These are my thoughts on life. The things I have learned. The things I believe. Most of it can be summed up in the Block sections of the Holy Bjble
Everything is (unfortunately) about politics. There are those who understand they get screwed by politics and there are those who don't understand why they get screwed.
Nationalism is primarily a way to justify taking something for yourself and those around you (or with whom you relate) that should be for everyone.
Conservatives are just the people who are afraid of losing what they have. They're so afraid that they aren't willing to even listen to new ideas.
We live on a small, inhabitable dot in the vast reaches of the universe. We are insignificant. Even the longest of lives are but a millisecond in universal terms. We are surrounded on all sides by uninhabitable death. And yet we prioritize the hoarding of resources by individuals, rather than focusing on diminishing the suffering of our fellow humans or protecting our fragile habitable environment.Our tiny existence is magnified by our astounding egos and seems to have convinced the majority of individuals of our speicies that they are the most important point and time of the entire structure of the universe. There is no arguing the fact of it, because ultimately, they are right in a subjective kind of way.
The idea of militarized borders and countries impeding the right of movement would be ridiculous if a group of migratory birds decided to enact strict borders on all other migratory birds. It is equally ridiculous and offensive when done by humans.
Taxes are justifiable as long as individuals, groups, or nations designate areas of the planet, resources, or complex means of production as 'theirs'. These individuals, groups, and nations should be required to pay taxes to all who are not given access to this bounty. The complex part is figuring out who collects, distributes, regulates, and decides on the use of those taxes.
Where people exist, problems exist and where problems exist, politics begin.
Money is useful and dangerous.
Wealth requires limits.
There has been little or nothing which has been more offensive in human history than the creation of a billionaire class.
I was late to the party (I shouldn't have been) but even so I feel that Bitcoin offers the best chance of escaping from the madness of allowing corporations and governments to control finance. Long live Bitcoin!
Don't be ashamed of being poor, but don't be proud of it either.
Sudden not so profound insight into our civilization: Early people created central warehouses to put their collective necessities (food, clothing, fuel, etc). They stored everything there and called it the 'store'. The idea was take what you need and store what you don't. The appointed a 'storekeeper' to keep track of stuff. The storekeeper started keeping track with marks and counters - created writing and math. Then the storekeeper started making sure that those who took something were accountable to replace it - keeping track. Soon there were notes of debt and notes of asset. Money. Then the storekeeper became the banker keeping track of money and resources. Then the storekeeper said 'fuck you, this is all mine and I'll determine who eats and who starves'. Then the storekeeper/banker made himself king then to appease the upset people created the idea of representative government but the bankers and 'store-keepers' were never elected or removed - they always kept the power but just shifted the attention from where it was held. So, as you go to the 'store' to do your holiday shopping - think about that.
God is certainly indifferent to you but that doesn't mean that God doesn't exist or should not be considered carefully.
The religions of the world seem to all boil down to a couple of simple ideas: treat each other as you'd like to be treated, respect the miracles that allow you to exist, each moment is precious and fleeting so endeavor to be present, and understand that there are things it is not possible for you to understand.
When you see the fish (or other religious symbol) be sure to secure your wallet.
Your rights go as far as the next person's rights. If they impede on the rights of another in any way, then your rights have over-extended themselves.
I love this bit of wisdom, but I'm not certain I agree with it completely. "What is a good man, but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man, but a good man's job." While I love the idea that we should take care of each other and endeavor to make the world a better place, I've met too many people that were incapable of learning to want to volunteer as their teacher and I've spent more than enough time in my life cleaning up the destruction from bad people to want to be responsible for their messes.
Marriage has been the hardest thing in my life to deal with. I suspect it has been even more difficult for my wife.
Nothing in this life has been such a great honor as being my child's father. Nothing can be.
Ultimately, I've learned that blood and water are irrelevant. The family you love and who loves you are not motivated by genetics or relatedness. Family is about the spiritual ties that are bound in actual love. Without love, family is as meaningless as traffic driving by a hitch-hiker on a cold and lonely road.
There is nothing so valuable as a true friend. One who does not judge you. One who is always there for you. And most importantly, one whom you are always there for and will never judge.
True friends will help you hide the body.
Technology is exciting, fun, and compelling. It is also dangerous, addictive, and more often than not leads to unpleasant and unexpected consequences.
Would that we could see the future. Imagine being able to turn on a screen and see the results of our actions in one year, ten years, fifty years, a century, a millenia... Oh, how quickly we would change.
The future is a dark place for humanity, because if it is anything like the past, we are all going to die.
The light of the furthest stars has yet to reach us and until it does, most people will deny those stars ever existed. The same is true of the greatest ideas and innovations...
If you are afraid of suffering, you are already suffering from your fear.
Failure gives you the chance to grow. Success gives you the chance to fail.
The person who knows, doesn't talk. The person who talks doesn't know.
Humanity is fundamentally a social species but with the confusing ability to act both socially in accordance with instinct and also independently and against instinctual behavior. This juxtaposition of opposite tendencies has kept humankind from evolving into a hive species with all of the dangers which are inherent in such and has also allowed for a 'free will' evolution that has allowed humans to define themselves as both a species and as individuals - something completely unique among living things on planet Earth. Think of humans as a tool created to solve a series of undefined problems. Much like a neural network operating with a self-educating algorithm on a limitless mesh network, humanity has been given the freedom to become whatever it needs to be to solve the undefined problems that may arise in the universe, whatever they may be. This loose non-structure is fundamentally dangerous because it gives rise to the possibility that humanity may figuratively (and literally) paint itself into a corner. Thus far, the cognitive flexibility of humankind has let it escape from such corners - something that previous species of humans found themselves unable to do. Whether this skill or luck will continue is doubtful but still possible. You can take that to mean exactly what you think it means. Humanity is no more guaranteed a future than previous species of humans were. To sum up: Humans are social without being constrained to instinct which allows for greater problem solving but which also allows for greater problem creation. Both circumstances are necessary for humans to fulfill their function - that of solving greater undefined problems. In terms of relating to one another, planet, and universe - the following relations have been given priority in the order mentioned. Self to self. Self to self's child. Self to self's mate. Self to self's friend. Self to self's family. Self to self's tribe/community. Self to self's environment. Self to the universal. Human's in general are detrimental to their environment and to one another. This is the reason for these instinctual relations and the order they go in. While it would have been nice to have reversed this list - this in truth would most likely result in a species wide suicide by intent - which is different than what seems to be the unintentional species wide suicide pact humanity is currently living through. For the species to exist and grow - the individual must value their self above all else. Otherwise the mother would starve to feed the helpless babe which would then perish without the mother, the mate would favor circumstances for the friend over the mate, the extended family would become the over-riding social unit and destroy diversity, the tribes/communities would become insular, and the environment would thrive while the community degraded - so this is the way it is. Yet, because of the self-determination aspect built into humanity - these instincts can be overcome and create a more healthy environment for the inverse of relational hierarchies. This is a part of the self-directing protocols built into human operating systems. One could easily ask why earlier philosophical texts did not utilize this information technology analogy to explain the function and purpose of the human species in the universe. The answer is simple. Universal answers needs must be explained analogous to the societal and technological levels of the civilization recieving the answers. Even if the words existed to say 'it works like television' to a seventh century shepherd, the shepherd would have no idea what he was being told. Instead, the shepherd needs to be told that humanity is analogous to his flock of sheep rather than to the individual nodes in a neural mesh network. By the same token, understand that these current analogies are flawed and as better technology and understanding comes to humanity, humanity will have the tools for a greater understanding. The truth however, will remain elusive and ineffable. The creator and the purpose of the creator are so far beyond the understanding of humanity that it is nearly the same as true to say that the universe and the forces that created it are all powerful, all knowing, and all mighty - even if on a universal scale, this rings of hyperbole. Still, the neural mesh network analogy is magnitudes of understanding closer to the actuality than the shepherd and flock metaphor - even if it is still deeply flawed.
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