You label yourself as something.
You are a Sunni or a Shia Muslim
a humanist or a Baptist.
You belong to a group or a clan
a tribe or a gang.
You have an identity.
You are Jewish or Greek, Arab or American.
Why is it so difficult, do you think?
to just be a human being?
You are a rightist, a leftist, or a liberal.
You are an intellectual, an artist, or a plumber.
You are black or white, sis or binary.
You have to be something.
You have to have a cover.
77 million Americans voted for Trump, 74 million voted for Harris, and 89 million eligible voters did not bother to vote.
In the UK, 9.7 million voted for Keir Starmer, 6.8 million voted for Rishi Sunak, and 3,5 million voted for Ed Davey. 19.3 million did not vote.
In the second round of the last French presidential election, 18.8 million voted for Macron, and 13.3 million voted for Marine LePen. 13.6 million did not vote, and 2.2 million voted blankly.
Turnout in the last election to the European Parliament was 51%. 200 million eligible voters ignored it.
Many people think that party politics is important, especially in the mainstream media, but a large, heterogeneous group give a fuck about who becomes president or prime minister.
Moreover, many who voted for Kamela Harris didn't like her and her Biden policies but feared for four more years with Trump. The same thing happened in the UK and France. Many who voted for Macron detested him but saw Marine LePen in power as a catastrophe. Many of those who voted for Keir Starmer did so only to get rid of Rishi Sunak.
Many have to hold their noses when they vote.
Some voted for Trump and the Republicans only because they were sick and tired of the Democrats, their hypocrisy, their endless wars, and their neglect of working people. Some didn't know what they voted for and why.
Less than one-third of the Americans are genuine Trump supporters. In the UK and France, the support of their leaders is even lower.
In a democracy, we are free to choose between two or three parties or political blocs with neo-liberal and/or neo-conservative agendas. All those parties are eager to go to war with Russia.
In the recent US presidential election, voters could choose between two warmongering candidates. Both Democrats and Republicans back the US proxy war in Ukraine and the Israeli slaughtering of civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. In the UK, voters could choose between three warmongers. Here in Sweden, we have eight. Almost all political parties in Western countries want war. We unite to defend ourselves against Russia. We have to down-prioritize the fight against climate change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bl6_MAhg_4&t=2643s
Thoughts can make us completely mad. Religious doctrines, political views, racism, bigotry, complacency, superstition, rationalizations, excuses, denial, us-and-them-ism, shame, narcissism, too low or too high self-esteem, fascism, liberalism, neo-liberalism, conservatism, neo-conservatism, communism—everything we live for is made of thoughts.
All major religions and political ideologies have led to disasters: gruesome wars, climate change, environmental pollution, the holocaust, slavery, witch hunts, the cultural revolution in China, the killing fields in Cambodia...
So, what are thoughts made of? Electricity and the release of transmitter substances?
Are there optimistic and pessimistic neural pathways? Are there spiritual and evil neurochemicals?
Where do ordinary and healthy people get their stupid ideas from? Do they emerge from the brain stuff, or do they enter the brain from outside? Is the brain both a receiver and a transmitter of idiotic talk shows?
Where do new ideas come from? From out of nowhere?
And where do the genuinely friendly thoughts come from?
You can't stop the thoughts and ideas in your brain, but you can see them for what they are: thoughts. They are not necessarily the truth. You can question or ignore your stupid thoughts and convictions—if you want to. But it is hard, and it takes time. (It took the German nazis 20 years after the war to begin questioning their nazism. It took 1800 years for the Christian churches to realize that slavery was not a decent system.)
Does this idea of calling out one's own thinking change anything? Can it improve our dire situation? I don't think so. An individual can jump off the train if he has the means to sustain himself in that nowhere land, but there is no hope for a fundamental change on the group level. It is too late for us. Our ecological habitat will sooner than later be ruined in a nuclear war or because of climate change. We are heading for a catastrophic train wreck.
Some people pretend they believe in God; others pretend they are atheists. Some pretend they are honest and reliable; others play dumb.
However, not all people are pretenders. Some people are honest, reliable, and real, at least sometimes.
I sometimes believe there is a God somewhere; other times, I am an atheist. Sometimes, I am honest; other times, I am not.
There is no real me, no core self. I am a theatre company. And an audience.
There is more than one leading role in this play. There are also co-leads.
When you die, not only one leading actor will go to heaven or hell; not only one best actor or actress will be awarded.
Eventually, the whole company will split and go looking for new jobs.
Our history is mainly about wars, bestial, idiotic wars. One king, emperor, or president against the other. Who won and who lost? And history didn't end when the Soviet Union collapsed, and the Cold War ended. The US wants to be in a position of unchallenged superiority and is trying to prevent Russia and China from growing too strong. They are fighting a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, and then they have to take on Iran and China. The Jews fight the Palestinians, and the Palestinians fight the Jews. There are bloodbaths in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Yemen. In Africa, different tribes and warlords are fighting each other.
Mankind's defense spending now exceeds $2 trillion annually. But this is not enough; now, extensive military rearmament has the highest priority. The whole world is gearing up. We must defend ourselves against each other. The fight against climate change must be downgraded.
Many of us no longer believe in a future for humanity. Some pretend that they are optimistic and that they care about future generations. They want to appear responsible and well-informed, but privately, they understand there is no hope. Others prefer to be blissfully unaware. Well, some genuinely believe that politicians and engineers will somehow find a way to help us.
It doesn't matter which country you live in and which party you vote for (if you live in a country where there are elections); all parties want to continue the wars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnS_e0n476Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HhVX13JYNc
Many scientists, including Robert Sapolski, claim that free will is an illusion. All of our decisions are determined by something else. But we must live as if we can make our own decisions and be responsible for our actions. Even hard-core determinists live as if they have free will and can choose to eat a hamburger instead of a pasta carbonara.
Many scientists believe life has no meaning; it is just what it is. They believe that suffering and pain are meaningless. But meaninglessness can make you drown. However, you can choose to believe that life and suffering may have a meaning. This idea can help you keep your nose above the surface.
Maybe you don't have an eternal soul. Maybe God is just a fantasy figure. Maybe there are no spiritual laws stipulating how we shall live. But you can live as if you have a soul, that there are spiritual laws that you must follow, and that there are angels who can help you. These ideas make life easier.
The idea that life is pointless, without spiritual laws, and that the world is nothing but electrons, quarks, and indifferent forces is an absolutely useless philosophy. Modern natural science is harmful to mental health. Its "truths" are poisons. It deduces what life is about from what scientists can see in laboratories and observatories and their mathematical calculations.
In everyday life, no one cares about quarks and electron spin or how big and old the universe is. Such "truths" are utterly irrelevant. Free will, love, conscience, and spiritual laws are essential.
Of course, religious dogmas and doctrines are also poisonous. They also belong to the theoretical dimension of life. The theoretical dimension is not harmful per se, but if it takes over your life, you will find yourself in a cage. We are not living in a theoretical world.
