22 Nov 2008, 5:26pm
When we push the boundaries...
Posted by Script Writer | Category [ Writing ]Comments (11) | Trackbacks (0)
Over the past week or so I have come to the damning conclusion that there is little separating me from the make-your-living-out-of-sensationalising-news channels. Not that it is going to have any impact on the content on this blog but it is good to realise the obvious every now and then as long as we don't make a habit of doing it often enough to take the sheen off living completely. Denial gives us something that nothing else can - a garb of pretence that considerably lessens the lure of suicide.
Living is perhaps the hardest thing to keep on doing. We all have our own methods to push ourselves for that one additional sun rise. For some, it is that business deal to close. For others, it could be that holiday in the Alps. For the more evolved among us, it is that hope of a threesome. What takes the biscuit, however, is that these goals are not an end in themselves. There is always another milestone looming over the horizon once this one is crossed.
Honestly, I am all for this human urge to push the boundaries of its fogged up existence. After all, if man had rested after inventing the wheel then we would not have those cool Swiss watches to show off to our friends. After the discovery of fire had man been satisfied with his primary objective of being able to see a woman's bottom in the dark, we would not have the joys of Tandoori chicken. Had Einstein been happy with, well, anything we would not have the lunacy of satellite television. That said, I do believe we should draw the line at this zest to 'save' the planet. It is communist. I am appalled the capitalist world has not cried foul over it.
First, let's get this straight. Anyone who has delusions of being able to save the planet belongs in the nut factory. We have done far too much damage to salvage anything. Why not make the best of whatever few years the Earth can support us for and then die partying the night away rather than worrying about which colour code to use for non-recyclable materials? Two, as I said, it stifles free market.
Anyone living in a big city knows that the best place for fresh air is your air-conditioned office. No one has yet thought of mandatory office breaks for rejuvenation in oxygenated cubicles. This would birth a whole new industry. As smog increases, sales of detergents would too. As water gets more polluted, sales of purifiers go through the roof. As people start falling sick, it is boom time for hospitals. Imagine the possibilities! And we choose to stifle industrial growth in already bleak times, all in the name of environment?
Current Mood: Gloomy
Current Music: Generator Jam
Living is perhaps the hardest thing to keep on doing. We all have our own methods to push ourselves for that one additional sun rise. For some, it is that business deal to close. For others, it could be that holiday in the Alps. For the more evolved among us, it is that hope of a threesome. What takes the biscuit, however, is that these goals are not an end in themselves. There is always another milestone looming over the horizon once this one is crossed.
Honestly, I am all for this human urge to push the boundaries of its fogged up existence. After all, if man had rested after inventing the wheel then we would not have those cool Swiss watches to show off to our friends. After the discovery of fire had man been satisfied with his primary objective of being able to see a woman's bottom in the dark, we would not have the joys of Tandoori chicken. Had Einstein been happy with, well, anything we would not have the lunacy of satellite television. That said, I do believe we should draw the line at this zest to 'save' the planet. It is communist. I am appalled the capitalist world has not cried foul over it.
First, let's get this straight. Anyone who has delusions of being able to save the planet belongs in the nut factory. We have done far too much damage to salvage anything. Why not make the best of whatever few years the Earth can support us for and then die partying the night away rather than worrying about which colour code to use for non-recyclable materials? Two, as I said, it stifles free market.
Anyone living in a big city knows that the best place for fresh air is your air-conditioned office. No one has yet thought of mandatory office breaks for rejuvenation in oxygenated cubicles. This would birth a whole new industry. As smog increases, sales of detergents would too. As water gets more polluted, sales of purifiers go through the roof. As people start falling sick, it is boom time for hospitals. Imagine the possibilities! And we choose to stifle industrial growth in already bleak times, all in the name of environment?
Current Mood: Gloomy
Current Music: Generator Jam
23 Nov 2008, 11:10am
"Denial gives us something that nothing else can - a garb of pretence that considerably lessens the lure of suicide."
nice line- who's your dialogue writer :)? though i do not think most people struggle so hard to stay alive as you make it out to be.ask 10 people if they want a painless death and i think 9 will say they'd prefer to continue to live. (but then, you are the self-proclaimed merchant of gloom.)
24 Nov 2008, 6:21pm
Should not the aesthetics of a sentence outshine the essence of it?
While on your subject of 9 out of 10 people preferring to carry on with their woeful existence, this has more to do with their lack of resolve to end their sordid lives rather than the extraordinarily strong desire to die needed to put an end to their misery. More than it being indicative of their drive to fight another day, I believe it is definitive of their inability to look objectively at all the options available.
25 Nov 2008, 10:41am
it's perhaps not just lack of resolve- it's also:
(1) the threats by their religions about a disastrous after-life for those who commit suicide. you can never really rule that out- if you are dying to escape life, and if your religion says the afterlife then will be even worse and even longer, with no option of suicide there :), what's the point of suicide? like i said, very few can rule religion out in their minds- there's a huge benefit of doubt it always gets.
a person no less than vivekananda has said that suicide will just add to the sins you are paying for. if i remember right, he said that if you were to live say 65 years, and you killed yourself at 35,you will anyway live a non-human, meaningless and painful existence for the other 30 years, then be born again with whatever sin you truncated through suicide fully intact, plus the sin of suicide. he therefore said it is always better to take the bull by the horns, and live it out.
i think vivekananda would know what he was talking of.plus, a million other hindu religious leaders across time have given more or less the same theory, and somehow it doesn't appear they can all be totally wrong.
(2) responsibilities in this world (esp to those who love them), and
(3) a lack of easily available means to die painlessly (i know only sleeping pills, but most people who try that get rescued - cyanide and guns are not easily available, even assuming they are painless).
suicide also has other implications for your family, including the ignominy it will suffer thereafter.
i think the way out of suicide, though usually unintended is to postpone it by one day, in a continuous process.
25 Nov 2008, 2:00pm
Some bloke named Eric Hoffer said, "The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not." That should pretty much sum up my position on religion.
The point, anand_101, is not that I needed to clarify my stance on religion for that clearly has no bearing on this comment. I simply found that quote beautiful. And when someone says something that I cannot say properly for myself then I am all appreciation for it.
The point is that it does not matter what you say as long as you word it brilliantly. That is what gets you quoted.
BTW, that nick of yours - anand_101 - is that a Beginner's Guide to be anand, something like Accounting 101?
25 Nov 2008, 5:43pm
indeed it is("anand 101").i believe there is much more to me than my first comment on a blog brings out.
i guess you practically disowned your own comment, but just to clarify, i wasn't talking of fanatics- i was referring to the everyday man, who, by pure logical reasoning, apportions a probability that religion may be right.
is it easy to "care not whether there is a god or not"? it depends on how much trouble you can get into at this stage of your life. most (most) people who don't care haven't yet hit a situation where they desperately need a miracle to avoid their life getting wrecked.
25 Nov 2008, 8:14pm
anand 101, I have made a habit of not only disowning my own comments but my own blog posts too. The blog is mine, and mine alone but the posts and comments on it I shall take no responsibility for.
I think you have slightly misinterpreted the quote. Not caring whether God exists or not does not actually mean not giving a damn about it. It has more to do with the knowledge that in a population of 7b and growing, She (yep, God is a woman) does not have the time for everybody. To put it differently, one may believe there is God but one may not believe 'in' Her.
25 Nov 2008, 9:08pm
After a few comments under his belt, will he be Anand 201? :)
And Scripto, I think you've made everyone miss the point of your post. The anti-save the planet madness you have going on. *sigh* You know my position on it, don't you?
25 Nov 2008, 9:11pm
Ah, the graduation of the anand has to be seen!
I am always open to, shall we say, exploring new positions. But you truly believe turning the tap off when you brush your teeth can help? No, not help save the planet. Help keep the plaque off?
25 Nov 2008, 9:15pm
Of course. I'm all for not saving the plaque. You should be too.
25 Nov 2008, 9:31pm
So we are both all for not saving something we believe is not worth saving. Big difference.
26 Nov 2008, 11:01am
@Aran: It might happen sooner than you think :)