Collision Course

Culture and law collide with one another. They intersect. Each chooses to stand next to the other, at a mutual distance, and so a point is created at which culture and law diverge, converge, or even defy one another. 

We must ask how long law been established with respect to each culture. Many countries have corrupt or nonexistent government and, so, they also have less than sophisticated legal systems. Reprehensible acts go unpunished, without consequence to anything but the soul. The people become desensitized. The soul, like cracked earth, splinters in the drought. Indistinct and infiltrated, such government is far more permeable than culture. And so brews a bold, brazen blend of the safety in numbers faction. Though, safety in this context is guised as freedom from consequence, abating the conscience and soothing the soul. Freedom from conscience is potent and destructive, pumping not a pulse for the bleeding heart but a poison into it.

Mass murdering movements have propelled eras of moral destitution. Other such condemnable acts are often loud, though muffled, unseen, and unheard. Moral codes are then degraded to justifiable ethics. Remember: if you must justify something, there is a reason why it should not be. Indeed, not all cultures imbibe morals, though each broods over its own ethics, serving to depreciate true integrity.  Integrity, as not yet defined, is more than just consistent behavior. Integrity is a protagonist standing firm and fighting for principles.  Integrity spars fairly and with valor; it admits defeat and realizes weakness.  It does not exploit the weakness of others. To have integrity is to fully internalize the effects of all actions and beliefs.  At its core, integrity is the ability to swim against a current, so long as its mode of survival does not move towards its own extinction. In the context of culture, integrity is sustainable, cultivating, and altruistic.

If we assume that culture defines morals, laws are simply deterrents.  If law is not strict, culture can be unscrupulous, self-preserving, and callous.  Law that is set in place around the time of a culture’s inception is an attempt to align the motives of its people.  This creates a moral code, which is sometimes accepted into the law. This code, these characteristics of culture – humanity, survival, preservation, and violence – become entangled with law. Culture and law can have a symbiotic relationship but can also have one of measured defiance. And though we bend to authority, we flex as a people. We shift like glaciers but with the earth-shattering capacity of tectonic plates. Culture is indelible to law. 

What's More

(What's More) is the chance to open a new door.

(What's More) is when it's time to settle an old score.

(What's More) is an unresolved argument between friends,

and the fear of isolation when the friendship ends.

(What's More) is the sadness from regret and mistakes

...and the time it takes to turn back, without hitting the brakes.

(What's More) is struggling to make ends meet,

(What's More) is trying harder and stayin' out on the street,

(What's More) is nothing feels better than doing a good deed,

…when you come across another who is more in need.

(What's More) is a fire of passion you cannot contain,

...it's spreading too fast, burning all the terrain.

(What's More) is the pride that keeps us from being real,

(What's More) is the greed takin' the world by its heels.

But (what's worse) is the ignorance and lack of utter care,

For the people around us and the lives that we share,

The resources we have and the paths we take,

The relationships between us and the prayers we make.

We can't live separately and do it all in vain,

We have to be the solution and not cause the pain.

We have to help each other and expect the exact same,

But I damn sure can't without all o' you, I'm sayin'…

(What's real) is a people that stands as one.

(What's real) is doing what needs to be done.

(What's real) is trusting and seeking the whole truth,

(What's real) is stayin’ true like ya’ got nothing to prove…

(What's Mine) is what I have in my life…

(What's Mine) are those with me through trouble and strife…

(What's Mine) is not an intention to sit here and preach,

But I know there is a lesson I can rightly teach...

(What's Mine) is yours….

Regret Flix

Two years ago, I got rid of cable television. I decided I did not need it anymore. Much of what I watched was mediocre entertainment. The only reason I watched anything was because I had no other way to kill time at the moment. That’s all it was to me. Killing time – time that deserved justice.

Regrettably, I decided to keep Netflix. And over the past couple of years, I’ve watched a few remarkable movies, some great documentaries, and hysterical TV shows. The rest of it was all drivel.

You know - there is a running joke about getting to the end of the Internet.... having seen everything there is to see.  I feel like I got to that point with Netflix.  They just made it too easy to press play. Still, it became more and more laborious to do so. I woke up two years later, finding myself excited watching consecutive seasons of Desperate Housewives.  Trust me: I admit to this with great fear and trepidation. I had had enough. I had hit rock bottom. And so birthed was the name: Regret Flix.  Now I know that I might be risking suit for defamation of characters (yes, plural), but the recent release of Arrested Development was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

I am now officially sans television. To me, the act of watching Netflix embodied American culture.  Too many of us sit around and read, watch, or listen to things that other people create.  We do this sort of thing because we need to be stimulated. Our senses crave stimulation. The problem is that we do not want to create the stimulation for ourselves.  We want to do as little work for as big a reward as possible. And it’s a real infraction against humanity to allow this to keep us down. So, I’m here to help split the difference, and I'm not talking about the $8.47 per month. 

What is I am talking about is this: the level of distraction we face is tantamount to oppression. No one is completely unfettered. In our defense, it’s not something we even realize is happening. Companies have literally invested billions in reaching and maintaining new audiences, fans, and customers.  We have stopped questioning our own incentives. We are automatons. 

Technology adapted to the market, changed the market, and now owns the market, which forces efficient individuals to take shape or be left behind. This makes many people mere drones that lost their true identity years ago.  And years, in today’s terms, means little more in time than a road trip down Technology Lane.

Transcend. Endure. Prosper.

We do not have to identify with everyone. Disagreement is far better than affirmation. Unconditional acceptance degrades us. The differences between us can teach us our similarities – we can grow from this. The question is whether we choose to grow together or apart. Some relationships will be detrimental to your wellness. You do not have to entertain these.

Developing a hard shell is the human defense mechanism.  Ideas do not come in. Ideas do not go out. When you disguise your predilections, and if you distance yourself, we all stand still. Avoiding conflict means to avoid challenge and change. Conflict creates discomfort but is not always destructive. Most change is challenging. This hardens us.

The raw truth is that we are calloused people - and that meaning much more than simply learning from failed experiences. It also implies an indifference towards human despair, sharing no empathy with others. Transcend the expectations of others. Enact your own desires. Who are you exactly? What do you preach? Proclaim yourself and be known. Showing your true essence to all is to employ a more natural social selection, where the fruits that you bear are products of your own true inhibitions. Be vulnerable – do not be susceptible or gullible. Your imperfection is your beauty. Those who otherwise deny your ethos cannot currently identify with it, and that should be no concern. Endure.

We do know that many stand strongly on their own principles. This is worthy of merit, but it does not mean that they are courageous or brave. Principles are great to apply inwardly, but the courage to apply them outwardly is an area in which we suffer. Believing in a principle is to embody a principle - it is not the same as exuding a principle. Posture is for the weak. Question yourself. Let your guard down. See what comes to you. Prosper.