Believe In This... again.

I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that I hate most conservatives and liberals.  I'm going to have to start marking that box listed as "other," and then writing in Transcendental Existentialist - which in itself is an oxymoron.  To (once again) explain where I'm coming from, you can attempt to wrap your head around the statements below...

I believe in everything, I will give it all the benefit of doubt.

I believe the only constant in this reality is change.

I believe the universe is little more than chaos, and we should find the beauty in that.

I believe all that truly matters for our children is a better tomorrow at any cost.

I believe morality is only a matter of personal taste based upon limited criteria.

I believe I am a grain of sand on an infinite beach and that gives me comfort.

I believe too many humans fear death, instead of embracing the last grand adventure.

I believe in fluid variables and not in absolute concepts.

I believe arrogance & ignorance is too often mistaken for wisdom & experience.

I believe humanity has the spark of divinity within itself, and that is enough.

I believe the lowest common denominator should not be catered to.

I believe race, gender & sexual orientation are not chosen and therefore not a concern.

I believe that faith leads to dogma and that dogma leads to zealotry.

I believe the legacy we leave is more important than what we have today.

I believe the majority opinion is irrelevant as the majority represents the average.

I believe those who have suffered are stronger than the pampered.

I believe conservative thought is nothing but a gilded lie.

I believe liberal thought leads us down a ridiculous path.

I believe the “Old Ways” must always die to make room for the new.

I believe in unity and globalization, but not controlled by banks and corporations.

I believe humans are the sum of many variables & should not define themselves by one.

I believe the universe we reside in is malleable and not immutable.

I believe in the true freedom of choice and not choosing anything is still a choice.

I believe nothing should be taboo and nothing should be sacred.

I believe the human capacity to imagine is greater than science and religion combined.

I believe the concept of “Rights” to be man-made and quite presumptuous.

I do not believe in belief, I believe in theories.  Theories can evolve and change.

On the Infinite...

“Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.” - Karl Popper

Book Burning Protest...

So, I'm thinking of building a small bonfire in my backyard.  I'll start with copies of the Qur'an, the King James Bibles and the Torah.  A few copies of the Tao Te Ching and Bhagavad Gita, too.  Then, just to shake things up, a copy of Darwin's On The Origin Of Species and Hawking's A Brief History Of Time.  Maybe the complete works of Aristotle and Shakespeare for good measure.  Oh, then just for ironic humor, Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. 

I'll roast marshmallows.  Mmmm... maybe even make s'mores!

We're bigger than this, people.  We're better than this.  All of us.  Everyone needs to stop acting like unruly, reactionary children.  It's the 21st century; stop disappointing me.

Creativity...

" Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life. This is not an easy struggle. Indeed, it may be the most difficult task in the world, for opening” - Daisaku Ikeda

Freedom...

"I find comfort in knowing I am an insignificant grain of sand on an infinite beach, that I am not special or important.  The idea that a higher consciousness would be watching over me every moment, judging and controlling, is what I would define as terrifying.  But Camus had it wrong - it is not a a dichotomous choice between Revolt or Suicide when facing the Absurdity of the universe.  No, I simply embrace the chaos and claim utter freedom." - Brian Fatah Steele

Social Anarchy for a Solution

Those seeking to promote political anarchy are both juvenile and uneducated.  Social anarchy, however, is a worthwhile pursuit.  Nothing sacred, nothing taboo.  If this unlikely result could be achieved, there would be no need to argue political issues.  One must address the root of the infection, the very nature of a diseased culture itself, instead of waiting to mutilate the decaying and offensive parts.

The Book In My Head

Imagine a book.  It is a book that one might amusingly shelf along with other titles concerning Existential Philosophy.  This book has been written in the style of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, but could have been co-authored by H.P. Lovecraft and Aleister Crowley.  Now imagine this book acted out by Tyler Durden as he holds a megaphone in one hand, a gallon of gasoline in the other.  Imagine this, if you can. 

You are now one step closer to understanding what goes on inside my head...

Three Men and Their Table

And so three men came to sit at a table, the table being round and each of them sat facing the others as equals.  However, these men did not view one another as such and they attempted to prove superiority over their companions.  Around the table, the argument went as follows…

“I am The Scientific Man,” declared the first.  “I come to you with data and reason.  See how my closed fist strikes this table in righteousness?  This table is a table for logic has proved it so, nothing more, and those who would stand against my Truth are the Fools.”

“I am The Religious Man,” declared the second.  “I come to you with tradition and faith.  See how my closed fist strikes this table in righteousness?  This table is a table for my god wills it so, nothing more, and those who would stand against my Truth are the Damned.”

The third man watched and listened to the declarations of his companions at the table.  He wept at their ignorance, he pitied their arrogance.  Finally, he scorned their self-declared righteousness.

“I am The Dreaming Man,” stated the third.  “I come to you with art and philosophy.  See how my open palm passes through this table in understanding?  This table is not a table for it is how we choose to accept it, this and all things more, and those who would cling to a Truth are those who Know Not Truth.”

But the companions of The Dreaming Man both scorned him in excess, for their Truth was all that concerned them.  So the Dreaming Man left their company, left them to their ceaseless righteousness.  He left them to their declarations, neither of the other men accepting their own kind, The Scientific Man and The Religious Man, both were born from The Dreaming Man. 

The Dreaming Man left them and, indeed, no table was present between the remaining two.

Copyright © 2011 by Brian Fatah Steele

Wisdom > Fear

“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.  There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.  Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.  The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” - Bertrand Russell