I was actually considering giving you all a look into my deranged psyche. In this intro, I was going to give a detailed account of how I came to the conclusion I’m about to spew. Then I realized that allowing that deep a glimpse into the silly little man that is the inner me would bore most and scare the rest. I’ll sum it up in a list in the order that the thoughts and resulting connections occurred and then you’ll thank me for omitting the banality. It went like this: watching Watchmen, admired Dr Manhattan, heard mention of Einstein, researched Theory of Relativity, contemplated time and space, remembered teachers telling me to shoot for the stars, and finally became very upset at how we lie to children. And now for my rant.
I have been accused MANY times of over thinking things. And not only have I concluded, but my doctors have confirmed, that that way of thinking adds to my anxiety and ailing stomach. But since I consider myself a philosopher, over thinking is a prerequisite. I take umbrage to being told to “shoot for the stars” because of what I have come to learn about light, space, and time. This is how I see it. It turns out that the light we see from stars has traveled a great distance to reach our eyes. And in all likelihood, that star has actually died and disappeared from existence. But it took so long for the light to reach us that we won’t know it’s gone ’til MANY years later. Maybe even millennia later. So although the advice to “shoot for the stars” is figurative, I still find it misleading. If a child truly does shoot for the stars, there is a very good possibility that he or she is shooting for something that is no longer there. And that is where all those people come in. ”You’re over thinking again. You know what they meant.”
And therein lies the rub. Funny that I should use that, since I hate Shakespeare. But I digress. The problem is that it is that very apathy that has made this world, and more specifically, this country the atrocity it is. We have become not only a society, but a race whose motto has become “You get the point”. We have allowed ourselves to settle for meaning rather than strive for accuracy. We are a race of shoulder shruggers. Even things as simple as grammar and punctuation are casualties of our “hurry up and get to the next BIG thing” mentality. We don’t have time for the little things. And sadly, the important things have become the little things. I know you’ll probably scoff at the reference I use next, but PLEASE pay attention to where this is going. I play video games quite often. A fact that my wife loathes. And in playing these games, I often find myself playing online. Meaning I play against other people all over the country and sometimes all over the world. Playing online usually allows for communication back and forth, either by voice messages or text messages. I have made very little friends, but many enemies. And I often amuse myself with poking at these enemies. And what I have found is that many of these people send messages with “yo mama” jokes written in very poor English. One of my biggest pet peeves is the use of “your” in place of “you’re”. And I also found that when I point out their(NOT there) stupidity, I am often ridiculed as gay or a nerd. It’s that dumb jock mentality that has become not only ingrained in our everyday lives, but has become almost a standard. Just look at who we, as a people, envy. Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, the Jersey Shore cast. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Jersey Shore. But I watch it to laugh AT them, while most people watch it and envy them.
I say it often to those that will listen. A group that has decreased with time. Put aside the general absurdity of the movie Idiocracy and pay attention to what the movie is actually saying. If anything, just watch the first 15 minutes or so. It is a comedy, but it’s a sad look at what not only coud be our future, but almost seems like a very close future. Like yesterday, future.
I have often thought how much better a classical education would benefit people and society. But what person now a days would even care to have Latin, Greek mythology, Shakespeare, and philosophy taught to our children. Those are things for them to take in college IF they go and IF they so choose. When history WAS written, it took note of Aristotle, Alexander the Great, and Abraham Lincoln. Notice they all start with A’s. *wink*wink* When people remember the post-WWII world, the US especially, what will they remember? That racism STILL exists? Reaganomics? Snooki, for God’s sake?
But alas, I am merely a puppet to the same charade that I complain about. As I said, I am often told that I over think, but even more often I am told that I am the very epitome of potential over achievement. A fact that I am trying to make my history rather than my present or future. And THAT is why I feel I have the right to express this opinion. One: I have every right to as a human to express myself. And more importantly, unlike the people I’m ranting about, I’m actually trying to improve. I haven’t settled.
Don’t tell your kids to shoot for the stars. Become the star you want them to strive to be, and then tell them to be a bigger star than you.
–
AC
P.S.
Please note that I admit my own mediocrity in this post before you tear me a new one. ;)
