"...I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no great war. No great depression. Our great war is a spiritual war... Our great depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't, and we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off." -Fight club
Values are like water, able to fit any shape they're poured into. People seem to be disconnected from reality, their lifestyles disassociating them from the world and from the idea of us as both individuals and interconnected beings. Do we really need to know what a duvet is? Curious of what a duvet was, I looked it up online and read... "A DUVET cover is just a fancy name for a comforter cover. It is essential to cover and protect your down comforter with one. Another great reason to buy a duvet cover is to use it over your regular comforter." WTF? Why is this 'essential' for such a small fragment of our evolution? Life is instantaneous. Time is short. Our lives, our present selves, fill such an insignificant portion of time. Why do we concern ourselves with names, items, and glamor? We are not the clothes we wear. Name brands and fancy nicknames do not define us! A bed cover is just a bed cover and that's all it needs to be; something that covers you and keeps you warm. A car is just a car; it helps your lazy fat ass get from point A to point B faster, does it really matter how big or shiny it is? Furniture is just furniture. What about it defines you as a person? People exist outside their selves, trying to be like everyone else, afraid of the hidden jewels with in. The television doesn't tell you how to be human, rather it enforces an image and a life style that people seem to be convinced will complete us. To feel complete one must first look with in and observe their inner selves with out social perception because this reality you see on the t.v is not real and distracts people from finding their true potential. We are all brain washed mindless sheep all ready to jump on the next bandwagon even if it leads us to the slaughter house. A person recently posted on Facebook..."P.S. Forgot say my new shoes have 4 1/2 inch heels and I cannot walk in them but they sure look GOOD!" and then a later quote "I am putting my UGGS in the car plus __ is dropping me off and picking me up at the elevator - I could never walk from the parking lot in my new shoes. My sister says how are you going to dance and my response was: You know I have always been a believer of being in pain and being beautiful". If you can't walk in shoes then why the hell are you buying them? I wonder how much money goes to this frivolous material crap that could've went toward technology or ending world hunger. People make me sick. We are a disgusting parasitic hazardous mindless specie that seems to believe that we are somehow supreme. We value our ego as the supreme. Our ego defines us. We don't own our egos, rather the ego is in control of the actions we make. What makes you fit in? What makes you beautiful or look 'good'? Is your answer rationalization or circular reasoning? Why do we buy crap that we don't need, showing no concern for those that don't even have the things they need. I like what I said in class while we were having our group discussions about our comparison/contrast essays. "If natural resources come with a price tag where's the equality?" People should build houses because they want to give others shelter. People should educate because they'd like to see a decrease of the plaguing ignorance that seems to be abound in our society. People should grow food because they want bellies to be fed. We have options, we have resources. With equal opportunity to be fed sheltered and clothed we could do good things out of pleasure to contribute not because we have to to survive. The idea of slaved labor, as it is a reality in cooperate business, is also a lie. An illusion to keep us busy and free from thinking. Is this really freedom or are we the caged monkeys, rattling and screaming about, unaware of the key to salvation that lies with in? I still haven't seen Fight Club, though I do like the idea of Brad Pitt's manic episodes kinda like in 12 Monkeys mixed with Edward Norton's gorgeousness, I'm also not a big fan of unnecessary violence. I understand that maybe it added to it's shock value and appeal, but that doesn't mean that I need to see it. It seems like most of my philosophies Andrew relates to this movie anyway. I found out this weekend that there's also a book... so I'm going to check that out.