The kingdoms of experience in the precious winds they rot While paupers change possessions each one wishing for what the other has got And the princess and the prince discuss what's real and what is not It doesnt matter inside the gates of Eden --Bob Dylan, 1965
Let’s save the postmodern philosophical zen quantum nuh-uh discussion on the nature of reality for later. This is about separating rock-on-the-head-type reality from bullshit. If you can see the difference, you are among the “Reality Based Community” (RBC). Of course you can join anyway, bring your ideological baggage with you, but few will talk to you because you make no sense. We all think we grasp some kind of “reality,” but what is “bullshit?” Bullshit exists to make the bullshitter look or sound good, regardless of truth or falsity or any combination.
We are all wired to believe what we WANT to believe, truth or falsity notwithstanding. That makes us all not only natural-born bullshitters, but highly susceptible to bullshit as well, picking the best bullshit to wear like peacock feathers. Horse feathers. Membership in the RBC only requires practice facing a terrible truth you did not want to believe. It also requires facing a lie you desperately wanted to believe. Truth does not care a fig whether you believe it or not, and here's the prime directive:
The USA is dead. The body's been burned to a crisp, hung from a bridge, and the limbs are falling off. The RBC is now making plans to survive the aftermath. That's the reality we need to prepare for now. To do it, there are certain bastions of bullshit that need clarification:
“USA” is bullshit, US is real.
“America” is a nice continent. The “country” once known as the USA is a dead man walking. We have to get over it. US… that’s “us” as a community, that’s real. We have to get along with our neighbors, next hill or next continent. United states is real too… state of confusion, state of panic, state of wisdom, state of grace. They all mix together in that bowl that combines the individual and the collective. Magpie Thatcher said the collective did not exist… only individuals. That’s bullshit. So is the totalitarian idea that the individual is nothing. We are social animals. That’s the truth.
“Politics” is bullshit, collaboration is real.
Liberals, conservatives, right, left, Republican, Democrat… all bullshit. Yes, the labels can represent real collaborative approaches which are buried under so much bullshit you can’t hear them scream. What passes for “politics” (especially in the former USA) is “boosterism;,” hooray for “our team,” boo on “their team.” “Competition” is bullshit. The only real “competition” is mortal combat. Everything else is a game… with “rules” that can be fudged and “officials” who can be bribed.
“Religion” is bullshit, spirituality is real.
There are things and forces beyond the physical world that we are not capable of detecting with our “normal” senses. What they are… and especially what they “want” us to “do” is anybody’s guess. You can “believe” god exists. Nobody “knows.” Save it for the interesting quantum nuh-uh talk around the campfire. Truth is, most “churches” are full of more bullshit than a factory-farm feedlot and most of the stuffed bloodsuckers that “preach” in them are bullshit factories.
You get the idea.
Don’t you? Otherwise, you probably would not be reading this far. You are probably aware that the nasty combination of “USA,” “Politics” and “Religion” have gotten us all aboard a runaway handcar bound for some kind of fresh shit-pit we can’t even imagine. We can stop freaking out about the shit-pit and get the hell off the handcar. How to do it? That’s what the RBC has to invent. Nobody else is going to do it, especially the stuffed bloodsuckers and the rich fatties who want our gold fillings.
The dupes and stooges are not going to figure it out. They’re going to jerk those unconnected levers, circulate “petitions,” “vote” for “candidates,” and all those other binkie-suck distractions all the way to the bottom. But we don’t have to. There are great ideas and ways to implement them all over the place. We need to find them and bring them back to share with the community. That’s US. We research and experiment and share the results. That’s collaboration. We lead the way for the “others,” that’s the spirit.
waldopaper is an insignificant teacher, informed reader and professional writer... living in dominionist crackerland... with two women, one young man, three cats and two dogs... alarmed at a failing state controlled by corporate psychopaths armed with nuclear weapons. There's a light on. Somebody's home.
...and so are ideas. The bullshit (of our current fix) began when people began falling all over themselves to posture on who was the most oh-so-torn-up about "911," the "heart-crack" for NY bumperstickers and all. To generalize, people who think they are "conservative" want others to see them as tough and individualistic... people who think they are "liberals" want others to see them as intelligent and caring.
If you are really a tough, individualistic, intelligent and caring person... and you don't give a good squat about your "image," you've managed to transcend the bullshit. Sticking labels on ourselves is bullshit. Sticking labels on others is solipsism by process of elimination (me-not-them). As Frankfurt says, "One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit."
Our "business" is based on bullshit (dress for success): I dress in a natty suity-wootie, I arrive at 6 am for the prayer breakfast, therefore I am a) professional, b) hard-working, and c) ethical... when all it really means is that I have a suit, an alarm clock, and I know how to bullshit. Certainly there were some natty 6am prayer-breakfast arrivers who really were competent, dilligent and ethical.
I just never met any. In my experience they were all... incompetent slothful bullshitters... who bullshat their way to "success."
The proof is living in the White House right now.
by
waldopaper (11 articles, 3 quicklinks, 22 diaries, 395 comments)
on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 7:09:21 PM
The USA is $14 trillion in debt. Almost 100% of GDP. That's no BS.
The USA must borrow $2 billion EVERYDAY just to pay the bills. That's no BS.
The USA has a military that consume $500 billion every year, without doing much in the way of fighting, security, or winning anything. But it can build a $1 billion per copy B2 bomber that can just drop out of the sky in a routine flight. That's no BS.
The USA must import almost $600 billion dollars of basic stuffs just to keep society alive. It cannot make any of these stuffs anymore. That's no BS.
The USA currency has dropped 45% since 2000, which should so lower prices of US made goods that export should surge. But there's not enough factories to provide the surge, thus screwing itself 3 times - low dollar, unable to increase export, ever high price of imports. This 3-way hole is no BS.
The USA has no savings to draw on in downturn. Japan had a huge savings to draw on after its housing bubble burst in 1990 and even with that it took them more than 10 years to recover. That's a no BS reality.
The USA requires a 50% oil import to keep the economy alive. But it has a overwhelming addiction, meaning there is an absolute unwillingnes to do any about it. Well, oil producing countries are calling the shots. They are the real superpowers. And they don't do BS you know.
The US health care system will blow up, the only country in G8 who is willing to trade health and death for ideological satisfaction. The sh** will hit the fan when recession and job lost will wipe out health - and that's no BS.
Wall Street will blow up. Because it screws itself and foreigners no longer want to get screwed by it. Wall Street can no longer BS - and that's no BS.
The Free Lunch ATM machine, i.e. the house that you managed to wiped out your equity and gone into total debt, now wants the money back. Oops. Filing bankrupty and walking out of your home is not a BS experience.
With so much that's not BS, I wonder why millions of people, including the government, loved to eat so much of the stuff?
by
TomK (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 207 comments)
on Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 2:44:39 AM
