong thinking.”
I’ll discuss my views of superiority vs. worth is another writing. Before then though, hopefully Ezra will have a chance to respond so we can see where our ideas match up and where we can debate new points.
Sorry, man. I’ve been out of it here as of late. I’ll post a reply in a day or two, I just didn’t want you to think I forgot about it!
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Ezra, no problem!
It took me a couple of days to get this up after reading your own post, so no worries about any delays. I look forward to seeing what you write.
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I totally agree with you in the sense that there are different professions that allow others to live outside of the norm. You made a very valid point concerning comedians. Their view from the outside is the only way they’re able to what they do. If they were a mindless drone stuck in a nine to five, it couldn’t be the same. In a way I relate to the late George Carlin’s perspective on life. His sense of morality and views were outstandingly obscure compared to the general census. If he were giving speeches or lectures using the material used in his comedy skits, one might find him a hate spewer or completely delusional, not allowing him to have such a wide fan basis.
The point you brought up on the jester and the shaman peak my interest greatly. In a way they still exist in society just not as they did in the Royal Courts. You may find the quality of a jester in many people in the entertainment business, talk show hosts, film directors, etc. They all display their own bit of self and views that normally wouldn’t be tolerated and could cause dramatic debates.
When it comes down to the machine functioning, it’s understandable that society has to submit and play it’s role. I personally don’t agree with this though; the idea of being a colony of worker ants really annoys me. We’re self-proclaimed super-predators on top of the food chain who have such a massive intellect that we don’t refer to ourselves as animals and we don’t compare ourselves to any other mammal short of gorillas due to their human like traits. Yet we still follow basic structure and adapt to our environment or make our environment adapt to us. I just don’t see why everything should be completely ordered and dollar signs be placed on things to prove it’s value.
I look very forward to discussing more of this with you and can’t wait until we get into the superiority versus worth topic. It will prove to be most excellent.
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Chris Schaffer Reply:
August 26th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
I’m glad you brought up Carlin! He and Robin Williams were two of the people I had specifically in mind when writing that part. Carlin, of course, was much more biting in his social commentary. I agree that he would be viewed as hateful or even quite dangerous is not for the context he worked in.
I also perfectly understand your frustration with the sort of hive mentality that large parts of society works in (thrives on?). That and the degree to which it has been decided that the dollar is ALMIGHTY angers me quite a bit. I would love to see more of your thoughts on the issue.
I will try to get up a Superiority vs. Worth post tomorrow or Thursday.
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[...] Worth vs. Superiority Written by Chris Schaffer on August 27, 2008 – 2:20 pm - This is an extension to my previous post Response to “The Plague”. [...]
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