Lately I've been thinking a bit about the difference between sex and violence in our society, but I think I'll save that for next time. Truth is that I just couldn't be bothered right now to get stuck into something that should by all accounts be an obvious assessment of something so ordinary. The world works in messed up ways, which is one way of saying that the world kind of sucks sometimes.
I have a belief that the vast majority of people are exactly the same when you get down to fundamentals. As animals, we all want to succeed, prosper, and live a life with meaning and fulfillment. Of course, saying this as specific as saying something like "I like having fun", which is essentially useless on account of there being many ways to interpret the information available.
Meaning is different for us all, and success is perhaps even more disparaging when we look at the breadth of human experience. However, I still maintain that we do all want the same thing at the end of day, so whatever interpretation you might have probably fits this perspective perfectly.
Somewhere along the way though, we tend to focus more on the differences between what we want and how we rate things, than the similarities that spawned the process entirely. Again, no surprises here as we're all aware that what I consider to be moral and successful, will be different to anyone else, by varying degrees. The endless complexity of living life on earth influenced by cultural and social capital goes a long way to dictate the different opportunities available to us.
To bring this back to a point that is somewhat relevant to creativity; the false structures of society seem to lean on each other with great success. There are layers on top of layers that obfuscate reality and make us believe that the bullshit can be real.
Think about any bad job interview you've had where someone asks you a stupidly abstract question because they believe it will reveal something about you to them. Someone actually told me once that they always asked people what their favourite season was, because they would never hire anyone who said Summer or Winter, because it shows they couldn't be flexible. I mean, I can't be the only one who thinks that's a load of crap right?
That's the not the first mouthful of shite I've heard spewed forth into the world, and it probably won't be the last. What strikes me as odd, is ultimately how pervasive this sort of thing is. It might not be a dumb question, but it might be something as simple as defining the value of "art" beyond a simple supply/demand dichotomy.
I can understand appraising art on a basis of how much someone will pay for it. We know there won't be any more masterpieces from Da Vinci, so those that exist are valued due to their finite availability and the market demanding to own one. It's no surprise that Da Vinci's work is expensive and coveted, as it has the scarcity and demand to drive such an existence.
However, there is no rational way to argue that a valuable piece of art is a "good" piece of art. This is where the bullshit cycle starts to take hold once more, as it turns out that most of what is considered "good" art, is decided by a small group of people and their opinions.
Now, I'm not here to decry the importance of critique and learned people giving their opinion on something in order to inform the less-informed population. Although, I doubt that even the harshest critic would be able to deny the fact that art is only as "good" as an audience deems it to be. Seated in the context of a world that runs on a river of excrement, and we begin to see just how pointless the term "good" actually might be.
Again, I can't be the only person who has worked hard at a job, only to be ignored by the powers that be, because I didn't spew the correct garbage at the correct people. When I worked for the government, I watched people play the game and climb the corporate ladder, despite their lacking performance at actually getting the work done. Instead they excelled at wearing suits, or polishing the right boots, but each and every one of them had that look on their face like they could only smell the farts of those above them. I don't hold anything against these people; in fact I applaud them for having the smarts and gumption to get ahead in the government game. I'd be lying though if I didn't say that I'm quite happy to the thought of following in their footsteps makes me a little sick to the stomach.
So it gets me thinking about how much crap people talk, but framed by how much crap is believed and acted upon. Instead at laughing when someone "talks the talk" and bullshits their way through life, we admire and respect them for being so clever. It's as if the sleazy car salesman has become our idol and template for success, no matter how much they make our skin crawl.
Eventually I have to start thinking that everyone goes along with this because it's safe and basically threatens nothing about ourselves in day to day life. I mean, when everyone is talking about nothing, then nobody's talking about anything with any substance or meaning. If everyone started keeping it real, we'd have to actually think for ourselves and maybe we'd be judged on the things we said.
Another boss of mine once decided to tell everyone that fat people were only fat because they had serious emotional issues and they were garbage people. This coming from a man with so many issues that he was a gym junkie and went around telling women that he was a DJ to try and impress them.
I remember people like this because they always seem to succeed in having an easy life. They get the better jobs, they date the prettier women, they have more friends, they make more money. Of course, the reality is that none of these things equate to success, but it certainly makes life a little bit easier don't you think?
Sure they're actually so insecure about their pathetic little ego getting hurt, that they need to surround themselves with material wealth in order to feel better, but I'm not sure that always matters. Maybe I'd like to have a little material wealth from time to time, no matter how enlightened I might try to be about the true meaning of life.
Yes, I will reach my death bed knowing that I am at peace for having lived a life that did not require external influence to be content. That I can say with a certainty, because despite all my ramblings about the ups and downs of life, there really isn't anything more important than diminishing the ego and truly understanding the disconnect between yourself and the things that make up the material world.
The catch is that the material world kind of runs things most of the time though. Perhaps it's amplified in western culture that's so obsessed with the individual and capitalism, but it's hard to escape the demands of a material world that idolises ego.
I guess the point I’m trying to make with all of this is that I wish we all took a little more control over our lives and called out the bullshit more often than we do. It has real consequences that range from simply agreeing with a dumb opinion, to endorsing systemic harassment by ignoring its existence. The complications of ignoring bullshit in society is severe and far beyond anything monetary or material.
How many people do you know who have been in relationships with awful people because they were impressed by some charismatic line or material status? I'm sure we can all point to a friend or colleague who has shacked up with some wanker that managed to worm their way in through bullshit flirting and pick up lines. Maybe you've even had the unfortunate experience of being on the receiving end, but hopefully recognising this has led you to be a better judge of character.
The thing is that sometimes I throw my hands in the air and wonder how the hell am I ever going to make it in this economically driven world. I don't have the skills needed to schmooze and impress people into feeding me their funds. It can be frustrating in my weaker moments, as I can see a direct line between my desire to be honest and to NOT be the dickhead talking shit to impress people; and financial stability.
Perhaps this isn't the world in which and honest creative can succeed for being a good person. I must clarify that I only attempt to be a good person, and definitely do not claim to be a saint or anything of the sort. If you know anything about me, I hope it's that you know I am the first to point out my own flaws and highlight the ways in which I can improve in life. However, I think that's a large part of trying to be a good person… not buying into the narrative that you're the star of some story. Truly knowing that your individual existence is meaningless is the first step to finding out that it's this insignificance that makes life so meaningful.
I'd love to see people operate on an honest playing field where we were able to respect and reward each other for being the best person we can be, or at least attempting to do so. Rather than feeding the egos and self-importance of those that feed us shit all day, only to have us raise them to the podium they live on.
We need a shift from charisma to character, and appreciate humility instead of hubris. I'm getting tired of sitting down with people only to find out that they don't give a shit about our interaction, only what they will gain from it taking place. I try to make it pretty clear to everyone around me not to just call me when they want something, if only to save us both from wasting each other's time. Unsurprisingly enough, I'm no more interested in spending time with someone who doesn't care about spending time with me than they are. One begets the other.
So I guess the point of this post is to say that I think it's sad that the world focuses so much on rewarding the bullshit people tell each other. It's like we're so deep in trying to impress everyone that we don't question the fact that we're always lying to each other. However, as soon as someone stops playing the game and refuses to kick the ball, everything starts to unravel.
Perhaps our honesty and character will show as we refuse to reward dishonesty, and that humility might even be admired for what it represents. Then again, I've never been attracted to the life of the party who's spilling charisma all over the place and impressing everyone.
Give me quiet. Give me honesty. Give me peaceful unimposing existence. That sounds like a much more desirable world to live in than the loud shouting clever world of salesmen and polished veneers.
The next time someone's talking shit, show your disinterest and don't let them get away with it. Always be polite, as it takes no effort, but don't be a doormat for louder people to stomp all over and cover in mud.