This is going to be one of those mashed posts where I combine two separate topics I'd like to discuss. Hopefully I'll find a way to tie the two together before the end and come out looking like a literary genius.
The Matrix
This may come as a surprise to most, but 99.9% of us have never had an original thought. I can hear some of you out there arguing with me before you even contemplate the concept. Give it some thought-most of what you say, you've either read it somewhere, heard it on television, heard it from someone who either read it or heard it on television, or observed someone else exhibiting a behavior and commented on it. Not one original thought amongst us. The communities we live in? Designed by someone else. The jobs we work? Designed by someone else. The movies we watch, the books we read, the foods we eat, the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, the languages we speak, the schools we attend, our political parties and affiliations, our religions-this list could continue into perpetuity-all designed by someone else. So, in the grand scheme of things, how important is an individual if he or she just regurgitates that which they are told? Sure, you may disagree with a certain concepts, but immediately you adopt an alternate position- designed by someone else.
If you really evaluate the world we live in, it is the Matrix. A moment of the day doesn't pass without your senses being assaulted in some way shape or fashion, and often those assaults take place in the form of an advertisement; someone, somewhere telling you that in order to be a better person you should buy this product, shop at this store, dine at this restaurant, vacation at this resort, invest with this firm, bank at this bank, marry or date this type of person, listen to this type of music, attend these schools, live in this neighborhood-are you beginning to get the picture? In the midst of this assault, how can we be expected to devise an original concept?
This Matrix also has a built in protection mechanism-it encourages members to punish anyone who is doing anything opposite of the flock through ostracism, ridicule, and an assortment of other negative behaviors designed to encourage dissenters to get back in line with the rest herd. It manages to use internal emotions like jealousy, anger, and hatred against us. In essence, we police ourselves. But this mechanism isn't fail proof-whenever someone or something arises that won't be reherded, the Matrix then co-opts that individual or movement and popularizes it-reducing its effectiveness, (think Jesus, Martin Luther King, The Hippie movement of the 60's). Once these effective movements are stripped of their inherent power and reduced to fad status, they'll either fade or exist harmlessly amongst the immunized herd.
The advent of modern technology (i.e. the internet), has produced the Matrix with one of its greatest challenges-controlling ideas that run counter to its current system of control. According to the blog, Wired, China, Burma, North Korea, Vietnam, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Cuba and Tunisia restrict internet access and often prosecute users for what they post online. The United States didn't make the list, but we are all aware of the National Security Agency's (NSA) unconstitutional monitoring of our online activity. The system simply cannot afford unfettered usage of such a dynamic and powerful tool-censorship will eventually be the order of the day.
Those of you who either have now been enlightened by this post, or who may already have known this information might ask, "Well what does one do about it?" which is a very good question (to which I have no answer). The most important thing to do in my estimation is to make as many people aware of this phenomenon as possible. After all, our participation, to a certain extent, has been voluntary-not that, should we all awake, it will continue to be.
Some of you may also say, "Well this concept that you've just introduced is an original thought-you're contradicting yourself." and I would have to disagree. What I've introduced, even if it was original (which it isn't), is merely an observation of what is occurring around us. It's no different than an archeologist observing some obscure tribe in the rain forest. His report isn't original, it's just an observation of something that has existed for hundreds of years, unbeknownst to the masses.
Faith-Based Nonsense
When I was 17 I joined the United States Air Force and, not long after my 18th birthday, I was shipped off to an air base in Spain. I admit I didn't know much about the world in which I'd just stepped into, but I was soon to discover how much I really didn't know. I did, however, possess a firm rooting in the teachings of religion. Born a baptist, I knew a majority of the biblical tales, but not much else.
In the military I was a law enforcement specialist (more commonly known as MP), and one day on my way to work I noticed that the names of the streets seemed to be alphabetical (Del Amo, Cadiz, Barajas, Alicante). When I arrived at the armory, I quickly went to a map of the base and discovered that all of the streets that ran north and south were alphabetized, and all of the streets that ran east and west were numbered (1st st., 2nd st., etc.). It was then that I realized that someone, not unlike myself, had logically planned this. And because military bases are nothing more than small cities, I concluded that someone had planned all of the cities I'd ever lived in. Soon after I began to understand the role of a city planner and all of those signs I used to see on people's front lawns that read John Doe for City Planner made sense.
"Where am I going with this?" you may ask yourself. Well, here it is: an individual should never have to
A. figure this out for themselves and,
B. find this out at the age of 18.
I don't recall this information EVER being taught in any class that I took-not even the ones I used to ditch (I did read the books even though I opted out of attending the class). But rest assured that somewhere, in some school in the United States of America, this information is being taught, and it is being taught to those who seem to be preselected and groomed to be the next city planners, city attorneys, mayors, police chiefs etc.
What does ANY of this have to do with religion? I'll answer that for you now-why is it that we put so much emphasis on teaching children religion when, unless you're going to be a minister of some sort, it doesn't benefit you one iota in building and maintaining a community. Most people don't even know who to turn to in their municipal, county, or even state and federal government when they have problems. But we know where the church is. I know this is going to rub some of you the wrong way, but I don't really know of a problem that you'll have that Jesus will really solve. Jesus couldn't, wouldn't, or didn't help the victims of Katrina. But I guarantee you if those in the Lower Ninth Ward knew how the political machine of New Orleans functioned and actively participated, they would have been better equipped to deal with the crisis. Most of our problems aren't God/Jesus made problems-they are the result of a man-made system vulnerable to mismanagement (either intentional or otherwise), greed, and corruption. In my most humble opinion, I don't think God is who you should turn to in these matters. I know it may pacify us emotionally to turn it all over to God, but while we're looking to God to solve problems we could solve ourselves, there are those who are lined up at the proper agencies making sure that they and theirs get the resources that are lawfully and rightfully theirs-and the lions share of what those who choose not to be politically active leave on the table. Communities are supposed to receive government funded services because these communities and municipalities pay taxes. Property taxes fund schools-other taxes fund other services. But if you're unaware of how the system works, you'll continue to pay taxes while those services are either under-funded or unfunded.
I don't blame the black community for not knowing these things-but I do fault them for contributing to their own insanity. It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly expecting different results. In recent history, the church has been nothing more than a tumor on our community. It extracts a minimum of 10% of income from its parishioners and contributes absolutely nothing but entertainment in return. It's modern-day snake oil. Walk in with your bible and a prayer (oh, and not to mention that 10% tithe)-walk out with all your problems solved. We all know that there isn't a place on the planet where this works-so why have we convinced ourselves that this is how it works in the church?
Quiet as it's kept, Jesus was a man of action, and all this singing, tithing, and praying we're doing would probably piss him off. It is one thing to have faith, but without action, it's useless. Yeah, I know the Christians now tout this very saying, but this is a new phenomenon.
Lastly, I think the worse thing a people can do is follow a dead guy whom they've never met, not quite sure what he really said, and most likely won't be back. The original followers of Jesus, some 2000 years ago also believed he'd be back-and some 2000 years later, he's yet to return. I can't think of a better way to paralyze a people than to have them sit idly awaiting the return of a deity when others around them get shit done. Do I believe in God? I don't know-nor do I think it matters. What I do believe is sitting around waiting for God to do for you what you can do for yourself is no better than sitting on your ass waiting on a government check you did nothing to earn. White people turn to God after they've done what needs to be done. They invent a monetary system first, and then lie and print In God We Trust on the back. They create a country, and then write a song asking God to bless it. Anything you ask God for, he's mostly likely put here already-all you need to do is stop asking him for shit and get up off your ass and go get it.
I'll leave you all with these two thoughts that hit me this morning and inspired this blog:
Amidst a cloud of ignorance, you can convince people that anything is possible, even when it is not.
and,
Faith is what we rely upon when we fear facing reality.
E'nuff said.
TPOKW?
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