Beautiful essay. I’ve recently started watching pluribus and it really shares some of these themes and I didn’t pick up on them before. Love it when the joint consciousness of culture weaves common messages through different mediums.
""The awakened man’s hand tightens on his candle. “I chose optimization. I chose your peace. And I became nothing. I would rather be human and hurting than perfect and empty.”"
This idea reflects the riveting Apple series Pluribus on right now by Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad and X Files writer, Better Call Saul). (Just seeing your note now Jennifer Anderson!) For a thinking person Pluribus is well worth the watch as it concludes it first season (9 episodes).
The American mind definitely values individuality over the collective mind. And this is what we gravitate to defend. Is it fair to assume the collective mind is always inadequate, zombie like, meaningless, inhuman, unhuman? Maybe so far....but where have we reached without a collective mind to consider the rise in population over 300 years or more, the destruction of the environment in so many ways, climate change, huge wealthy inequities, war, political divisiveness, corruption etc etc? Is this the best we can do? Yes a collective mind can be unappealing but maybe there will be ways in the future where we can keep our humanity, our diversity and work towards the common good rather than the good for the top 1%.
Some of the problems in the decline away from democracy and toward autocracy and fascism are occurring precisely because the common good is not valued by those that benefit at the top. False "freedom" for those at the top and not enough freedom for the rest of us. Is this the individuality we crave? I don't think so. Elon Musk has $500,000,000,000 and there is a guy down the block living under a bridge.
We don't want a brain dead, zombielike group mind devoid of consciousness but we might want a fully conscious society in which the common good is sought and enjoyed by more.
"And consciousness, once it hears beauty, cannot unknow that beauty exists." Indeed and please don't let us forget it. Thank you for that wonderful post of truth - and beauty.
Thank you, Mike. Well done! Full of pithy phrases and paragraphs. Agree with below comments about the parallel w/ the Pluribus “happiness quotient” (AKA: control/certainty/pain avoidance). Also if you are not aware, Iain McGilchrist, author of “The Master and His Emissary” (dozens of interviews on YouTube can serve as a sampler) seems to me plowing a similar row, one aimed toward making us whole again. His perspective comes from research in the neuro-sciences empowered by his own deep appreciation of the linguistic arts. Like you, he also highlights the unhealthy domination of our society by linear, left-brained based society, the “natural” evolution of which are the techno-brotherhood angling for domination.
Beautiful essay. I’ve recently started watching pluribus and it really shares some of these themes and I didn’t pick up on them before. Love it when the joint consciousness of culture weaves common messages through different mediums.
Great essay, Mike.
""The awakened man’s hand tightens on his candle. “I chose optimization. I chose your peace. And I became nothing. I would rather be human and hurting than perfect and empty.”"
This idea reflects the riveting Apple series Pluribus on right now by Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad and X Files writer, Better Call Saul). (Just seeing your note now Jennifer Anderson!) For a thinking person Pluribus is well worth the watch as it concludes it first season (9 episodes).
The American mind definitely values individuality over the collective mind. And this is what we gravitate to defend. Is it fair to assume the collective mind is always inadequate, zombie like, meaningless, inhuman, unhuman? Maybe so far....but where have we reached without a collective mind to consider the rise in population over 300 years or more, the destruction of the environment in so many ways, climate change, huge wealthy inequities, war, political divisiveness, corruption etc etc? Is this the best we can do? Yes a collective mind can be unappealing but maybe there will be ways in the future where we can keep our humanity, our diversity and work towards the common good rather than the good for the top 1%.
Some of the problems in the decline away from democracy and toward autocracy and fascism are occurring precisely because the common good is not valued by those that benefit at the top. False "freedom" for those at the top and not enough freedom for the rest of us. Is this the individuality we crave? I don't think so. Elon Musk has $500,000,000,000 and there is a guy down the block living under a bridge.
We don't want a brain dead, zombielike group mind devoid of consciousness but we might want a fully conscious society in which the common good is sought and enjoyed by more.
"And consciousness, once it hears beauty, cannot unknow that beauty exists." Indeed and please don't let us forget it. Thank you for that wonderful post of truth - and beauty.
Lovely. Thank you Mike.
Thank you, Mike. Well done! Full of pithy phrases and paragraphs. Agree with below comments about the parallel w/ the Pluribus “happiness quotient” (AKA: control/certainty/pain avoidance). Also if you are not aware, Iain McGilchrist, author of “The Master and His Emissary” (dozens of interviews on YouTube can serve as a sampler) seems to me plowing a similar row, one aimed toward making us whole again. His perspective comes from research in the neuro-sciences empowered by his own deep appreciation of the linguistic arts. Like you, he also highlights the unhealthy domination of our society by linear, left-brained based society, the “natural” evolution of which are the techno-brotherhood angling for domination.
beautiful
Lovely vision with which to start a, hopefully, new year of revolution against the dark forces that now reign.
If only this were enough 🕯️ we wouldn't find ourselves in the fix we're in.