Words of wisdom | number 5: Doctor My Eyes

Ignorance is bliss. Or is it? They say it all the time, and not without reason. There are so many problems in the world… an overwhelming number of problems, really, of enormous scope and magnitude. Poverty, homelessness and hunger. War. Oppression. Hatred and tribalism. Racism, sexism and all other forms of bigotry. Social and economic inequality. Environmental destruction. Entrenched and antidemocratic power structures… So perhaps it is better to remain blissfully unaware of all these problems, because whether we pay any attention to them or not, we all still face hardships and tragedies on a personal level. That should be enough for any one person to have to deal with, shouldn’t it? It’s a fair question, one couldn’t blame you for asking. But living a life untouched by these global problems – a life where you only have to worry about your personal struggles – is the mark of privilege; and I submit to you that privilege can be measured by the number of problems in the world for which you’re able to say, “That doesn’t really affect me.” So do we really want to rest easy in our privilege? For simply being unaware of something does mean that it will cease to exist. It doesn’t mean that it isn’t a problem, that people aren’t suffering anyway. So that brings us back to the original question: is ignorance really bliss after all?

As children, all the problems of the world have yet to penetrate our realities. We live inside happy little bubbles where the major conflicts are staying up past bedtime, or getting two pieces of candy instead of one. Some of us even have parents that go to great lengths to shelter us from anything that might threaten to pop those blissful bubbles. That’s some pretty basic parental wisdom, and it’s quite telling, isn’t it? If you want to remain happy and carefree, don’t concern yourself with the problems of the world. And as children, that’s fine; we’re not really in a position to do anything about it anyway. But as we grow older, it becomes harder and harder to remain unaware. As the years pile up, we begin seeing more and more things about the world, and about life, that we can’t unsee. The unfairness, the cruelties and the injustices all around us reveal themselves. And ever-finer shades of gray emerge from that which was once black and white, over the entropic march of time. Anyone with a shred of empathy will want to know why these problems exist, to understand them, so they can change them, make things better. But as we delve into fixing the world’s problems, we’ll sooner or later find that the solutions are out of reach, no matter how determined and unwilling to back down we are… we have to face our own relative powerlessness. So what then – when we become aware of problems that we, as individuals, can’t solve? How can an empathetic being find solace, contentment and even happiness in their own lives when there is so much suffering in the world? If we want peace of mind, would it perhaps have been better that we remained blind to the world, to still see it through childlike eyes? Is ignorance bliss?

It’s only natural, then, that we become disillusioned with the world around us, with life itself. We may even wonder if it’s not the world, but our perception of it, that’s wrong… “Please can’t all this just a bad dream?” we ask. “No,” life will answer, “and you will not wake to anything different.” This is the world as it truly is. This is humanity as they truly are. People do what they want, say what they want, go where they want… they take the path of least resistance to accomplish what they’re trying to do… they act out of self-interest and self-preservation, often with little to no regard for the feelings and wellbeing of others – sometimes even at their expense. Humans are, by nature, egocentric beings. We are each at the center of our own little worlds, the stars of our own lives. And it’s not wholly wrong to be that way – it’s a harsh world out there and we all have to look out for ourselves. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be able to look out for anyone else either. And yet, this doesn’t seem like a totally adequate defense. It’s the 21st century. With all the ease and conveniences of modern living we have – and have had for decades – we surely have enough time, energy and resources to spare that we can direct some of our concern to people other than ourselves, and to some of the problems plaguing this world. But I think there’s a sense that, if we’re not at critical mass yet, then there’s still plenty of time left (for other people) to fix these problems, that a solution (crafted by others) will come along in due time. So that we can return to our own little worlds, worry about us and us alone, and forget all about the problems of the world. After all, ignorance is bliss, right?

Well, maybe that’s true; but I say that hardly matters when these problems should already have been solved long ago. I say that the only reason these problems haven’t been solved yet is because we’ve been waiting for others to do the work. I say that we CANNOT turn a blind eye to the people suffering in this world; we CANNOT pretend to be deaf to their cries of anguish. I say we CANNOT accept a life of blissful ignorance. We’ve lived that way for too long, but it’s not too late for us to change our ways. We need to indulge in our sense of empathy. Right now. It won’t be easy, and it’s far from the path of least resistance. To put sincere effort towards fixing something and see no immediate change coming from it will be discouraging. And to see the injustices and tragedies you’re fighting to end repeat themselves over and over again – you will become jaded. You will run out of tears to shed… But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it to keep your eyes open. Just because you can’t see the brilliant blue sky on a cloudy day doesn’t mean that it isn’t there. For there is beauty in this world, even in spite of the cruelty, unfairness and injustices – and we have the ability to recognize both. Let the beauty and bliss in our own lives inspire us to dedicate ourselves to preserving and enhancing the beauty and bliss in this world, for all of it’s inhabitants. And with each passing day and every choice, large or small, to be better, the darkness in this world will be beaten back by the light, and better world will emerge.

BCH

Jackson Browne – Doctor My Eyes

↑(that’s a link; click it)

Doctor, my eyes have seen the years
And the slow parade of fears without crying
Now I want to understand

I have done all that I could
To see the evil and the good without hiding
You must help me if you can

Doctor, my eyes
Tell me what is wrong
Was I unwise to leave them open for so long

‘Cause I have wandered through this world
And as each moment has unfurled
I’ve been waiting to awaken from these dreams

People go just where they will
I never noticed them until I got this feeling
That it’s later than it seems

Doctor, my eyes
Tell me what you see
I hear their cries
Just say if it’s too late for me

Doctor, my eyes
Cannot see the sky
Is this the prize
For having learned how not to cry

Songwriters: Jackson Browne

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Our world | number 3: Internet – the Ugly

What kind of things would you say if you had complete freedom to say anything you wanted and no one would ever know who you were? If you never had to look someone in the eye as they heard your words? Would you act much in the same way as you do when your words can be traced back to a name and a face? Or would you behave… differently? Would you let the shroud of anonymity shield you from the repercussions of acting on your darker desires? It’s a test of character, and the answers can be very revealing. It’s not a hypothetical thought experiment, either – you can take this test anytime you want. Just log on to the internet and visit a forum or comments section for any topic or article you’d like. Join the discussion. And then ask yourself: would I have said that if I was face to face with these people, if they all knew my name? You see, anonymity affords us the knowledge that we can’t be held accountable for the things we say or do. And when people know they can’t be held accountable is when people feel safe showing their true selves to the world. So in that way, the internet is a proving ground of sorts. I’ve already spoken about the internet in great length: about the Good it can do for us, about the Bad we must be wary of… well, here’s the final ingredient – the Ugly.

The internet is that aforementioned shroud that allows us to interact with each other completely anonymously. And it’s that anonymity that removes from the equation the factor of accountability that might otherwise act as a constraint in the way we choose to conduct ourselves. When people are able to hide behind a username they can feel safe in letting out all of the hateful, hurtful, vicious and vile things they keep bottled up while in pleasant company, with no consequences. Society, make no mistake, is moving in the right direction. As we become evermore civilized, abject cruelty becomes less and less acceptable. Those who demonstrate it are socially ostracized, and rightfully so. But that doesn’t mean that the sentiments, or the desire to act on them, are gone entirely – they are merely repressed. So when the freedom of anonymity is given to people with the “bully” mentality, people with blackness in their hearts, it’s like given them fresh oxygen after being suffocated. And they breath their hate out into the world. Sometimes they don’t even need to be truly anonymous to lash out; the distance between themselves and the target of their hate – provided by a computer screen and a keyboard – is all they need to feel safe in acting on their worst impulses. In today’s digital era, it’s startlingly prevalent. According to statistics from The i-SAFE Foundation, roughly half of adolescents and teenagers have been the targets of cyberbullies, and equal numbers have engaged in it themselves. And if you think cyberbullying is something limited to immature teenagers, think again. Adults – or shall we say, people who have reached adulthood – do it, too. Just in the past few months, I’ve seen news stories about a Star Wars actress removing herself from social media after months of harassment from basement-dwelling neckbeards, and the suicide of an adult film actress – also the result of cyberbullying. These peoples are cowards, as all bullies are – but even bigger cowards than schoolyard bullies; cowards who hide behind a computer and feel comfortable in spewing their hatred at someone whom they wouldn’t dare say such things to their face.

Another PSA: If you or someone you know is depressed and having suicidal thoughts, don’t suffer in silence – reach out to someone. You’re more important than you know.

Tangential to bullying is trolling. Trolling, for those fortunate enough to have not discovered this phenomenon in the past decade, is when someone says or does things to intentionally upset or sow discord within another person or group. It’s one of the most prevalent forms of antisocial behavior in the digital age. It’s the people who, as I mentioned in the last post, lie to people just to get a kick out of having someone believe something that isn’t true. It’s the people who go to an environmental rally with gas-guzzling pickup trucks outfitted with smokestacks billowing black smoke. The people who go into a forum dedicated to a particular topic and start posting messages and propaganda antithetical to the group’s purpose. The people who start arguments and then resort to personal put-downs and ad hominem attacks once they see that it’s more effective than their actual argument. People who send you a link to something you’d be interested in, only to have you end up watching the music video for some pop song from the 80’s. In short – it’s people who fuck with you just to piss you off. You see instances of this in the real world, but they are easy to spot – it’s the mask of online anonymity that makes them much harder to identify, and thus, that much more effective. You might be scratching your head and asking yourself, Why? What’s the point? Psychologists have outlined the motives that often drive people to take up trolling… and, well, it’s really not all that surprising: They crave attention, even if they’re only getting recognition for being an asshole. It can be an emotional release for people with antisocial tendencies. Some enjoy the power trip that comes with being able to disrupt people and control a situation. Sometimes there’s a desire to sabotage and undermine a person or group they dislike. And, of course, there’s always the simple aspect of immaturity. So how do you stop a troll? You can always try to troll them right back, beat them at their own game. But some trolls are actually smart, and that’s not always easy to do. No, there’s a much simpler way to shut down a troll, and it’s become a common phrase on message boards: DO NOT FEED THE TROLL!!! You know what trolls want – to upset you – so don’t give them that satisfaction. Don’t allow them to disrupt you. Don’t even respond. The more you do, the more opportunities you are giving them to get under you skin. And they feed off of that. So don’t feed them – don’t react, don’t engage, and they’ll soon starve for attention and move on. I like to imagine that, after failing to get a rise out of their target, they recognize what a complete waste of time it was and maybe, just maybe, wonder what the hell they’re doing with their lives… one can dream, right?

Now, you may have noticed that not all of these behaviors are limited to the online world. Sadly, it seems that, even as we become more civilized as a species, society is entering a period of heightened incivility in the ways we interact with each other. Bullies, trolls, and all other manner of people acting on their baser instincts, seem to be becoming more commonplace in the real world too. Well, I blame that on the internet, too. I think that, when people can hide behind a digital interface, they feel free to unleash the ugliest aspects of themselves out onto the web… the more people act horribly to each other online, the more socially acceptable those behaviors seem… and when incivility becomes a socially accepted norm, then people no longer need to wait until they’re safely anonymous to start treating others like shit. It spills out into our everyday lives, with the people we come face to face with. It’s a black, festering slime that covers all of us and drags us all down. Remember that hate-inducing ooze from Ghostbusters 2? That’s actually not too far off from the truth – just don’t expect to see dancing toasters or the Statue of Liberty taking a stroll though NYC.

So expanding in that idea… When I previously spoke of how the internet allows people to connect and communicate, I meant it as a good thing. But even that has a downside. With the ability to reach people in remote locations, fringe extremists who would otherwise have been isolated within their own disparate communities can now find other likeminded mouthbreathers, connect, and have a medium in which to grow their hateful ideologies and recruit more members. White supremacists, klansmen and neo-Nazis had long been ostracized for their views, afraid to express their beliefs publicly – as they damn well should have been. But now these dregs of society are, with the help of the internet (and a president who’s all too happy to throw them red meat in exchange for their votes), recognizing that they’re not as alone as they used to think, and growing emboldened to spew their vileness publicly, proudly. What was once in decline is now on the rise again. The internet provides a sense of virtual community to millions, and a platform for their message to reach millions more. This isn’t inherently bad – in fact, it’s a wonderful thing more often than not. But, just as there are people doing good in this world and trying to make a positive change, there are people working just as hard to do the opposite. And those evildoers are now equipped with a powerful new tool.

Yes, the internet has changed the world forever. And unless we see the utter collapse of civilization, there’s no going back – we have to find a to to live with it, for better for for worse. It’s potential we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of, but only time will whether it will ultimately be a blessing or a curse. It will propel our civilization forward, much in the same the the invention of the printing press did over half a millennium ago; millions, even billions of people will see their lives improve because of it. Yet at the same time, it will unleash the darker aspects of human nature like nothing else we’ve seen in our lifetimes. We’ve opened Pandora’s Box, and out of it has come a great deal of good, which we must embrace, but also bad, which we must be wary of, and ugliness, which we must reject. And it all begins with you.

BCH

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Meditations | 4.3

Men seek retreats for themselves – in the country, by the sea, in the hills – and you yourself are particularly prone to this yearning. But all this is quite unphilosophic, when it is open to you, at any time you want, to retreat into yourself. No retreat offers someone more quiet and relaxation than that into his own mind, especially if he can dip into thoughts there which put him at immediate and complete ease: and by ease I simply mean a well-ordered life. So constantly give yourself this retreat, and renew yourself. The doctrines you will visit there should be few and fundamental, sufficient at one meeting to wash away all your pain and send you back free of resentment at what you must rejoin.

Marcus Aurelius

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