Nietzsche and the Giver

"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."_Friedrich Nietzsche

*Please note: Sir Saint Thomas Moore, who gave us the word, Utopia, and wrote the classic on which all utopian epics sprung, did not believe it was possible. Paraphrased: "Humans will find a way to screw it up."

Is the above quote appropriate for a "utopia" where pain, joy, sadness, anger, love, and lust are regulated and medicated?

The Giver's society, as any middle-schooler knows, is actually a dystopia, of artificial weather- no color, no warm sun, no cold snow. True pain is scary and they have to have someone to take on the load or society is in turmoil.

There are rules against difference... mentions are later made about genetic tweaks, of trying and not quite succeeding, to eliminate recessive genes like "light colored eyes" and red hair.

There are rules against asking questions- a rather strange rule the protagonist receives is: "You may lie". He soon wonders how many people received the same rule in their training papers. For all the emphasis on truth, on being open, a lot of people seem to lie fluidly.
And that's where 99.99% of "The Community" following the rule about not asking questions and not being rude help keep everyone happy and satisfied.

I won't do a play-by-play.

How... very apt for our unquiet times. It doesn't surprise me, any more, to see what looks like a prophecy of the 21st century, written by people who thought the 60's-70's or even the 1990s to be heavily government-influenced and dystopian. (They were.) In these unquiet times, one is told to be patriotic, to question nothing, (Forgetting a portion of the Declaration of Independence that reads:
“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”
)

People are already asked, "politely" and with all-out rudeness, to leave. How soon before they're expelled, or worse because they didn't go along with the Status Quo"? 
It HAS happened. In the 60's, at Kent State, the Army murdered protesters who said that President Johnson and the Vietnam War were wrong, and peacefully made their positions.

Japanese and German-Americans were abused and locked up during World War II.

There's so much more, and I haven't scratched the surface- teeming as it is with maggots-

Who says, "ENOUGH is enough"?

Free Radicals

Tradition: What is tradition? Governor Andrew Cuomo's recent behavior had me searching myself. I do this a lot, but I had to see where I stood.

Traditions are people gathered to celebrate and honor a shared cause or another person/deity. They decide, "That was great! Let's do that again!" And it grows. Or, a belief or behavior passed down with symbolic meaning or special significance.

What is not tradition?
HATE. Hate is not a tradition. For years, for generations, those seeking to belittle have chosen tradition, "This is how it always was, don't wreck it" to do so. And have used God, money, family, the status quo to do so. They have used guilt.

And forever and ever, "radicals" have come out and said "No. That is not ok." Some have died because they dared go against what "always was". And while people were resistant, they changed. Sometimes, slowly, sometimes more quickly than you think and traditions became half buried, funny little rituals that made more modern people say, "Gosh, our great-great-great-to-infinity-grandparents were silly!" Or, "What the hell, Granddad?!"

It shames me that I agree with Governor Cuomo on 1/3 of his stances this week. No, Meatloaf, that is bad. Hold onto your hats, kids.

A: If you love someone, gender doesn't matter, and everyone should be able to love without fear of government intrusion, losing benefits, or being unable to see each other if one part of the couple is hospitalized. They should be able to inherit, adopt. Gender doesn't matter.

B:Abortion, if done for any reason other than rape (ALL rape. No rape is fake, it all damages. And there is no shutdown valve.) or incest, health of infant or mother, is wrong. I do not approve of any proceedure beyond 20 weeks. I believe that no matter what, you support the mother and do not judge her decisions. Belief is one thing, being a judgmental asshole is quite another.

C:The Right to Bear Arms. You have a right, a duty, to protect yourself. You have a right, regardless of a piece of faded parchment, to arm yourself responsibly.

2 out of 3 ain't bad, eh, Meatloaf?

Blazes and Conflagrations

It's ok and wonderful, and great, to be there for your friends. But one straddles, constantly, a fine, fine line between being there and insulting family. No matter what crap gets tossed, family is... Family.

Toxicity runs in families, sometimes, with a whole host of its' own issues. While it's not ok to single out a child for the "Do this,", and to pile scorn, gossip, and criticism on them, it's also not OK to insult a friend's mama. 

Conflagrations erupt especially when two people cannot communicate and are seemingly smarting from, and trying to discuss two separate arguments. 

What's the hardest thing? 

There's explaining what hurts- psychology texts tell you to use "I Messages"... "I feel ____ when _____."

But textbooks are cold and don't factor in the humanity and tempers. It's not good to be frightened of saying, "Hey, this is stressing me out, and I need quiet time," for fear of a hot, blazing argument, during which you learn so much about yourself, and things that you're sensitive to- everyone's got a trigger button- are shouted out to you. 

Is there a solution? A guaranteed fire- stopper? 

Maybe letting go of the "They won't like it, if I tell them I am upset by this. They tell me I'm too sensitive all the time", and quietly saying, "I am stressed out. I care for you, but can't let you talk to me like that." At the very start is best. 

Holding back leads to explosions and white- hot blazes. 

It's easy with acquaintances: "I am upset by racist speech and behavior. I am further upset when I'm told I'll understand when I'm older," nothing will likely change with those patterns, but you can walk away.

With family, there are some things you cannot accept, that are wrong. Love is one thing, and history, and respect. It's quite another to realize: those are being used to keep a mouth shut. 

I'm trying to put out fires, but first, I need to step back, give myself time to heal from other things, and work on assertiveness and patience.

The Care and Feeding of Your Epileptic

There was at least one moment where I had to very quickly stop myself from saying:

http://youtu.be/K4nUlS_mUVg

I Am NOT an Animal! I Am NOT a Machine!

Why comparisons to machinery aren't good for you. If you have invisible illnesses, you must be polite, but insist upon your rights and your humanity.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QP0iHEPsT_E

New Year, New Order

Making resolutions isn't going to happen for me, and I think that ship sailed.
But I am a creature of habit. I like order and routine, and am perpetually working on goals, ideas, and improvements.

*I will let myself off the hook when it comes down to toleration of the intolerable. Life is full of things that will make a person bite their tongue. But that's probably good... even if you're like me and have a tongue bearing teeth marks. But if someone says something racist or homophobic, "But I have X friends, so it's ok!" They'll swiftly become an ex friend, which is of course, completely different than an ex parrot. =)
I don't think tolerating that is essential.

*That I continually need to repeat everything and over-explain... has driven me nuts because then I repeat said behavior when unnecessary. It causes a nasty case of spluttering. I've got to find a way to get back to me.

*Reworking the skin care routine. It feels good, is good for me. I'll also work the routine for undereye circles... a perpetual annoyance. I fell off the wagon for a bit and feel less like myself.

*I will finally change insurance companies. I will quit gritting my teeth when having to explain the situation. "I have it, it sucks, and I am attempting to get it changed. But changing is different than GETTING it."

*I will quit grinding my teeth when people say "I'll talk for you"- and ensure that I speak for myself. People also tend to talk over me... I will continue to find an inappropriate thing that makes them stop.

This will be continuous, not automatic. Process. Progress.

This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's an ex- parrot.

Monty Python - Dead Parrot Sketch by beautifulcynic