Essay on "Walden My Hope for a Better World"

Essay 5 pages (1568 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Walden

My hope for a better world involves a process of deliberation in all affairs, including enjoyment. As it stands, the world moves too quickly. Much like the lives of houseflies, we move about a relatively short period of time, accomplishing nothing but the expenditure of time and the production of more waste. I see a nation of people, myself included, swept up in their own affairs, paying no attention to any worldview other than selfishness. All things determined in advance and lent no probity, we are left in a state of ceaseless acceptance and revolting tradition.

Where do we begin? We begin as witness to the lives of others as they impact the world as a whole. For to remain an individual, we must recognize the inputs hat create such individuality. Egoism defines the world of today. Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. What else are these but examples of shrinking personalities attempting aggrandizement? These devices teach that everyone is deserving of some kind of celebrity. Celebrity is the New American Dream. Why? Because there is no consideration anymore, only capitalization. All things determined in advance there is nothing left but useless wicks.

Greatness in an individual radiates through deeds and interaction, not egocentric self-consciousness. In America, our privileges now are merely foundations for some modicum of fame. A college degree is a way to more money. Access to better food and healthcare is a way to "look younger" and "live longer." The very idea of "living longer" in terms of years, proves my underlying message, that we are lasting longer but no longer living.

Media, both social and otherwise, has crushed anything like individuality. One is an individual only insofar as one may choose what to buy. Irregularities in personal lifestyles are demonized, marginalized. If they are lucrative, then they are celebrated. We live in a county where it is still illegal in some places for gays to marry. Men still make more money than women. There is no standard other than selfishness. And yet our privilege as Americans, our unparalleled quality of life compared to other countries, this is nothing more than the backdrop for an equally unparalleled lack of comprehension. The freedom we possess is that of the gerbil in the plastic ball, and we contribute nothing.

What do we work for, for what do we work? We work for companies whose standards are even more pathetic than our own. Cutting costs is more important. Moving jobs is more important. "Going green" is a label, not a cause. And yet, what is out real output? Our culture is consumer crap culture and it feeds no garden.

Let's dispense with the abstractions and move towards the concrete. What are our standards? One is supposed to acquire an education, get a job, get married and then have kids. There are expectations for men, and those for women. Almost none of these expectations require any substance, just mindless acceptance. Marriage is an institution based on exclusion and male dominance. Marriage has classically been a marker of humanity. It was used to divide races in the times of slavery. It is now used as a dangling carrot for females to enjoin them to have children. And any form of no to gays who wish to marry is a stamp of our own egoism.

Education? Industry is more important now than education. As long as you can sit at a computer for some random company you will be fine. The classroom is more an arena for indoctrination rather than allowing individuals to progress on his or her own. The classroom is a place to sell books and ensure a certain ideology predominates so that the workplace and society in general will remain homogenous. There is no philosophy anymore. Our philosophy is politics. And our politics divide everything even the supposedly unseen worlds of the human mind.

What about politics? This last election should be a harrowing indicator of our current state. Any opportunity for real coverage was entrenched in partisan media bias. The spectacle became more important. Not once was a there a valuable debate, only the volleying back and forth of doctrines. Many people I talked to voted for Obama without having any real sense of what his policies were, or would entail. Same goes for Mc Cain. Yes, we have become so senile and weak that we accept logos and rallies over logic. All things branded and left writhing already decided. Our reliance on spending money to get out of debt first incurred by wanton spending and lending, this is the thermometer in our mouths. And the one thing retarding all progress is our unwillingness to talk about things. We have the internet, the very paragon of democracy, our beloved. Yet I defy you to locate any real dialogue on the internet.

What does all of this indicate? It indicates a general leveling of American culture. We have become Nietzsche's Last Man. Technology is more important than human interaction. Science is the new religion. The most ironic thing about technology is that its supposed purpose is to allow one to express his/her individuality, meanwhile, it contributes to a new standard of crowd-like fervor. The moment I believe a phone defines me is the moment I wish for death. American's once prided themselves on having no king or queen. But we do, we have technology and celebrities. We have celebrities who we esteem as role models and we have more than enough ways to try and emulate their presence.

A glance at most movies and television and music, the holy triumvirate of American youth, shows that we have already determined most things before ever experiencing them. I can predict lines, lyrics et cetera. All of it is meant to distract people from the reality of life. Each romantic movie is another ideal held high and marketed. It is more important to have a following than to have any substance. Everyone is a stereotype.

Occurring alongside this culture is the culture of rapid turnover. Our products would not be nearly as effective if it weren't for their overabundance. A new product immediately dates its predecessor. A phone that can play movies makes a simple cell phone look like garbage. And for what? The speed of news and trends conditions us to always feel left out, left behind. People discuss dancing shows and celebrity mishaps as though they know these people. Best-selling books are the crust of even the worst cliches. They're either some right-wing propaganda or some inane thriller. But it's not enough to possess any of this because possession is exactly what is avoided. You always need to have the newest thing. You always need to have something else. All things predetermined to die, there is no currency.

We now come to the dreadful realization that the American Individual is more a dream than anything else. The individual American is a sucker to whom useless products must be sold. Even the most basic forms of reason elude us. My time spent in nature suggested that most encounters with others are predetermined by so many outside forces that any and all authenticity has been sapped. Gender norms, racial norms, and other competing archetypes have drained me of my will to authentically call upon myself and seek the answers I need. I could look down at my shirt and immediately spy the entirety of a world suddenly foreign to me.

In nature there was no call but that from within. Nothing competed for my attention but my own thoughts. I looked around and saw myself everywhere, rather than seeing everything looking back at me. The wealth of thoughts was amazing. I was no longer a receptacle for advertisements, idle conversations and preformed decisions. One of the wonders of nature was how trivial my earlier… READ MORE

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