There will be no resistance, we are in the process of decline and fall with collapse being the big change ahead of us. Few people notice the dehumanizing effects of the machine because they have no other context in which to frame life on account of the "shifting baseline syndrome." It is simply 'life' to them, what it is, has been, and always will be. They don't remember even the former conditions of their own time. If they do, they believe in the myth of progress, that all changes are for the better. But they mostly don't form any larger context, let alone resist, on account of what lies between the ears of those of us who fall under the fat part of the normal curve - most of us, in other words - is almost certainly not what you think it is. People who observe the things you do make a very common mistake in believing others are equipped to frame the world as they do. They aren't. I made this mistake myself, for years. They don't have the IQ, the curiosity, the imagination, the thirst for knowledge, the love of reading and research, all things you require to understand the larger picture. It is why as a mass we are no more than a vast mat of bacteria in a petri-dish, regardless of how incredible some of the folks out there are personally. And then of course there are all those who "get it" who lack the vigor, the will to change anything - even in their own tiny lives. Perhaps they've trapped themselves in life as the machine wished them to and have no room for alternatives anyway. In my experience, most of the few who see things for what they are fall into this latter category. So who remains, what percentage of us? Would it even be 1% equipped and poised to resist? At any rate, resistance is both futile and unnecessary. We're going down. Our work isn't to resist, it's to negotiate our predicament intact, including mentally. It's all going away anyway on account of the larger forces driving our bus at this point. This is nothing less than the natural order of things.
Each of these essays you guys post have been meaningful to me and made me thoughtful about what I'm mulling over in a different way.
This quote: "This involves being more present and mindful in our lives, reading insightful books, and surrounding ourselves with people who have navigated and overcome their own ennui. We should also confront our situational boredom, examine it closely, and understand what it reveals about our loss of purpose and meaning."
Then you end on, or the novel does, the working class doesn't realize their profound boredom and therefore doesn't have an epiphany necessary to change it. Is it because they don't read? That they are isolated somehow? Is this true in real life?
Jen- Thanks so much for reading. I don't think that I was making a unique argument about the working class and their need for epiphanies, though I can now see what it may have sounded like that. The Ghost Shirts tended to be engineers and managers but definitely not exclusively. The challenge to epiphany experiences certainly transcend classes though the sources of distraction may be somewhat different. With that being said, I would like to see a way to enrich the intellectual possibilities for working class Americans. Similar to what you were arguing in your excellent piece for Christianity today. We need to education that is oriented toward epiphanies in non-school settings in the way that you argued for young adult formation in non-school settings. That is one of the reasons that I'd like to do a conference for men like Oren and Seb. High-minded young laborers who don't have much opportunity for form intellectual formation.
Eric- this is an interesting point. This reminds me of something I just read on the bus this morning. I am actually just re-reading David Foster Wallace's biography "Every Story is a Ghost Story." He became convinced that post-modern literature actually makes the despair and alienation worse given it's heavy dose of irony and jokesterism. He was trying with Infinite Jest to produce a book that could maybe jar people out of their boredom with pure truth. So, I think it really depends on what you are reading.
So good. I thought this was headed toward an appreciation of the goods of situational boredom, the virtue required to be content inside it. Something along the lines of Jenny O'Dell's How to Do Nothing. But this direction makes sense allegorically, if the situational boredom is a figure of the existential boredom, which is largely experienced, paradoxically, through our efforts to fill all the boring situations with screen time.
This is great! Love the nod to my boy SK.
Thanks Eddan. We're looking forward to your first post.
RIP to the GOAT on boredom, David Foster Wallace, this day in 2008
There will be no resistance, we are in the process of decline and fall with collapse being the big change ahead of us. Few people notice the dehumanizing effects of the machine because they have no other context in which to frame life on account of the "shifting baseline syndrome." It is simply 'life' to them, what it is, has been, and always will be. They don't remember even the former conditions of their own time. If they do, they believe in the myth of progress, that all changes are for the better. But they mostly don't form any larger context, let alone resist, on account of what lies between the ears of those of us who fall under the fat part of the normal curve - most of us, in other words - is almost certainly not what you think it is. People who observe the things you do make a very common mistake in believing others are equipped to frame the world as they do. They aren't. I made this mistake myself, for years. They don't have the IQ, the curiosity, the imagination, the thirst for knowledge, the love of reading and research, all things you require to understand the larger picture. It is why as a mass we are no more than a vast mat of bacteria in a petri-dish, regardless of how incredible some of the folks out there are personally. And then of course there are all those who "get it" who lack the vigor, the will to change anything - even in their own tiny lives. Perhaps they've trapped themselves in life as the machine wished them to and have no room for alternatives anyway. In my experience, most of the few who see things for what they are fall into this latter category. So who remains, what percentage of us? Would it even be 1% equipped and poised to resist? At any rate, resistance is both futile and unnecessary. We're going down. Our work isn't to resist, it's to negotiate our predicament intact, including mentally. It's all going away anyway on account of the larger forces driving our bus at this point. This is nothing less than the natural order of things.
Each of these essays you guys post have been meaningful to me and made me thoughtful about what I'm mulling over in a different way.
This quote: "This involves being more present and mindful in our lives, reading insightful books, and surrounding ourselves with people who have navigated and overcome their own ennui. We should also confront our situational boredom, examine it closely, and understand what it reveals about our loss of purpose and meaning."
Then you end on, or the novel does, the working class doesn't realize their profound boredom and therefore doesn't have an epiphany necessary to change it. Is it because they don't read? That they are isolated somehow? Is this true in real life?
Jen- Thanks so much for reading. I don't think that I was making a unique argument about the working class and their need for epiphanies, though I can now see what it may have sounded like that. The Ghost Shirts tended to be engineers and managers but definitely not exclusively. The challenge to epiphany experiences certainly transcend classes though the sources of distraction may be somewhat different. With that being said, I would like to see a way to enrich the intellectual possibilities for working class Americans. Similar to what you were arguing in your excellent piece for Christianity today. We need to education that is oriented toward epiphanies in non-school settings in the way that you argued for young adult formation in non-school settings. That is one of the reasons that I'd like to do a conference for men like Oren and Seb. High-minded young laborers who don't have much opportunity for form intellectual formation.
I guess my question really is, are you screwed if you're not a reader?
Or is the descent into books just more highbrow consumer consumption? ;-)
Eric- this is an interesting point. This reminds me of something I just read on the bus this morning. I am actually just re-reading David Foster Wallace's biography "Every Story is a Ghost Story." He became convinced that post-modern literature actually makes the despair and alienation worse given it's heavy dose of irony and jokesterism. He was trying with Infinite Jest to produce a book that could maybe jar people out of their boredom with pure truth. So, I think it really depends on what you are reading.
So good. I thought this was headed toward an appreciation of the goods of situational boredom, the virtue required to be content inside it. Something along the lines of Jenny O'Dell's How to Do Nothing. But this direction makes sense allegorically, if the situational boredom is a figure of the existential boredom, which is largely experienced, paradoxically, through our efforts to fill all the boring situations with screen time.
Ryan- Glad to keep you on your toes.