Reality is, at the best of times, a pretty strange thing. The universe that we live in, however big it might be, is bound by the laws that make reality real. Logic. Physics. Rules that give us gravity, water and digital watches. One of the reasons science has advanced so far in understanding the way this universe works is because it has everything it needs right here, within the universe. It's all out there, waiting for someone to go out and test it. In this respect, then, religious believers have a bit of a challenge on their hands. Because what they're after can't be seen, or reasoned with, or thought of. If a god exists, it will probably exist outside of space, and outside of time. Our logic will not apply to it. It can defy everything you could possibly try and think about it. In a word - incomprehensible. And so when philosophers and politicians try to decide what is right and what is wrong, they come up against some barriers. Where does the truth lie? Out there, in the heavens? Or within our world, within our societies - within
us?
I don't like hypocrites, and I like even less actually being hypocritical myself. But what I'm about to say will, for those of you who've read some of my earlier posts on Eff Seven, seem like just that. Because although I've told you in the past that I believe being true to yourself is most important, today I questioned that belief. I wondered what the other side might be like.
Being unique is in our nature -
we are all individual, just like everyone else (sic). But even more important than that is that
we are nothing at all. Buddhism would ask you the question -
Who are you? And how would you reply? Would you give your name? Your national insurance number? A photo of yourself? But does anything show who
you are? Is anything permanent within you, except the strands of protein that code for who you once were?
This was what I used to think about, and what I've often tried to bring up with you. Who you are is important, because it's all you have. You can't go around taking other people's philosophy, fashion sense, likes and dislikes. Because then you aren't really
you. To be
you, you must question things for yourself, and remember that nothing
- nothing - lasts forever. Now, however, I want you to toss that all aside. Because I now want to tell you that actually, being part of the crowd is
everything.
Humanity has made a lot of mistakes in its history, and has changed many times. We've been through periods where human sacrifice was the norm We've seen child prostitution, genocide, homicide, regicide, insecticide and more. We've changed from a neolithic anarchy, through monarchies under god all the way to a secular, multi-cultural paradise (well... almost). I'm not criticising the Aztec ancient rituals. They might have had the right idea, and if they did I'm sure Quezalcoatl is pretty angry with us for ignoring him/her/it for so long. Nor am I praising our shoot-now-ask-questions-later society of today, where we make decisions and discover the implications later. We could be leading the whole of humankind into a pollution-addled, nihilistic oblivion for all I know. But there is something that links the entire of human history together in one, single chain -
humans.
It sounds obvious, but this is integral to the point I want to make. Human history is a series of decisions, of progressions through time and space. Progress is what we're here for - it's what happens, whether you like it or not. Buddhism may be very wrong - we
may have a self, but it changes so often that you can never grasp it. We are always progressing, even sitting at a computer reading. Our bodies regenerate, our minds take in and collect sense information. We are living, breathing changes.
However, on our own we don't do much. I could become a vegetarian tomorrow if I wanted. But it wouldn't stop the massacre of thousands of cattle to make the next juicy McDonalds burger. I could join a Stop The War coalition tomorrow. But the violence in the middle east would continue onwards. I can advocate standing proud and alone in a tide of sheep. But at the end of the day, the shepherd can quite easily ignore you.
Progress, ladies and gentlemen, comes in large packages. You want to change the face of the planet tomorrow? You want to leave your impact on the history of this world? Don't join Greenpeace. Don't become a Buddhist monk. Don't try and resuscitate fascism. Just go with the flow. Go out and chew gum and spit it on the pavement. Go and buy a 4x4 with a hideous fuel consumption and use it to pootle around downtown. Go and do what everyone else is doing. That's the only way to make progress in this world.
Good or bad? Well, that's the clinch is it not? This article might be written with tongue firmly in cheek and an ironic glint in the eye of the author. Or it might be written with a dead-honest blank stare and no-joke lips. What you, the reader, have to weigh up is whether you join in and make progress - for better, or worse - or whether you're going to do what you believe to be right, even if it won't make any difference in the Great Scheme Of Things.
What do I do? If you're asking that question, it would seem to me that you've already decided your route for yourself.
Now go out there and make a difference.
