Don't you think that the Ground Zero memorial should be a tribute to all humanity, not just America and its stereotypical vision of the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant)? It wasn't just Americans that lost their lives, and all those who did represent a much larger picture of injustice in the world. I don't know, guess I'm just an idealist.
Regardless of the fact that dozens of innocent Muslims were killed in 9/11, regardless of the fact that the proposed Islamic Center in Lower Manhattan does not actually contain a mosque and cannot even be seen from Ground Zero, this non-controversy is out of control. It just so happens that in the middle of Ramadan Islamophobia is at a high-point. To this day around 20% of Americans believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim. I fear for the ignorance of some Americans, it just so happens that the festival of Eid, marking the end of Ramadan, falls on September 11th this year. Let's hope that no one mistakes religious celebration for boasting at the "glory" of terror.
Don't let a few bad apples spoil the whole basket. That's all I'm saying.
Lately, there has been a rash of bicycle thefts in my neighbourhood. Living in an upper-class suburb, that means expensive bicycles and pissed off, paranoid neighbours. While the rest of the passersby are buzzing about the problem and complaining, "Somebody should teach them a lesson!" I am laughing at the whole situation because A: What is someone doing with a $2500 bicycle anyway? Honestly everyone else only uses one of their 15 gears, why do you need 30? AND B: The crime duo's Modus Operandi (Celtic... just kidding) is absolutely fantastic.
See, the two will target a house with their garage doors open, they will ride in on their own bicycles, usually one-gear speed-bikes from a by-gone era. They ride in, take the expensive bikes and drop off their antique jewels. In one case they actually left a tandem bicycle (or bicycle-built-for-two) in the place of the more expensive bikes. Now having recently traveled to downtown Toronto (haven of hipsters) to see the Arcade Fire's concert promoting their new album "The Suburbs" (which was a fantastic show by the way) I came to be well acquainted with the idea that one-gear speed-bikes are hip. Thus I have concluded that these felons are stylish in their crime.
If I did not believe that these ne'erdowells were simply trying to make a quick buck and cause trouble, I would dream up some story of how these were Robin Hood Hipsters stealing from the rich, and bringing hipster style to the masses. They steal the (needless) $2500 bicycles pawn them off and purchase, at garage sales, through the internet, etc. old jewel junkers to give to their "victims." Really they are just trying to make everyone a little bit cooler and a little less snobbish.
(The Picture: My own contribution, okay I stole the parts, but I spliced 'em good....ish)
Musics: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (Music Video)
Self. A word for the elusive but ever-present enigma that is supposedly at the very core of our being. It is difficult, near impossible, to define, and yet few educated citizens of Western civilization would argue against the self's existence (unless they are a fan of Nietzsche). With this seemingly unanimous, universal belief in the concept, it must simply be accepted that the self is necessary and permanent aspect of each individual in society.
However, this is only partially true. Yes, the self is necessary to our capitalist society, creating the necessary competitive drive to keep the gears of our economic machine churning. However, the self is not necessary, and often detrimental to other systems and situations. Think of the French Revolution, it was an enlightened revolution against an absolutist regime. It marked the self-realization of the masses of Bourgeois who came to the conclusion that, as individuals, they were not getting all they could out of their current economic situation, whereas the aristocracy and the clergy were living the high-life. While the result of the revolution could be argued beneficial, it is clear that the concept of self is detrimental to absolutism. In fact, during this time, the sense of self in the Bourgeois proved to be the most destructive and subversive weapon against the Bourbon dynasty.
Also, the self is not a permanent facet of the individual, in fact, the individual and its subsequent self has historically been in flux most recently coming into existence at the end of the Dark Ages, with the advent of philosophy and early capitalism. Before the Renaissance, the masses of serfs were content to be just that, serfs. They did not consider that life could be better for themselves, because the closest thing they had to a sense of self was a sense of role, as an impoverished labourer. This shows a more universal concept which dominated society, not as a collective of individuals, but a single unit, operating as one with smaller parts. The same can be said of the former Soviet Union. With all Marx's talk of self-realization through labour, communism, at least in its impure "dictatorship-by-the-proletariat" form, proved to nearly eliminate the sense of self in labourers.
Let us ponder the state of the self in our technology-driven capitalist society. Some would argue that the self has come and passed, and remains only as an illusion in our society. Marx would claim that as slaves of the "God Money" we confuse our role in our society for our true self. That would make me an unemployed student. More and more when trying to define the self, we run into problems, attaching our roles in our society, our families, our friend groups, etc. to aspects of our self. In doing this we are defining our place in a greater community and in turn defying our individualism and the very concept of the self. Therefore, it must be argued that either, we once had a self and we have once again lost it (to technology?), or that the self never existed except as maybe an illusion.
If we don't have a self, does that make us slaves? Our government gives us freedom, but our state of being, existence, or whatever it boils down to, takes it away. It can be argued that we live in a constant state of slavery, under a fascist regime that ironically gives us absolute freedom. Few among us truly understand their self, and still fewer embrace their freedom. Maybe the only way to be a true individual is to defy all your roles in society.
Disclaimer: Defying your role in society can lead to infidelity, STDs, physical harm, incarceration, suicide-by-cop, etc. This blog does not condone illegal actions in the name of discovering one's "self". Really it is hardly worth it.
Related Blog: Along with self-based and community-based societies comes the idea of isolationism and Unitarianism. This is a good argument for why the latter is a fundamental and necessary part of society: Why Nietzsche Was Wrong.
Anna Chapman (assuming that is her real name, not a pseudonym) is one of the 11 suspects recently captured by American authorities in connection with a spy ring in the suburbs of North-eastern United States. The radiantly ravishing Russian red-head, living in New York, described herself as 28 years old, divorced and the daughter of a Russian diplomat. Her and the 11 others were groomed to infiltrate policy-making circles in the United States and report information back to Russian authorities through hidden text in photographs.
So what does this sexy spy mean for American and Russian relations? Well Russian President Medvedev just finished meeting with American President Obama and the two nations praised thawing relations at an all time high since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Little did they know that Ms. Anna Chapman would heat things up even more. Will this mean renewed distrust amongst the two powers? It's hardly news that the two are keeping an eye on each other (these 11 probably representing only a tiny fraction of the much larger espionage going on in the United States) but with the case so close to the public eye, it could mean disaster for the renewed ties between the two countries.
Regardless of the outcome, Ms. Anna Chapman represents the new face of espionage. A sexy, tech-savvy, suburbanite, she seems extraordinarily ordinary. Entrepreneur by day, sexy Soviet spy by night, only a lonely middle-aged comic-book writer could have done it better. How can we be sure that our neighbours are who they say they are?
I'm trying to get back into blogging, like I once was, addicted. But relapsing is very difficult, so I'm going to take bigger hits. Not write an essay or something. But more impacting hits. I'm going to take it in and send it packing straight to the addiction center of my brain. I'm going to meditate on that shit. It's going to be wild. Anyone reading this thinks I'm heavy into drugs now, but I'm not into them at all. Taking bigger hits was just a suggestion from a friend.
What has been on my mind today is Plato's Allegory of the Cave. I wrote a couple posts (and months) back about how environmental alarmists fucked the cause with their doomsday talk, and I just realized the relevance of the Cave. We all live in blissful ignorance inside the cave, looking at shadowy figures, left-overs or doubles of the truth. Then when we ascend into the world we are blinded by the light of the truth, we see the true origin of the shadows, we see reality, and we long to be in the cave again, where we return, no longer ignorant, but indifferent. That is what happens with environmental alarm-ism. We don't like what we see, we can't handle it, we ignore it.
You can't unknow something, but you can ignore it.
