Why things will never change…because of YOU
Hey there, friend ! For the purpose of this piece, we’ll say that you are between 18 and 30, live in a western (or westernized) society, and have enough time, means and peace-of-mind to be chilling on a fucking blog. Congrats ! Thanks to these stellar accomplishments, you’ve had first-hand experience as to how our society works, its rules and their shortcomings ; and you might be tempted to think that they might not always be right. Some things are not working that well, and you cannot believe how simple it would be to improve them ! Well, don’t think too much, dear friend : things won’t be changing anytime soon, and here’s why…
Relax, not framed like a ‘rogue cops put dope in my pocket !’ type of thing… this is real life and we’re talking metaphorical frames : the references based on which the rules – spoken or integrated – of our society are built. They are made of a blend of social, political, religious, philosophical and scientific parameters used to define a common perception of the world for those they apply to. They are the accepted building blocks of society, the references upon which all the rest relies. Now, we’re mostly talking about modern, western frames in this article (keep that in mind) ; however every now and then it will be interesting to draw a comparison with other societies, just to illustrate a point.
Well, turns out these frames have a bit of an unsuspected power on us. As soon as we are old enough to integrate them, we instinctively evolve ‘in’ them. They become ultimate references to everything we know, which makes it hard to question them, or to even look at them with fresh eyes. We soon cannot comprehend how one could function out of them. How could someone not get that this is the way things are, because…well because this is the way things are, dickface ! Surely there is no other right way to live which does not involve democracy, marriage, and three monotheist religions ! But why would we think that ? Because that is what we grew up with as the norm, and it is virtually impossible to understand and appropriate yourself a vision of the world that does not rely on the elements you grew up with defining all the rest - not without a conscious effort to do so anyway…
And why is that a problem ?
Good question. It would not be a problem if all the people in the world were incredibly level-headed and had a capacity to empathize with others and, overall, not be dicks. But let’s be honest, you’re a reasonable person, we’re all friends here… is that the case ? We just fucking love our frames, with a deep-rooted passion that quite frankly can’t be explained. For the average human mammal, the thought of other mammals having a different take on how to live their lives is unacceptable. Not on an intellectual level, either, but on an instinctive one : we do not stop and take the time to consider that one might approach things differently before dismissing the thought. That would be close-minded but rationally acceptable, making you a rational dick. Now, you might be familiar with dicks, you might even have one yourself (yay !), are they ever rational…? Right. No, instead, we get a gut-feeling, a primal perception that the other person is wrong, because they do not comply with our rightful ways. Accepting other frames as potentially valid would be questioning the very principles that define our lives. This kind of self-assessment takes courage and a will to fight through uncertainty, so we’d rather dismiss it not to contradict our feelings. See, frames are something we feel, and in their case our animal instinct is stronger than our human rationality. In a world where peace requires a bridging of cultures, is that helping with the whole “let’s understand each other, make the best of our differences and live together on this planet we happen to find ourselves on”… ? Right.
Whatever, stop rambling and give me an example.
Alright. Think about some elements of society as we know it. Has it ever come to your mind to discuss the superiority of the system of democracy ? Or that the very concept of religion exists ? Or do you just take these for granted ? We were born in a democracy, and sure, we acknowledge some of its shortcomings. But we as surely accept it by default as the best system. As far as religion goes, we were born with the concept surrounding us. So much so, that while some believe in the mystical aspect of it and others do not, we all acknowledge the normality of its existence. Three monotheist religions ? Yeps, sounds fair. But it gets interesting when you notice that people born with that reference will find other forms of spirituality (multiple deities, animism, voodoo…) to be idiotic, primitive ones, to which it is utterly incomprehensible that anyone, anywhere, could somehow believe in. At best they will approach it in condescending fashion (‘ooh, look at these sweet savages who believe in trees ! Adorable’). However, chances are they will respect the book religions as a rational possibility, something to be respected. See where this is going ? The limit is arbitrary : we are talking of beliefs which have neither tangible ground, nor proof of existence. The rationale behind making some of them acceptable while dismissing others as ludicrous is entirely subjective. The only elements allowing to make the judgment separating ‘legitimate’ from ‘dumb as rock’ are references inherited from our surroundings.
That vaguely make sense, if it was not for the fact that we are right and they are wrong ! come on man, trees with souls…
Well…sure, I agree. It’s hard to take a step back and look at things with eyes freed from the frames we love so much. Problem is, everyone’s doing the same and that’s not leading us anywhere. We’re like horses with blinders, we see what is in front of us while our integrated references are in the driver’s seat, clutching the reins to our thinking. We do not think of going sideways, around, or even backwards to rethink the foundations - we evolve in the one direction we already know, trying to build upon it, trying to expand it, but seldom questioning it. We do so with such passion that it makes us unable to grasp the idea that other blinder-ridden horses might be going in an opposite direction, steered by a completely different set of references. While rational thinking should chime in to point out that hey, no need to be assholes here, to each their own and God for everyone, we sure have found a funnier way to deal with it : we either mock the other as retarded, or head towards collision.
But it’s not like this shit is set in stone, we can change !
Of course… You do it. Have fun being alone, sucker ! See, our frames are dicks like that… they’re not just content with dividing us, they also make it extremely difficult to question them without being ostracized from the society they define. Pretty self-serving when you consider our neediness as little social animals, who just want so bad to be part of the cool kids. We sure don’t want to be eating alone at the canteen because we didn’t play the game, regardless of what we think of it. To be part of the social group, you need to suck it up, shut your mouth, or expose yourself to being wedgie’d by the rest of society. You can still open it and risk being pushed away… or puss’ out just enough, insidiously dilute your original thought (so that it still complies to your frames to an acceptable extent) and end up demanding asking nicely for marginal change. And that way you’ll still feel good about yourself, because what’s important is that you get your win, right ? You’ll bridle the novelty and depth of your thoughts in fear of being rejected. And you’ll do so on your own behalf, because you’d much rather be one of the cool kids in a system you disagree with than being alone in something you believe in. You bad ass ! As such, the frames are automatically prevented from changing by the very people they apply to. They take life through the unconscious action of the majority, and are protected from disruptions by the inherent desire of human beings to belong. They are insidious and self-policing, and unless the majority agrees they need to change, they’ll stay put forever.
But precisely ! That’s why we vote for politicians and get inspired by idealists ! Them Mandelas, Ghandis and shit ! That’s how the system works, we elect people to make the change for us.
Good one. Human nature, anybody...? Eh. This might work on paper, in your fantasy-land of incorruptible idealists. This is real life though. Radical changes do not happen, frames don't let themselves be fucked with by some nerds and their principles. A people’s revolution will hit itself against the actual, physical defenses of society. Check out the protests in Turkey a few months back, where civilians got their asses beat for weeks on end by the army. What ended up changing ? Nothing. Oh right, they ended up saving their park or whatever. Hurray ! Seriously though, when was the last time demonstrations led to real, lasting changes in a modern country ? You look, I’ll wait.
So what does that leave us with, then ?
That leaves us with a change coming from the inside. The work of a bad-ass clever man who got it aaaall figured OUT (to read in a movie trailer voice). Ooooh yeah. That’s possible, it’s just a matter of getting the right people in charge, people with a vision, idealists, who will somehow sneak around unnoticed in the spheres of power to eventually find themselves in a position to make a change ! Easy shit ! Well, no. You don’t get to a position of power like that. It take years of compromising, alliances, strategizing, promises and deceptions, and other being the cool-kid-nesses to even start thinking of getting there. True idealists are few and far between, and idealists willing to compromise and play by these rules long enough to make it big are even fewer. Still, it’s possible. But then what ? Well, being the cool kid is kind of cool, actually. Once in the position to make a change, these idealists will also be in a position to benefit from things not changing. The shit is locked down ! Throw in some lobbies, a tad of corruption, the longing for power ; drench that stew on human nature and you’ve turned around the meanest of idealist motherfuckers. Be honest : if it was you, what would you do once big money and power came into play ? Which of the allure of personal benefit or desire for systemic change would prevail ? Personal benefit would trump your principles the moment you’d realize that fuck thaaaat, YOLO, and you want to live it large. ‘Someone else can do it, I’m getting my money, nahmsayin’?’ is what you’ll be saying. Idealists still willing to fight for their vision when they can personally benefit from things not changing are the rarest of species, and they don’t last.
Soooo… fuck do we do now ?
Take care of yourself, your family, don’t take politicians too seriously, accept you can’t change dick but yourself, and relax. Things will go on the same and you’ll be dead soon. Enjoy !
