The Camera?

Alright, so this is a random blog I wrote a while back on my Myspace, in fact the one and only blog. Except now its four times as long and much more, philosophical-like. Anyway background, I dropped a camera and for some reason had the thought, "I bet someone somewhere just dropped a camera as well, I wonder how often it happens?" Then I got to thinking that nothing we say, do, think or feel can truly be all that unique and protecting it thus is pointless.

I bet someone somewhere just dropped a camera. They were about to take a picture of their brother cheating on his wife and somewhere else the wife just slipped in the tub and is being rushed to the hospital with a broken neck. And the brother, upon dropping the camera, swears just loud enough that he was heard by the philandering couple; and the plant he's hiding behind in the lobby of the hotel has awfully bad coverage. As the cheating brother is about to look at the plant where his detective brother is hiding, his phone rings and he finds out about his wife's broken neck. After hearing this the woman with him is overwhelmed with guilt and runs to the bathroom for some unspecified reason, to cry. As the cheating brother looks the way of his secret lover instead of at the suspicious plant, the spying brother hastily picks up his camera and sneaks out the door hailing a taxi. The cheater is left alone and confused standing in the lobby wishing he'd made a better choice.

Did this actually happen? Will it happen again? Is someone somewhere dropping a camera right now? How often does it happen? How often does anything we do happen? Have you ever stopped to think, "Maybe someone somewhere is doing the exact same thing as me."? Is someone thinking about this as I am writing this? There are 6 billion of us in the world, how unique can our actions or words be? We think our actions, thoughts and emotional situations are unique, however, this cannot be true. There is always someone who could sympathize with our situation. Is this a comfort? Or is it unsettling? The brother in this story was compelled to cheat, but why? Was his wife not satisfying? Did he feel lonely? Was he an ass? Why was he so selfish to think that he was the only person who felt this way and that the only way to overcome it was to desert his wife? There are a lot of questions, and not many simple answers.

We are selfish and ignorant to claim that anything we do is unique to ourselves. Charles Darwin is attributed to the theory of evolution but millennia before in the 7th century BCE the Greek philosopher Aximandor proposed a theory with striking similarities and dozens more suggested it in centuries to come. What is the fuss about plagiarism? How can one person lay claim to an idea, ideas are not created, they simply exist in nature or in the human mind and grow through interaction with other people. We add to ideas based on what we have learned from other human beings. Is this plagiarism? Did Karl Marx really invent socialism? Should I cite his work when discussing his ideals? Or is the idea social equality one that is engraved in the basic human mind? Various welfare cultures throughout history would say so. As unsettling and pessimistic as this sounds it is true, yet for me, it is somewhat comforting. We are not alone, and by claiming and defending our uniqueness don't we isolate ourselves and stagnate in our progress like the brother in the story above?

It is a trying task to be unique. And in being unique you doom yourself to be static. Never changing, never improving, and as soon as you stop moving forward your purpose is gone. So recognize the difference between uniqueness and individuality; protectionism and independence. Throughout history, when cultures crossed with one another swapping ideas and knowledge, we saw culture and technology grow, excelling mankind. But when they sat at home protecting what they had, fearing their neighbors were out to steal from them we saw stagnation. So if you think I've raised some good points, steal them, please, I didn't make them up, it has been said before. Also if you think I'm full of shit, tell me. Why should I give a damn? Its progress, its a forming idea and it grows through criticism and argument. How did this go from dropping a camera to origin of ideas? Who will ever know. Tell me what you think. Do you ever stop to think, maybe someone somewhere is in the exact same situation?