Thou shalt not follow a multitude
We live in interesting times. I think that in this climate it is easy to let one’s individuality and thought to dissolve into one of many amorphous blocks of people – especially if one is engaged with events. Right now there are so many systems of government competing for prominence. They all seem to be working but I wonder which will survive the test of time. Will it be the Western democracies with their flailing demographics? Will it be the one party states like China which has shown remarkable adaptability to capitalism during the last few decades? It isn’t clear whether they can keep on making reforms without descending into violent factionalism with members opposed to reform. Plus demographics will soon catch up to them soon. Will the African nations, or at least some crawl out of poverty and overpopulation or will they draw in and overrun Europe too in a Malthusian trap? Will India become a prosperous pluralistic nation or is it all just hype as it was about Russia, South Africa and South America? Will the United States remain economically free enough to remain the world’s most powerful country?
Sometimes I wonder whether homogeneity provides more room for individuality than pluralism but then I look at the suicide rates in Japan, Good Korea, and China. To be fair I think that there is something to be said for the concept of Tatemae. Or in other words the acknowledgement and justification for duplicity in private and public relations. Of course we all do this, but the Japanese have got the guts to call it what it is, Tate-ma-e. I really dislike the way in which it is encouraged to wash dirty laundry in public. Of course in the long run honesty is more sustainable however is this honesty at all? Or is this faking tears for attention and pity? Speaking of pity, it is so freely distributed (and equally as freely withdrawn where politically convenient) that in my rating it has reached junk status.
There are too many group activities at uni. I really disliked group activities in school why do I have to do this? I understand that there is a group aspect in employment but is university nothing more than a preparation for employment. Isn’t an academic supposed to be an earnest solitary figure?
To Do Evil Pro Bono Publico
There is something disgusting about people who profess to live for the sake of others (usually indirectly by saying that you ought live for the sake of others). It’s disgusting on two fronts but really only one. On the one hand it suggests that those who are helped exist for us to look good(in front of God and/or the volk) by helping them and on the other hand it implies that there would be no real virtue if there weren’t helpless people for us to help.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is used to foster neediness and entitlement. I mean if you are constantly told that you need something you might feel like you deserve it and that an injustice has been done to you by others by not giving you everything you desire from them.
Of the Essence
When one factors in ageing to marriage is it even worth as a reliable access to sex? No, there needs to be something more. But what about having children? There are plenty of orphans, why not adopt? Because they don’t share half of your genes? Aren’t you good enough why bother with an imperfect copy of yourself? Death. Death cannot be avoided even a little bit through procreation.
Time and intention are conveniently ignored by expedient social engineers. It’s all monkey see, monkey do. Apparently they see themselves as the only ones capable of critical thought. That is why you need to go to them to be thaught how to think critically.
Classical vs Gothic
Architecture inspired by the ancient Greeks looks pretty (the sculpture on the other hand looks fake and gay) but to me Gothic architecture looks even cooler. The British houses of parliament are the most beautiful buildings I have seen in my life. I also like how they are cramped inside rather than like those massive Lilliputian halls in China, France, Italy, Sri Lanka and elsewhere where politicians sit so far apart from each other as if they were minor gods. The old parliament in Sri Lanka looks good too. It’s a pity they moved into that secluded Chinese-roofed caste-like large concrete block in Kotte. Come to think of it I have never seen how the inside of the Japanese parliament looks like. From the outside it looks unremarkable but respectable. A bit like the Japanese national anthem I guess.
What does the US congress look like? I don’t know but I bet it is something greek-republican looking.. The White house is a lot more identifiable than congress just like the British parliament is more recognisable than no. 10 downing street. This may have something to do with the fact that the US president is the symbol of the unity of the state whereas in the UK and in Japan for that matter this role is fulfilled by a monarch.
V for Virgin
This evening I watched V for Vendetta movie adaptation. I have not read the original so these comments may not apply to the comic book version.
I didn’t expect it to as left-wing as it was. Honestly it seemed like Orwell’s 1984 inverted upside down. In 1984 Big Brother is a God-like figure in an England where Christianity is dead whereas in V the chancellor is pretty much Emanuel Goldstein. An ugly little jew. V too is the opposite of Winston Smith. Whereas Winston is a nothing more than a pathetic censor, a normal middle aged man, V is a sort of superhero.
I wonder whether Vee, a youtber too has named his channel after V.
The irony of that gay comedian being murdered by the secret police for being gaiy and owning a koran is the number of gays who have being murdered in Islamic societies and the actual satirists who have lost their lives for daring to satirize and criticize Islam. Another irony is how unfunny that show for which the comedian gets murdered for is and the fake audiences laughing watching the tele only makes it creepier. A bit like the opposite of the five minutes of hate in 1984.
The most interesting character is the inspector and the least interesting one is the heroine. There are a lot of good things about this movie. The romance is not one of them. I don’t understand why they love each other. Here too the parallels with 1984 pop up as the heroine just refuses to betray V whereas in 1984 Winston and Julia betray each other. The elements of thriller that came with the inspector were fine though.
Another interesting character is the boisterous conservative tv presenter who used to exist in America but has never existed in Britain. This is also in contrast to the now ubiquitous weaselly unmanly figures in the form of America’s late night talk shows such as Oliver whathisname.
Perhaps at the time that this movie was made it was the right rather than the left that was the most censorious and authoritarian but the left-wing too has shown to have no trouble in advocating for limits on speech for the greater good.
I liked the message that this movie was pushing. That ideas are the vector of history. That philosophy is the motor of history. But throughout the movie this was contradicted by the need for violence and action.
All the good characters look beautiful and the evil one’s are as ugly as sin. The halo effect was strong in this one.
Another thing that struck me is how despite it being an evil dictatorship the people don’t seem poor or shabby at all whereas most totalitarian states are poor and ugly and not full of fancy technology. China is an exception to the rule but let’s see for how long first.
Zizek often brings up valid points for a left-wing philosopher he sees that the day after the parliament is blown up is a blank and as recent examples such as Lybia have shown perhaps it may turn out that dictatorship by a little man was better.
