Infinity
Don Juan
Living close to the nation's capital, I look around me and I'm constantly reminded of where the country and the world, for that matter, is heading and I don't like it one bit. I see it everywhere: on TV, on the streets, and in magazines. One literally cannot go a day without being exposed to it. What I'm talking about is the worldwide obsession led by the United States to create a world that is micro-managed so thoroughly that simple pleasures would be impossible and absurd to even desire. I have no problem with anyone in particular so you won't find me demanding capital punishment for Bush, Clinton, Gates, or anyone who might be at or near the head of this movement, but I do see a problem that is only getting worse and worse with no solution in sight.
This problem is one of valuing quantity over quality, productivity over satisfaction, etc, etc. I'm watching TV and I see a commercial praising the latest technological research that will bring about roll-up TVs. Yeah, you'll be able to carry a TV like it's a newspaper. I'm not gonna say that ain't cool, but c'mon what is this world coming to if we can't go a few hours without our precious televisions. I'm walking down the street and see palm pilots and cell phones abound. Now, I own a cell phone and use it as well, but it seems everyone is becoming absorbed in them. Even that hottie at the street corner is talking on her phone so I can't approach her, damn it! I open up magazines and see advertisements for the latest gadgets, all with the intent of allowing the average man to live a mile a minute.
All these inventions, gadgets, whatever you wanna call them are cool as shyt, but it's the premise behind them that disturbs me. They are all leading us to a decidedly more anti-social, depressed state of being. Before electricity, we used to entertain ourselves by sitting around a candlelit room talking about how our day was. Social skills were much better, I'm sure. People were more friendly, less rude. I'm not saying anyone should desire to go back to such a primitive state of being, but look at where we are going. They say that knowledge\information is currently doubling every ten years. Can you imagine what this world will look like in just twenty years? Yeah, we'll have the coolest shyt imaginable, but we'll all be robotic drones.
The point of all this is that people don't want to talk to each other anymore. When I ride the subway, I notice 95% of people do one of three things. The first group of people is staring out the windows looking at the scenery that they have most likely seen every day for the last couple of years at least. A lot of these people will continue staring out the windows when we're underground, anything to avoid that taboo eye contact. The second group of people is staring at the floor. Ooh, I think that speck of dirt just moved! The final group is busy reading their notes from work that they were bored with all day, but hey if I'm reading this, I'll look busy and don't have to bother looking at anyone. I'll try to talk to someone on the train if I'm in the mood, but the whole scene depresses me and it's sad to see that's where we're heading.
So, I've talked about the problem. I don't have the time, energy, or vision to come up with a solution right now (although I would say Western religion is a big part of the problem). However, I must say I am equally disturbed that there seems to be no great hurry towards fixing this social trend. Every once in a while you'll hear or read something about how America is becoming too super-sized and we're forgetting about what's important, but it's as if these claims are meant to shut people like me up. In fact, look at the health problem in America. The fast food chains super size everything and, thus, the country gets fat. So, what's the solution? Why, let's sue the restaurants and make us a ton of money? After all, isn't that the American way! Ok, so food isn't the main point of my post, but it all fits under the same idea. The underlying structure of America and the West has gotten so f'd up that even "solutions" to problems value quantity over quality. Nobody wants to take the time to solve what is really wrong.
I hope this mass of commentary makes sense to a lot of you and I hope you agree and I'm not completely out of touch with reality. I try to do my best to be part of the remedy. Honestly, you know what, I think I got the solution. Turn Señor Fingers' Weapons of Mass Seduction into national, wait, no, international literature.
P.S. I actually wanted to vent about how it seems everyone meets friends\girls through school, work, and other friends, and it's like people resign themselves to fate rather than living spontaneously and randomly chatting up that hottie that they just saw. This is why I want to make approaches my specialty.
Disclaimer: I don't hate America, the West, or anyone. I just despise the direction it's going. I live in America. I love this country (although I do think patriotism is another f'n sick problem in the world, dammit another long post coming soon maybe).
This problem is one of valuing quantity over quality, productivity over satisfaction, etc, etc. I'm watching TV and I see a commercial praising the latest technological research that will bring about roll-up TVs. Yeah, you'll be able to carry a TV like it's a newspaper. I'm not gonna say that ain't cool, but c'mon what is this world coming to if we can't go a few hours without our precious televisions. I'm walking down the street and see palm pilots and cell phones abound. Now, I own a cell phone and use it as well, but it seems everyone is becoming absorbed in them. Even that hottie at the street corner is talking on her phone so I can't approach her, damn it! I open up magazines and see advertisements for the latest gadgets, all with the intent of allowing the average man to live a mile a minute.
All these inventions, gadgets, whatever you wanna call them are cool as shyt, but it's the premise behind them that disturbs me. They are all leading us to a decidedly more anti-social, depressed state of being. Before electricity, we used to entertain ourselves by sitting around a candlelit room talking about how our day was. Social skills were much better, I'm sure. People were more friendly, less rude. I'm not saying anyone should desire to go back to such a primitive state of being, but look at where we are going. They say that knowledge\information is currently doubling every ten years. Can you imagine what this world will look like in just twenty years? Yeah, we'll have the coolest shyt imaginable, but we'll all be robotic drones.
The point of all this is that people don't want to talk to each other anymore. When I ride the subway, I notice 95% of people do one of three things. The first group of people is staring out the windows looking at the scenery that they have most likely seen every day for the last couple of years at least. A lot of these people will continue staring out the windows when we're underground, anything to avoid that taboo eye contact. The second group of people is staring at the floor. Ooh, I think that speck of dirt just moved! The final group is busy reading their notes from work that they were bored with all day, but hey if I'm reading this, I'll look busy and don't have to bother looking at anyone. I'll try to talk to someone on the train if I'm in the mood, but the whole scene depresses me and it's sad to see that's where we're heading.
So, I've talked about the problem. I don't have the time, energy, or vision to come up with a solution right now (although I would say Western religion is a big part of the problem). However, I must say I am equally disturbed that there seems to be no great hurry towards fixing this social trend. Every once in a while you'll hear or read something about how America is becoming too super-sized and we're forgetting about what's important, but it's as if these claims are meant to shut people like me up. In fact, look at the health problem in America. The fast food chains super size everything and, thus, the country gets fat. So, what's the solution? Why, let's sue the restaurants and make us a ton of money? After all, isn't that the American way! Ok, so food isn't the main point of my post, but it all fits under the same idea. The underlying structure of America and the West has gotten so f'd up that even "solutions" to problems value quantity over quality. Nobody wants to take the time to solve what is really wrong.
I hope this mass of commentary makes sense to a lot of you and I hope you agree and I'm not completely out of touch with reality. I try to do my best to be part of the remedy. Honestly, you know what, I think I got the solution. Turn Señor Fingers' Weapons of Mass Seduction into national, wait, no, international literature.
P.S. I actually wanted to vent about how it seems everyone meets friends\girls through school, work, and other friends, and it's like people resign themselves to fate rather than living spontaneously and randomly chatting up that hottie that they just saw. This is why I want to make approaches my specialty.
Disclaimer: I don't hate America, the West, or anyone. I just despise the direction it's going. I live in America. I love this country (although I do think patriotism is another f'n sick problem in the world, dammit another long post coming soon maybe).
