Forum Post: On Cynicism and Truth-Yes Virginia There is No Santa Claus
Posted 8 years ago on Nov. 10, 2015, 9:55 a.m. EST by elf3
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The truth about cynicism is that it throws off the sunny illusions we cast upon the world. It is beneath this veil that evil is allowed to operate. We say "The world cannot be so bad that a chemical company is also a maker or co owner of cancer drugs." We say, "The world cannot be so bad that a hospital full of doctors who volunteer to risk their own lives saving children is bombed so that a corporation might be contracted to rebuild it, or perhaps be hired to do the work instead...'given the profound yet government corporate inflicted danger'." We say, " A corporation like DynCorp could not have been complacent over the kidnapping and sex trafficking of young women by its employees and contractors."
Perhaps it is too much for the human psyche to take off the veil of sunny illusions, allowing dark clouds to form over our lives instead, afraid we will never see the sun again.
And while it is a risk to open ones life to that dark cynic we tend to lock away in order to shelter ourselves from pain, it is also equally and perhaps more risky not to. For those nefarious and evil entities and persons seeking to take advantage of our inherent weakness in our self cocooned optimism and unwillingness to accept that "Yes Virginia, there is no Santa Claus", makes us their easy victims. For when one chooses to live under clouds, the motivation behind most evil becomes easier to see, the glare of hope and optimism stops blinding the truth. Power. Money as a means to power. Money as a tool to subjugate and live above others. While we remain in our chosen illusion, those with power look down and laugh at our chosen predicament. They do not live under our same illusion. We are fish in a barrel easy to control. Perhaps my dear fellow citizens of the world, it is that bad. If enough of us choose to see, it is only then we can begin to change it. We cannot change what we cannot see. We must allow cynicism into our lives...for in it lives the truth. Cynicism is the road that has been hidden from view, filled with landmines and sorrow...only the brave and strong among us would choose to uncover it, take that path, and take on the evil we discover on the journey.
Now .. ''Do you find yourself thrashing against the tide of human indifference and selfishness? Are you oppressed by the sense that while you care, others don’t? That, because of humankind’s callousness, civilisation and the rest of life on Earth are basically stuffed? If so, you're not alone.But neither are you right. Stories of greed and ego bombard us. But a new study shows that humans are inherently good.
Furthermore ''why do we retain such a dim view of human nature? Partly, perhaps, for historical reasons. Philosophers from Hobbes to Rousseau, Malthus to Schopenhauer, whose understanding of human evolution was limited to the Book of Genesis, produced persuasive, influential and catastrophically mistaken accounts of “the state of nature” (our innate, ancestral characteristics). Their speculations on this subject should long ago have been parked on a high shelf marked “historical curiosities”. But somehow they still seem to exert a grip on our minds.
Finally ... ''Another problem is that – almost by definition – many of those who dominate public life have a peculiar fixation on fame, money and power. Their extreme self-centredness places them in a small minority, but, because we see them everywhere, we assume that they are representative of humanity.''
So now consider: ''You are not alone. The world is with you, even if it has not found its voice'' - just yet!
from .. ''We’re not as selfish as we think we are. Here’s the proof'', by George Monbiot: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/14/selfish-proof-ego-humans-inherently-good and please consider meditating on - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7plNRs5kwgE
So"If enough of us choose to see, it is only then we can begin to change it.We cannot change what we cannot see" & also take heart from http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33553-with-the-robin-hood-tax-a-grassroots-movement-seeks-to-bring-wall-street-to-heel Solidarity to The 99%!
By the way - are you sure that you aren't conflating ''cynicism'' with cultivating a healthy ''scepticism''? Being cynical about Corporate/RWNJ Conservatives - I get but 'scepticism' is better at others maybe? Rightwing Mind is an emanation of chauvinism, fear & loathing... but woolly liberals need scrutiny too! Santa Claus as we know him today btw - is mostly the product of Coca-Cola's marketing department!
pax ...
Sure yes skepticism...either way. So why are all we good people being dominated by those that aren't...? I'm talking corporations...war contractors...shareholders...I don't pay attention to celebrities...more like cspan. Is it apathy? Or have people come to enjoy their own captivity? Stockholm Syndrome? Freedom is an illusion. We are choiceblind. Have you seen the choice blindness studies? You only think you are happy...because to admit otherwise admits one made a bad choice...an ego thing I guess. The psyche can't handle it. The reality is you only have a series of set choices...so choose the best one and convince oneself it is what one wanted. People like to believe they hold the reins ...to fight back you must admit you aren't in charge of your life. That is a lot to face. Advertisers and politicians practice psychology on the masses...(yes virginia don't question your fate now cheer up with some false hope and a nice Cola)...cynicism is being proactive against people that are actively driven to destroy others to fill the empty hole that sits inside of them..the one where conscience normally lives. Good people tend to be reactive. " We must expect the worst and start pre-empting the attacks on our freedom"...millions ate that up as our lords lead us into war...and yet they don't follow it for themselves when corporations and government begins to subjugate them. Passive people make excellent victims? So what gets people riled up? The prospect of instability...outliers...? I'm confusing myself but I think the point is never underestimate the depths of human cruelty
There are many good people in our revolution who will eventually attract many more kindred spirits who are livid and understand the precarious situation that our world is in. However we don't have to become like them to combat them, but yes we will need to do lots more than just complain, or wear an Occupy or simular type opposition pin on our lapel if we are to succeed. I do understand your frustration though as our struggle is painstakingly slow.
You get that DynCorp; Diebold and their like ... are extremely serious threats to Democracy in the USA [ http://occupywallst.org/forum/trump-this/#comment-1064527 ] BUT - does the average American?! We both know the answer to that rhetorical question, so - what we do here and elsewhere {d'you Tweet?} is plug away at the 'Information Function' and say that with Awareness; Analysis And Action .. maybe the glass can be made half-full again and that a realistic hope based on love & reason - can have a basis in fact and lead to a bolder, better and brighter Future Politics and Sustainable Economy .. for us all. (~i~)
That's why, like you and the other early OWS-Forum joiners, I plug away here. Like you, I believe in the necessity and the possibility of a non-violent, direct-action, mass-movement for a - ''Political Revolution'' in The US 99% but we are NOT naive with regard to the range and depth of the forces pitted against us!
The US (UK & others) needs to realise, react & remedy the usurpation of Democracy into demoCRAZY deMOCKERYcy - and rectify this ... Government OF The People (The 99%) ; BY The People {The 1%} ; FOR The People [The 0.01%] - Oligarchic Plutocratic Kleptocracy that now prevails & with this in mind, please consider:
''We’re living in two worlds, you and I. There’s the world we see (or are made to see) and then there’s the one we sense (and occasionally catch a glimpse of), the latter of which is a far cry from the propaganda-driven reality manufactured by the government and its corporate sponsors, including the media.
''Indeed, what most Americans perceive as life in America—privileged, progressive and free—is a far cry from reality, where economic inequality is growing, real agendas and real power are buried beneath layers of Orwellian doublespeak and corporate obfuscation, and “freedom,” such that it is, is meted out in small, legalistic doses by militarized police armed to the teeth. All is not as it seems.
''Corporatism is where the few moneyed interests—not elected by the citizenry—rule over the many. In this way, it is not a democracy or a republican form of government, which is what the American government was established to be. It is a top-down form of government and one which has a terrifying history typified by the developments that occurred in totalitarian regimes of the past: police states where everyone is watched and spied on, rounded up for minor infractions by government agents, placed under police control, and placed in detention (a.k.a. concentration) camps.
''For the final hammer of fascism to fall, it will require the most crucial ingredient: the majority of the people will have to agree that it’s not only expedient but necessary. But why would a people agree to such an oppressive regime? The answer is the same in every age: fear. Fear makes people stupid.
''Fear is the method most often used by politicians to increase the power of government. And, as most social commentators recognize, an atmosphere of fear permeates modern America: fear of terrorism, fear of the police, fear of our neighbors and so on. The propaganda of fear has been used quite effectively by those who want to gain control, and it is working on the American populace.''
Abridged and excerpted from ..
''They Live, We Sleep: A Dictatorship Disguised as a Democracy'', by John W. Whitehead: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article42555.htm and please also try to consider ...
''The Demobilization of the American People and the Spectacle of Election 2016'', by Tom Engelhardt: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43297.htm and ..
''The Re-enserfment of Western Peoples'', by Dr.Paul Craig Roberts: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43370.htm from which :
''The Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic Partnerships eliminate political sovereignty and turn governance over to global corporations. These so called “trade partnerships” have nothing to do with trade. These agreements negotiated in secrecy grant immunity to corporations from the laws of the countries in which they do business. This is achieved by declaring any interference by existing and prospective laws and regulations on corporate profits as restraints on trade for which corporations can sue and fine “sovereign” governments. For example, the ban in France and other counries on GMO products would be negated by the Trans-Atlantic Partnership. Democracy is simply replaced by corporate rule.''
Finally elf, I'll also ask you to please closely consider the implications of the last five rows of this link ..
and consider that IF a Mass Movement of Politically Aware Citizens can find its voice and mobilise,then many things are possible.OWS has in 4 short years seeded much for the future. Solidarity to u & yours and despite ''the depths of human cruelty'' - we have been, are and can be, oh so much better than that!
IF ''Freedom is an Illusion'', then yes, Stockholm Syndrome is the result but it need not be so. I will end with an edgy tune from an Anglo-French ''post punk'' band & do note the spoken words before the song:
''Perhaps having deconstructed everything-we should be thinking about putting everything back together''
dum spiro, spero ...
Fear of poverty...fear of illness...fear of letting people down. Yes corporate boards and banks sit in those congressional seats...we just don't see them. They run our government ...they sponsor someone to sit in the chair and drive like nascar...just missing the logos. We can't fix it...we need to further deconstruct it so the cracks show to those who don't normally look at it as close up as we do...I think.
Nice! You're right not to just take my invitations to be calm and collected and my saccharine platitudes for a better tomorrow, on face value!! You stick to your guns & even come out shooting, because .. yes, USG & its MIC, have been thoroughly co-opted by Banks & Corporations and so to ''whinge, whine and gripe'' (as RWNJ US MSM'd have it) - Is TOTALLY Legitimate in these strange times!!!
That is why IF you look closely at my links to you, you'll note their timbre and tone. I'm NOT advocating quiescence or acceptance of any status quo but I'm wary of ''cynicism'' because I think that that is what Corporations and their MSM want to cultivate. I'm trying to advocate for a more Enlightened Scepticism.
Right that - In The Short Term .. ''We can't fix it'' BUT you've really got to define your terms and time-line. Thus, In The Medium Term, progress for The 99% is very possible and In The Long Term .. well it's us or The Banks and Corporations - as it will either be a Pro-99% Democracy (where Turkeys do NOT vote for Thanksgiving!) ... OR .. it will be Fascism - red in tooth and claw; at home and abroad!
per ardua ad astra ...
many people are payed corporations that select their jobs
some say I'm delusional
on value money holds
allusion to a shoe fit well
exchanged for goods and services arranged
a pocket full of change
but the stock bell rang
to race a game to match a pace
traced where the cash is placed
and were it returns by design
for money always rises to the central corp franchises
and stay atop the mizes
decide what jobs will pay
https://soundcloud.com/matt-holck/moneypoem
Excellent points. Did you write this?