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Junk Magnet Personal Manifesto
It is, and shall be possible for me to maintain my values, which I have put much investment into, while still making some sort of existence for myself, now and in the future. To do this, I must find the maximum point of influence, I must consciously act towards my goals, utilizing all the skills and knowledge I have so far, and acquiring those that I will need to reach the proper junctions on the path to my ultimate destiny. Of course, there is no such thing as "destiny", I profess no knowledge of invisible hands guiding the world's actions, and I sincerely hope that there are none. Think instead of "destination", something that all travelers ultimately control. Everyone must take responsibility for not only their own actions, their own futures, but for everyone else's lives, for we are individuals yet integral parts of a rather complex, evolving whole. Each part can retreat into its own suburban cocoon, but ultimately said parts will grow cancerous, running wild, or will atrophy and die, no longer necessary for the functioning of the entire organism. Simply put, I must live life as not only I see fit, but as is required of me - not expected, let me make that point perfectly clear - I must act in order for real progress, real change, improvement, to manifest itself for the benefit of all persons.In this vein, I will dedicate my life not to the championing of causes already handed out to vocal minorities, hoping to shape the system for the better. Nor will I resign myself to accept things the way they are, citing some semblance of natural law, or the order of things, or survival of the fittest, all fitting fictions for those of weak intellect, the cultured masses. No, I will try to reach the image of what an individual should be, must eventually be, namely, unwavering in conviction, unselfish when the needs of others must take precedence, incorruptible in the face of much temptation - mostly banal, unblind, unhateful, un-American. Yes, we can no longer justify our "freedoms" to manipulate those who have not, to brush aside murder, poverty, hunger, ignorance in the many forms it inhabits, while we travel in our cars like the ants we are to work, to school, to anywhere else than the here and now; while we sit transfixed in front of our televisions, not seeing the complex world but the highly processed product of a uncaring sieve; while we dance to our music, be it from CD's or walkmans, oblivious to the sounds of what actually is occurring, be it the cries of the neglected, the gunfire on our streets, or the pleas for spare change, when all the change we ever had was thrown away long ago, for the sake of economic progress. We can no longer afford to be manipulated by shiny images emanating from our media, our collective consciousness, for it is our ignorance undistilled, pure greed, pure lust, pure hatred, unquestioned, worshipped in various degrees by all.
This is not to say that I am somehow removed from this folly, I cannot deny the wanted and unwanted roles I play everyday, for the sake of fitting in, for being "happy". But I see more clearly now than ever that this is not the way things "should be", for there is no "should" in nature, only in our distillations of nature. Our mathematization allows me to be secure, allows me to manipulate my surroundings, in analog and digital forms, allows me to be a master of the torrents of information that stream in and out of my consciousness every waking moment. I am grateful for this privilege, but it is definitely not my right, it is not what I am "meant" to do, it is what corporations "concerned" with progress think is the route I should be taking, an affection of worth, a delusion of the existence of telos, of purpose, of a goal which can be codified and commodified, sold along side bubble gum and cigarettes, "the next big thing". I will decide what I should do. I live my own life. I will take their instrumental reason and prove how they are violating its very precepts in their scientific ignorance. Science is a way of knowing, it is not the known, it is not the object, it is a description of what is. When the description acquired the power to manipulate, a power that science today not only has, but relishes, when reality is shaped into the image of science, then someone must speak up and demand explanations, demand a declaration of purpose, of intent. There is no such thing as progress for progress' sake, as science for science's sake, as technology devoid of all but the "purest" scientific interest. Science is us turned inside out, technology is our innards running free doing our bidding, progress is what we think explains the direction we are taking. How is increasing populations of starving persons progress? How is this document progress, when its very substance is coming from smokestacks, from industrial solvents, from strip mining, from the petroleum cartel, from the heart of our economy, our nationalized religion? Look at your dollars, at their pleas for idolization. When capital becomes fully digitized, will the perversity be as blatant?
Perhaps I am misguided. Crazy. In need of proper education, to show me the light. If so, then I reserve the "right" to refuse treatment, I maintain the ability to protest not just with words, but with actions. As soon as I have extricated myself from my unfortunate situation, that is, the financial burden of stimulating but eventually hollow education solely designed for the creation of proper citizens, I will chart my own way, say my own words, live my own life, not alone, but in the ever-watchful eye of all, personifying the "unrealistic" ideal that everyone glimpses in their childhoods, but most discard as uncultured, improper, dull compared to the splendor of "unalienable human rights" passed down from the ether to suckle us, to do our thinking for us, store bought and ready made. I spit on such artifice, devoid of conscious will, I defile the "proper" way of life, that is little more than a carefully scripted docudrama, that all feel obligated to fulfill, because "that's life". That is your life. Not mine. Not any longer.
When this year ends, so will my chrysalis. And what lies beyond are unknown skies, full of splendid potential, that will not serve as a goal to be met at all costs, but a shining way of living, of moving towards, of serving my space with some sense of purpose, of style. I will be myself.
And if that bothers everyone else, that's just too bad.
I will cry for the stupidity of the world, I will do my utmost to rectify it, but I will not mourn the passing of those too caught up in the "real world" to open their eyes.
Such is my personal manifesto, so shall it be.
So shall I become.
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