vineri, 21 noiembrie 2008

slaves give birth to slaves

What if I told you the Moon is mine, and you had to pay me money to see it.
What if I told you that Earth was mine and you have to pay me money to live on it. While the first one sounds silly (actually there are people that buy land on the Moon or other planets in our solar system) the second is more realistic. Except it's not me that is taking money from you.
How can there be a difference?
You should read my previous post to get an idea of the answer to that.

The thing is that we are alone in this Universe, so.. it is ours, we have no one else to share it with but ourselves.
Having this perspective our resources are unlimited. We just have to get organized to get what we need.
But for now, all we have is here on Earth. As our number has increased, our consumption rate leaves visible effects on the planet.

Before calling ourselves evolved let's point out where we came from.
Humans as all animals need to satisfy some needs having given some limited resources and means of getting to them. Who lived and who died was decided by nature - to be interpreted as certain uncontrolled events.
All specimens, to survive had the same rule: there are no rules. You had to be stronger to protect your resources from intruders.
But we have evolved..
What are we looking at now? Not much has changed, except that we impose ourselves rules that leave the majority hopeless and some with certain positions the means to manipulate all others. We are actually enslaving ourselves.
How? By giving too much credit to money. We have been raised in believing all resumes to it. Over and over again we are reminded that a successful life means money, and fame. How about education, ethics? We are all in a system where a cause-effect rule applies whether we like it or not.
Instead, they promote the making of money by any means, so that they meet no resistance.

And now.. commercials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRbzJ0L1Zn8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wItKyTltJWM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJz_dsubWAU

?? It's all about being flashy, outstanding. Outstanding? We are all the same, there is no one superior in any way. We all have potential to do whatever we want. We only differ in what we choose to do.

We have to evolve to a state in which we don't just work for having stuff but work for us as living beings. We should be organized in such a manner that everything we need to sustain life here would be free and available to everyone. We can achieve this. If we all wanted to.
If we manage to use resources out of our planet, then the term of property would have no meaning. Asking for food will be like me now asking you for air. It sounds kind of ridiculous. It is a right I have from the moment I was born because air is plenty for all of us. I don't need anyone to give me something I can get myself without effort and causing no discomfort to others.

Free people look for enslavement.
In certain crisis situations when there is no hope, humans tend to follow the one that gives them hope. But what happens if that someone giving them hope uses this opportunity to build influence and manipulate them for his own wellbeing? We should be skeptical to saviors, especially when we need salvation most. Hope is free, we get it for granted, we do not need anyone to follow. It's only for us to find courage to take action and support our siblings.

they don't really care about us

"We live in a cynical world.. a cynical world.. and we work in a business of tough competitors" - This is a quote from a movie I love. And it's about what I'm gonna write to you about now.

We all care about ourselves.. there is no altruism. We never do anything for another. It's all for ourselves. If you think you have done anything for another.. think again. You might say: I gave money to the poor.. well that is because you have a certain belief, because you think you will be awarded. How about: I do favors to my friends. Well that's only for you to have friends. The examples could go on.. It's all about the payback of our investment.

"There's no shame in it Raziel.. hate me, but do it honestly!" - A quote from a very interesting game.
It's nothing wrong in doing so. It's the natural way of things. Why? Because our own wellbeing leads to other's wellbeing.
Until it doesn't !!!

It starts from lie.
What is a lie? It refers to telling someone that something is true while knowing that something is false. We are not talking about absolute truth, which refers to the actual state of things whether we know it or not. But there is only one way of getting to that. If we all tell the truth we know.
It's very important to educate ourselves to be truthful. No matter the situation.
I've recently heard a bit of news saying that a child found a wallet full of money and returned it to it's owner without stealing anything. This is a case. A very rare case. What actually entreegued me was what that child's colleagues said: that it was a nice thing to return the wallet, but he could have kept the money.
For those who agree, read no more and get a job.
We have to understand the thing about responsibility.
By not lying you assume responsibility on the truth you know. What is the point in keeping the money if you haven't earned it? It's not yours, it does not state your value. This is what led to the world we live in.
Some consider themselves more important than others and use them for their own wellbeing.. yes.. this is enslavement. It just goes on different levels.
For you it might just be a lie.. but lies on top levels cost lives. Many lives.
There are countries in this world as there have been in the past that manipulate masses into thinking what is convenient for them or not thinking at all by promoting ignorance, telling everyone what they want to hear, hiding them the (well known) truth that there are problems that need to be solved.

What I hate about economy is that it failed to follow its purpose a long time ago.
The main purpose of economy was to rationally use the resources to satisfy needs. This is not the case today. Today we overestimate the value of things by disconsidering (lying to) the so called beneficiarys of our services or products.
In economy effectiveness refers to achieving a certain effect.
Efficiency refers to effectiveness with minimal costs. Well what happened to economy today is that it focuses on efficiency without considering the property of effectiveness. They actually change the result that they were supposed to offer. To give you an example: you think that is milk you're drinking? - just a recent problem in China.
They also ignore the side effects of their actions - as a result please note pollution. Not knowing is an excuse, but knowing and ignoring it is not. Does it sound like a lie? For me it does. And it's not a small one.
I am in the IT field, and we always think about side effects. It is a must.. we have no excuse. Why should they? We also have to think about efficiency, but we get it without wrecking your personal data or assets.

Another thing that's despicable is how the powerful use the things discovered by scientists that were meant to be freely used and take it under authority, putting a cost on it. And as we all know the truth, but in a miss leading form time is money. Money is time. Your time. They decide the cost of our life. Decide what we deserve and what we don't.

how about my girlfriend?

Well.. I'm not an expert in this.. or I might say I am low on practice, but I like to think I know the theory behind it.
Here it goes.
We all like to be cared for.. better yet.. invested in. If your girlfriend invests time in her for example putting on makeup is only to make you invest your time in her. Invest in her. That is all that is it about. So, appreciate this simple gesture, and even follow it. Us guys have to give something they like too. There is another catch to this. If you invest all of your time in her, she will back away as she will consider you a fool (and for good reasons). Here comes the thing about obligations. If you invest too much in her she will feel enslaved by the thought that she ows you something. Instead, you should try to focus on yourself. Invest in yourself so that she can appreciate your value and feel free to do so. Don't invest, let be invested in, give reasons for that. This way, while both of you investing in yourselves, will give the other the interest he/she needs for investing in himself/herself to rise to your level (it's self sustaining). That's why I consider competition a good thing.

Another thing is about expectations. If you already expect something, you are more likely to be disappointed. Try not to expect anything, and be surprised.
Being predictable is the worst thing for you. I've read an experiment done on pidgins that simulated what people feel when gambling, and the unpredictable event keep them asking for more. The same situation is with relationships. Some unexpected (sometimes contradictory) events may have the effect of cheering up the relationship. That's why playboys get all the "action". Because in their case, the confusing behavior is determined by not carrying, so, believing it or not, they are craving (without even knowing) for what they hate most.
But, how about good guys using dirty tricks in good intentions?

There is also the thing about liberty. Nobody likes to be owned.
I think a strong relationship is made in time (and from what you have learned by now you understand why). So, if you know each other for a long time, there is no need to worry about losing your pair, because you're what she's invested in. She will not give up so easily on that (if she is smart enough). If she does, well.. then she most likely doesn't know what she wants, and you should try to invest in some other person (this is rather hard to do, at least at first.. long subject, maybe a dedicated post later), or maybe give her some time to figure out (if you are strong enough.. this implies her full liberty). This is the thing about investments.. you have to know who to invest in.. you have to ask yourself whether your investment will pay off. Don't ever invest too much without getting feedback (I should read this too after I've written it). Sometimes it just doesn't work or doesn't work anymore. It may not even be you fault. It's just situations.

I know I have missed something, as we all do.. we are only human.
What I've said is valid both for men and women. It's what they look for in the other that makes the difference. How you choose to invest your time in yourself (I'm not going to help you here).
I made 3 simple rules that mostly came from the same movie:
1. give total liberty and accept nothing else.
2. be honest (this might not work), and have as little secrets as possible (the nature of these secrets is up to you - I would use them only to make surprises and provoke, for your mistakes at least give the other the right to judge the faith of your relationship, if you're afraid of the outcome, I'd say you're a coward).
3. don't mess up with the other's feelings. If you don't find any more interest, tell him/her that, at least to know what went wrong (this is in somewhat relation with the latter one).

things you should know..

I like to see things in terms of investments. Let me explain how everything maps to this model.
So, what is an investment? I looked it up, and the main object of investment is money. But this is not true.. let's forget that for a moment.
I believe the only thing we invest is time. Time is our only true resource, and like any resource.. it is limited.
It's only important what we do with this resource of ours.. our life. For example, we can use it to make money, to teach others, to have fun.. we INVEST it to get what we need.
So, money is not a resource, is the result of our time investment in something that makes money.. a job, playing lottery, and many other ways we have today that are more or less ethical.
Got the idea? If yes.. please continue reading.. if not.. maybe this is not for you.

What do we have so far? In our society we classify things as free and not free.
The things that are not free require some sort of obligation (most of the time an amount of money.. don't forget where these came from.. we actually pay with our life.. bits of it at a time), but because of this, it makes us more aware of our actions, and of what we are offered. Because we make an INVESTMENT, we want the best result.
Now, the tricky part is with the things that are free. Because they do not require any obligation, we take it for granted and not really judge what's its purpose, what are the consequences of allowing that thing in our life.
That's a problem.. (also a quote I like)
Nowadays it's exactly those things that are free that enslave us. There are many people that make use of our naivety to miss guide us or to morally enslave us (making a favor requires a favor back - this is not a natural rule, but it has proven so).
This is not all.. just by being more skeptic to others' intentions makes us lose confidence in the one standing beside us.. maybe this is not so bad, but we get so paranoid that we may isolate ourselves from the rest of the world.
We take more time to make friends (or at least we should), but, in terms of investments, these friends are more valuable. We know their true intentions.
Another thing: if you've got this far, it means you have spent some time reading this. Yes, you've made an investment that I hope will pay off. As you can see, I try to be as straight forward as I can (of course, this statement should make you wonder what's my the purpose in convincing you of that, but it's better to make you wonder than not to).
If you have decided to continue reading, please do. If you have doubts, good luck from now on.