Enlightenment

There is much to say and nothing worth telling. I do not always feel the need to write. I think that perhaps separates me from those we call writers. I write now. It is not the beginning of a great work. It is not a bit of prose that will change the world. It is simply scribbling. It is the realigning of thousands of bits in a patterned way.

Yes, somewhere in the universe a collection of creatures went to work. A collection of projects, plans, and ideas allowed for another set of projects, plans, and ideas. As of this moment, this is where one of these creatures sits.... writing... pushing on a series of buttons to form symbols the other creatures recognize. These buttons are part of a communication device. His body sits some distance above the planet he calls home. He is traveling at a relative velocity many times greater than his physical form is capable.

As he does this, a thought remains held by his consciousness. The thought that the amazement should be shared. The thought that while great members of his species made this moment possible, they brought millions of others with them. Whether they understood it or not, they set the stage to move forward. The elite are not of a single stock or bloodline or group. Those that do not wonder can be the progenitors of those that do. His species ability to adapt had made them what they were. The acceptance of those around him would allow them to take the next step. The things now thought impossible would become reality. The things he now considered a waste of the power they had been given would in some cases lead to greater powers.

He felt now and had always felt that there was no limit to the power his species could wield. He had looked through their histories. Again and again he had found instances where they thought things impossible. Instances where many had thought that things could not be done only to be proven wrong by a few. His species had physical limitations, however, by some great gift or accident they had been released from them. They had been able to leave the physical world. They could envision places where the rules were different. They could dream. They could envision. They could plan. They could then make things real.

The initial vision and the resultant reality did often differ. This was the true beauty of adaptation. The craft this human traveled in was far different than its predecessors. A clear path of iterations could not be calculated from its construction. The original idea had worked but had some limitations. Rather than accept those limitations, members of his species, had reconsidered the original idea. They did this without dismissing the knowledge of their peers. In some cases, conventions and traditions had gotten in their way. However, experiences had always yielded results and it was only the interpretation of those results that need be considered suspect.

His species was relatively young when he was born. The species was an odd predator. It's untold strength appeared in subtle forms in related species. The ability to use tools. The ability to throw objects. Social instincts. When combined they had led to a relatively successful group of species that were not viable prey to other species. Bipedal movement, the opposable thumb, and larger skulls were the last components. The effect of these was monumental. A species able to repel predators became a predator. A species wielded a weapon. The previous adaptation cycle of generational selection for traits was overcome in a moment. A concept was made real. An idea was put into practice. Something that had never been tried before worked. A question was asked. Within a few thousand years, a single species had changed the pace of adaptation.

He now sat thinking of some of its pitfalls. It had let itself go astray several times. It had failed to grasp its own power. It had let itself imagine that adaptation would stop. But thought cannot be limited. The power that each member of his species possessed offered infinite possibilities. His fellows may not wish to wield that power, they could even ignore it, but it existed regardless. A thought. A dream. The next step.

We were never that young...

I have been writing journals of various types for many years.  The format has changed, the message varied.  In the end, I simply wish to expound ideas.  I have never considered myself skilled in the art.  As I generally think in abstracts, my writing follows suit.  At many times, I have chosen to analyze a situation and comment not about the particulars, but about the underlying principles.  The end result was probably quite transparent to those around me but not necessarily to a complete stranger.

We develop ideas over time regarding past events.  In our ancestral past, these ideas become fact as stories were re-told again and again.  However, civilization brought record keeping.  Old tales were still told, but in many cases an archive could be searched for verification.  As a result, less knowledge was lost.  It became possible to avoid the effects that time has on perception.  A printed page will not tell a different story next month.  A photograph may age, but its subject will not.

Whereas I have beliefs regarding the effects of time on me, I can easily consult snapshots from the past and be reconnected with fact.

I have recently been reminded that the boy my mind's eye recalls never existed. A similar creature walked the earth, but his strength and wisdom have been exaggerated over time.  The gifts of youth do not fade as quickly as our youth-obsessed society puts forth.

So here is to all the 19-year-old super humans who could choose any dance partner they wanted, had 1% body fat, had the constitution of 10 grown men, and had achieved a level of peace and serenity that would make the gods envious.  I will miss you.  The photograph has replaced you with someone else entirely.  You were not fearless.  You were not perfect.  You knew little.  You were not a finished product.  You were a work in progress.  The things that negatively effect you now always have.  Otherwise, the cliche "Freshman 15" would not be possible.

As I've said many times, life begins at 30.  The children that we were simply did not know their limits.  That doesn't mean that they didn't have them.  I may have forgotten that.

Political translation

I was about to preface this blog post with words like "unpopular" and "view as".  In truth, I have the great benefit of living in the United States.  I do not have to preface anything.  Others in much of the world are free to read it, comment on it, be angered, be bored, be disinterested.  This is the beauty of freedom.

Communication (and perception in general) is subject to interpretation.  We all interpret things differently.  I felt it was only fair to give others a glance into my own interpretations.

Someone says: "I'm not racist but..."
I hear: "I'm about to make a racist comment.  I'm trying to apologize for it.  I am actually a racist, but I'm apologetic.  Deep down I know that doesn't make it better."

Someone says: "Big Government"
I hear: "I have no problem with fascism."

Someone says: "welfare reform"
I hear: "I am about 15 years behind the times.  The program I am mentioning no longer exists, but if it did, I would let them all starve."

Someone says: "welfare state"
I hear: "I am about 15 years behind the times.  The program I am mentioning no longer exists, but if it did, I would let them all starve."

Someone says: "You should need to take a drug test before..."
I hear: "Let them all starve."

Someone says: "Tea Party"
I hear: "The criminally insane"

Someone says "DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)"
I hear: "Legislated hate"

Someone says: "Conservative"
I hear: "An individual who has no problem with fascism."

Someone says: "Partial Birth Abortion"
I hear: "I have no knowledge regarding actual medical procedures.  I listen to whatever hatemongers are spewing at the moment."

Someone says: "The breakdown of the American family"
I hear: "I listen to whatever hatemongers are spewing at the moment."

Someone says: "Family Values"
I hear: "I listen to whatever hatemongers are spewing at the moment."

Someone says: "Protect Intellectual Property"
I hear: "Several ridiculously large organizations have paid me a great deal of money."

Someone says: "Internet Piracy"
I hear: "I'm looking for some lame excuse, but in the end I have no problem with fascism".

Someone says: "ObamaCare"
I hear: "Let them all die of easily treatable diseases."

Someone says: "Super PAC"
I hear: "The first step to fascism"

Someone says: "This is a Christian country"
I hear: "I have no idea where I live and am completely unfamiliar with the history of my own country."

Someone says: "Waste your vote"
I hear: "I have no problem with fascism."

Someone says: "I don't vote"
I hear: "I have no problem with fascism."

Someone says: "A simpler time"
I hear: "The McCarthy Era"

I do realize that my remarks may seem harsh.  However, pretending to ignore the repercussions of certain policies is inhuman.  Pretending that lowering taxes will only reduce the bureaucracy and waste (which I fully admit is a matter of concern) is to walk through life with blinders on.  Pretending that large corporations will "reinvest" more money if their taxes are reduced is to claim you live in a world without greed.  Pretending that not voting has any effect other than allowing the votes of extremists to carry more weight is denying that 0 is not equal to 1.  Pretending that "Family Values" is anything but a euphemism for "enforcing my limited world view on others" is to deny most of modern history.  Idolizing the 1950's is to idolize nuclear proliferation, witch hunts, segregation, dumping of toxic chemicals without any knowledge of their long-term effects, and the treating of women as a permanent underclass.

There are sides.  The game cannot be avoided, it is the price of citizenship in the Untied States.  If you do not choose a side, you lose.

I now walk away from the soapbox.  It was never that effective a communication tool anyway.