Not Big. Not Clever.

Cynic Cyanide – Love Cynic I know people say I'm unfair, intimidating, brash, thoughtless, critical, cynical - a million and one other things. They're right. Sometimes I'm just plain out of order. I shoot my mouth off, I argue for the sake of it (or to defend myself when I know I'm wrong) and sometimes I'm just pig-headed and bloody-minded. Socrates - I've failed you. However, this blog I came across the other day really does require some kind of a response. When you read the article, you'll either spit out your espresso and almost fall off your high horse in shock or you'll nod sagely and agree that, yes, this blogger is completely right. But it's hard to pinpoint why you take that belief, isn't it? I want to walk you through what I think of this article. Firstly, I'm always wary of things like this. I encourage people to write for Phoenix Publishings. I think it's good to share ideas, form opinions of our own, to make new discoveries. And how are we going to do that if I talk and you listen? We all need to talk. We mustn’t worry about talking about what we think is rubbish - everything we write has come from ourselves, and so that makes it important. Even if someone reads it and disagrees, they're better educated for having read it. But encouraging people to write can produce the one thing in life that irritates me the most - being fashionably depressed. Cynic Cyanide (and I'm sorry if you're reading this and disagreeing) is definitely trying to be fashionably depressed. Love is a funny thing; I'll admit that (and I think I have, somewhere on this blog). But, even though it has spawned wars and vast journeys, it usually divides people into two groups - the cynics and the lovers. Or (if you're feeling cynical yourself today) those that have love and those that do not. There are plenty of people out there who will tell you that love is just being content. It's selfish. It's all about making yourself happy, and everything else is just some evil conspiratorial illusion concocted by American fat cat, right-wing political activists. Equally, there are people out there who think that love is something truly special - something worth going to war over, something worth dying for. Who is right? Well, we can't know that. What you believe is the closest you're going to get to the truth - so stick by it, that's all the advice I can give to you. But perhaps... perhaps there might be another piece of advice I can give you. And if there was, it would probably be this - never, ever take the stance that Cynic Cyanide has taken. It doesn't matter whether you believe love is contentment or something true and universal, once you believe that love is something people put on a 'to do' list you really have to start questioning your beliefs. This isn't a character assassination, and it isn't intended as one. But this whole idea of criticising things because it's a 'cool' thing to do really sucks. The article I've linked to above starts off by telling you that everyone around you who is in a couple is doing it as part of a popularity contest. It the ends by saying that we search for the feeling of being in love, not happiness. I'm not entirely sure what experiences Cynic has of being in love, but if they aren't happy then I'm not surprised that s/he wrote that article. On the way to my work, I always stop by a particular lamppost because someone keeps putting stickers on it. The latest one bore a crudely-drawn chicken and the phrase "The river burst its banks, flooded the fields and killed all the children." followed by the one-liner "I [heart] TSN". I like to think I'm a pretty perceptive person - even to things that I dislike - but I really couldn't find anything in that at all. It probably sounded cool to whoever put it up there. But it doesn't mean sod all. Fashionably anarchic, you say? Hell yes. If my philosophy class proportionally represented the beliefs of the world, there'd be about four billion people living in a state of anarchy. Does anyone really contemplate these beliefs? Do you really think that The System should be done away with? Do you even know what you're saying? And why the chicken!? And so, it's not big and it isn't clever. Beliefs are good. I like beliefs. Beliefs, values, morals - they shape who we are and they make us us, not some clone of our parents. But being a clone of our generation is no better. All day long I hear racist remarks, comments on asylum seekers, the war on terror, the meaning of life, the existence of God, the evils of the west, the exploitation of the middle east - but not a word of it (not often, at least) is anything more than the drivel spewed forth by manipulative public speakers or the will of parents and peers. Cynic Cyanide can have her (or his) loveless world. The TSN lover can have his anarchic paradise. The white supremacist wannabes can have their bastard society. Beliefs nowadays are far from the fantasies they have been of centuries gone by. If enough people go along with the masses, you'll have your loveless world. You'll have your whites-only country. You'll have your anarchy. And you'll have a nasty, brutish and short life. The message is simple - be careful what you believe in, because it might just come true. For everyone - regardless of your age, social status or location - it is time to think carefully about everything. I know I've slipped in the beliefs of my own here and there. Ignore those, if you wish. But don't ignore yourself. You might come out with more questions than answers, but those answers will be the most satisfying you've ever had. Cast aside the bonds of your society and upbringing, and free your mind. Socrates would have wanted it that way. And let's face it he was pretty damn cool himself, right?