[218] Campaign Speech

Campaign Speech: Running for Benevolent Dictator of the United States.

“Thank you ladies and gentlemen so much for your allowance of me to be a nominee for this prestigious position. I hope to at least touch on every point of concern this evening, and we can hold a ten minute Q and A at the end.

::as Martin Luther King Jr.-y as possible::

My countrymen, we have a clear and present danger with how we conduct ourselves in government. It is outdated, inefficient, and corrupt. It is lazy, non-committed, and deliberately obstructive. We have failed at our sole responsibility, and that is to serve and protect the people of this country. Our elected officials neither represent us nor our interests, and fail to empathize with, or help to fix, our struggles. No, this is not the time to note few that have stood strong and actually been there for you. You know who they are, and they did not get the support they needed.

And they were after fairly modest goals. This country needs what those heroes preach and more. Let us dive right in. If you are not the ones being represented, who is? If you ventured to guess corporate interests, you would be correct. And how is this done? Why lobbying of course. That is why, as your Benevolent Dictator, I would put an end to lobbying. You do not get to wasted millions of dollars trying to in turn make billions upon your billions of dollars for your company. At a certain point in a company, you just planted a seed and can no longer claim rights to all that the tree produces. If that point is not when you’ve made a billion dollars, I don’t know where it is.

So now, at least when it comes to financials, you are all equal in my eyes. Now, though you might all be equal, your ideas are not! There will be some issues that I will refuse to pretend there are “two sides” to. These will include, global warming, evolution, and war. As with much of how problems either get solved or compounded, these three hold very close ties. Regardless of whether the planet is warming or not, and it is, it is a bad idea to pretend otherwise. WE LIVE HERE. There is no other plant to pop off to when this experiment fails. If the science says we are at risk, we do what we must to reduce or eliminate that risk.

Risk. What is a bigger risk to well-being, safety, and happiness than war? Of course I believe in protecting ourselves. There will forever be people plotting and loving the prospect of hurting you or me. It is not the quality of a lasting human race to react in turn. An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. I won’t just stop the war in Afghanistan, I will pull the troops from every country that we are allies with. Does this scare you? Does it bring up a certain level of fear and doubt when our eyes are not everywhere? That is called the first step of you learning to trust that there are better ways to live and deal with people.

War is expensive, we went into this one for a tool that helps destroy our atmosphere, and it actively campaigns on dying for your country. I will never stop someone from sacrificing their life for something they truly believe in, but if it’s going to be for this country, I want to give them a country worth sacrificing for.

I want you to be educated. I want you to know that when people get into power, things happen in their psyche that can change them. They can be coerced and threatened to change how they behave. They can need help and be stressed to the point of making bad decisions. That is why it is important for their goals to be yours. Their ideals need to match your common sense and decency. And when you disagree, you need to disagree on details and not use your philosophy to oppress or infringe on objectivity.

Yes, Science is my God. If you choose to believe that something “extra” makes you special and that you don’t share something with every living thing on the planet, it is within your mind to do so. It will not have a place in the classroom. If the legacy of objectivity is to continue, there simply cannot be people who rely on magic to support their decisions. It is harmful to our children, to ourselves, and disrespects the process of evidence based conclusions.

Controlled freedom! The ability to do as much as you can with and for yourself without hurting or infringing someone else. All drugs would be legal. One statement needs to be made as to why. If I wanted to do heroine, I would go and by heroine, I don’t, so I don’t. When we have a culture that is open to experiencing or enabling these things in those that want to do them, we can move past our own issues and devise ways in which to do it responsibly. The untold lives and money that will be saved from just getting over ourselves about drug use. You do well enough with alcohol already, no?

Under my dictatorship, you will be equal in prospects, but not ideas. When you contribute I will work to make sure it is you who are awarded. I will do everything in my power to create active minds and passionate souls to the point of no longer needing my leadership. All I ask in return is that if I try to fuck you, you fuck me back. Accountability is the fundamental idea we have lost in this nation. No one gets punished, no one learns, no one changes. I will be as open as I can about my policies, how and why they are instated, and I will do it in plain English striving to cut out as many unnecessary words as possible.

So America, are you ready? Are you ready to make this an adventure that involves a lot of work, a lot of caring, and a lot of righting of so many wrongs? Are you ready for fast, dramatic, and lasting change? I don’t mean that Obama change where it’s just a different colored hand passing the buck; I mean change based on something that’s entirely me and you. Thank you”

[217] Fail Government

I want to know what it’s like to live in a country that makes sense. I want to deal with people who speak the same language and behave by the same rules. I want to go to sleep at night so far removed from feelings of utter dread that I begin to forget I was capable of feeling that way. There are a number of things I’m fairly concerned about as they dance around old rich white peoples’ mouths in our government. Net neutrality and regulations about file sharing are two of those things.

First, the fact that net neutrality isn’t a given is just another symptom of the Fascist monopolistic mentality that governs our country. We don’t protect the Constitution, so why should we think to extent freedom of speech to our content on the web? Where are the idiots chanting “Obama’s gonna take our guns away,” because maybe we can teach them to replace guns with “personal websites.” I’ve signed a number of petitions online with at least 2 million people and it may as well be a fart in the wind.

File sharing. Fucking file sharing is not stealing! Never was it stealing, it wasn’t established to steal, it never will be stealing, and the fucks who keep pouring money into lobbying to sue and punish file sharers need to be shot. When you sue someone who “steals” a copy of the movie Avatar, you are called an extortionist. Somehow we fail to comprehend that most people never cared nor would have ever seen 99% of all media ever produced. It’s getting hard for me to find friends with cable let alone ones that drop ten bucks to see a shitty movie every weekend. When I download music it’s usually from bands that I would probably have gone out of my way to ignore had I not an outlet to give them even a meager chance.

And that culture, the one of discovering new things and throwing your support behind things you actually enjoy and don’t just take chances on, actually supports artists. Recording companies have raked in billions from musicians for years, and now that they aren’t the only outlet they cry instead of catch up. Movie makers, if your movie costs 40 million to produce, maybe you should focus on smaller budget ones with, I don’t know, actual story lines and compelling characters, and people will feel even a meager compulsion to support the work. You gain nothing by me not seeing your movie; I open even the chance of looking more into your work by “stealing” it.

I’m not convinced these people ever knew how to make a profit. The prospect of suing over “rights” is just the quickest way to buck without any work. When 9/10 artists you sign lose you money (Yes, that’s why you hear the same ten songs on the radio for months) you don’t deserve your job.

[216] Taking To The Streets

I wanted to sleep tonight, but when trying to meditate I became invigorated by an idea. That idea was taking to the streets. My heart races at the prospect of owning a megaphone and throwing more passion behind my words than I ever imagine blogging could do. After all, I’m a showman. I love to engage and challenge and argue. I, more than anything else, want to be a very poignant and standing example of how I honestly think. And let me tell you why.

I am not afraid to be wrong. I am conspicuously honest. I am perpetually happy.

I think many of the details about people’s lives become fairly irrelevant, at least for me, if they manage these categories. Now, the idea that kept me awake was ::drumroll:: bitching about school on the road to Ballantine. I make no secret of how much I despise being in school, my problem is, I only have my, and a handful of my friends’ perspectives. So, how exciting would it be to take oversized questionnaire billboards and ask passer-bys their perspective? Quite exciting indeed. I already have an opening speech lined up:

“Excuse me ladies and gentlemen! My name is Nick P. and I am a senior here at IU. To my left, I have a few oversized billboards with questions I am desperate to get answers for from you. You may have also noticed this handy dandy camera sitting here. This is to collect your stories and perspectives of your time in school. You see, I have this problem, and it’s illustrated in my first question up there. I hate fucking school. So, I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, do you feel the same? Now, before you think I’m just some stoner hippie who has snapped, take a look at this list of things I concede. It reads: I concede some teachers are amazing. I concede some students retain most of what is taught. I concede that teachers, administrators, etc. are not necessarily “evil” or of the mind and will to screw you.

God forbid I am unclear, for I am not taking aim at your teachers, or your futures, or personal decisions, I am making an enemy of a system of thought. I reject the idea that it takes four years and forty thousand dollars for you to be a worthy and productive member of society. I reject the idea that school is living up to its purpose and ideals you expect from it. In the place of what I reject I wish to forward some ideas as well. I am a believer in dramatic and quick change. Efficiency. I believe that passion fuels the best work. Therefore my goal is to work towards enabling passionate and efficient people towards their goals. I want to create a discourse that leads to results.”

If it has to start somewhere, why not the random crazy haired guy with a megaphone? If ridiculous preachers can garner a full page article in the IDS every year or every semester, why can’t I bring the conversation to something I find more relevant and potentially helpful? If I take a note from my time working with Daniel, I want to get your school story. What are kids saying about their classes, assignments, fears and passions that can’t be answered on a survey? What is school teaching people about life or themselves? And why shouldn’t we expect something that takes so much time, effort, money, and sacrifice to play a role in these things?

As with any idea that keeps me awake or makes my heart race, I like to set it down, turn away, and see if I’m just as motivated a day or two later. Before I jump into the self-indulgent pageantry of yelling through a megaphone, I can just set this idea here and hopefully glean some ideas on how to make it better or more relevant before I hit the pavement. So, what do you think?

[215] Follow Me Down This Deadly Road

I think I’ve spent a good portion of my time thinking about my “final moments.” I just got done watching an interview with Christopher Hitchens and how he feels in, what are likely to be, his final years. I’m also prompted by a status that talked about how old we’re getting and how scary or ambiguous the future is.

I think the only way to really get over a fear is to desire it. Become a suicide bomber so to speak. And to a certain extent, and in a number of scenarios, I can see myself wanting death. If I’m sick and will never get better. If everyone I’ve ever given a shit about is now gone and I’m forced to repeat the cycle of watching people mature or deal with the stumbling blocks of a new relationship. If I’ve just become so good at everything I no longer feel like there’s something to learn. If Mexicans took over the earth. (Think how skewed your racism scale is if I had said “Blacks”, haha)

I think one of my most over used words is perspective. I think about “depressing” things because they give me perspective. When something fails or succeeds I try not to get too pissed nor ridiculously lost in happiness. In a way, having these ideas is what allows me to be perpetually happy. It’s like I’m stuck on a loop labeled “deal with it.” I know that regardless of what tomorrow holds, let alone years down the line, I’ve led a fulfilling life and been luckier than the majority of anything that has ever existed on this planet.

At the same time, I feel this manifests as me looking fairly indecisive about things. School comes to mind. I literally loath almost everything I do in class. I hate the amount of money spent. I hate not feeling like I’m learning anything beyond random factoids I could pick up from a week of stumbling. I’ve still yet to drop out because I could make an “I hate” list just as long about the working world. The most hovering and impeding thought to my happy flow, though, is that I’m wasting my time doing things I don’t want.

Now, of course, what we want and “have” to do have conflicting practical implications. We are thus forced to “lower” our wants in accordance with what a specific system provides. My “escape” from doing this is to make my expectations of myself more important than what I would like to believe I can accomplish in the world “out there.” If I can flow mentally, I’ll get along just fine in my day to day regardless. I assume I would be happy with a bad-ass, custom made palace just outside of a city where I could throw parties and slip in and out through secret doors. That is a very “out there” kind of goal. But inside my head I understand that what I want is to create, be surrounded with good people, and be capable of making noise without getting in trouble. All are doable without money.

The real problems occur when you don’t see yourself even living up to your mental expectations. The beginning of last year, when the house had so much work to be done, I was practically high. New seating, pole installed, tack up the white board, tear up the basement, invent a new version of pong…it feels brilliant to feel accomplished. I certainly don’t feel that degree of “getting shit done” this year, and while I blame myself, I’m not crushed with guilt or think I’m the only thing to blame. I just wish I had the level of perspective to know how heavily I can weigh my culpability verses my circumstances.

When you’re constantly reminding yourself of who you are and how you expect yourself to be, it bleeds into how you deal with people and your circumstances. I pity the fool who thinks I merely hate school. I hate what I think while I’m practicing it. I hate what I see it do to people. I hate how corrupt and blatant in its exploitation it is. I also don’t qualify hanging out with my friends or meeting new people as “school.” I can audit a class if I’m looking for inspiration or contact a teacher if Almighty Google fails when I have a question. It doesn’t take ten thousand dollars a year. In the exact same way that I feel myself waste my time in school, I see it happen with people. Luckily those are easier interactions to fix, but my “coldness” or indifference and impatience stems from this.

I want to believe that regardless of the rules, ideas, and settings we allow ourselves to inhabit we can dramatically and quickly change into something better. Everything is changing at all times; I don’t want to sit around for sixty years before gay people can get married or we decide the earth is worth saving. I think this culture of dragging our feet and constantly hoping for the future permeates so much of what we do. Every time I’m reminded that I just have “one more semester left” I’m asked to join in the game of denying every second that semester consists of. Every time a bill is passed that doesn’t take effect for years we sell the idea that good things take ridiculous time frames that we don’t really operate under. The completely obscured and ambiguous future brings me no comfort whatsoever because it’s made up and assumed as potentially viable. It’s a reality we trick ourselves into finding solace with so we can remain contented now. It’s a trap.

Did you know we live in Utopia? We have the means to live anywhere and feed everyone. We can create what it means to live life, explore interests and invent questions to our heart’s delight. We can build upon knowledge to not only fix problems, but make it so they never need exist again. I think it’s not just important but absolutely necessary that we stop thinking as if we don’t understand our circumstances, our potential. Stop fearing or expecting anything from the future and get your mind right now and things will always play out as you expect they should. And if my final thoughts are anything like what I fall asleep with every single night, I’ll be just fine.