Anyone else ever feel crushed by the tragedy that is this world?

[Le Socialiste]

Forgive me, this is a rant—plain and simple. Ever get those moments that just seem to steal upon you, suddenly, with no warning? I was reading this article by the WSWS (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/suda-j16.shtml (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/suda-j16.shtml)) when it hit me: the ills of humanity are so arbitrarily built upon, if for no other reason than for the betterment of those overseeing it. And the awareness that accompanies this, the realization that there is such sadness, such suffering, all for the continued existence of an oppressive, dictatorial system—the enormity of it staggers me. It would be so easy to just bury my head in the sand, to just pretend none of this really existed. Leave it for someone else to take care of, and damn the consequences. Modern history has been witness to the material conditions wrought by an increasingly unstable economic structure, one that is inherently dependent on the forcible expropriation and suppression of whole swathes of global society, yet the potential to rise against these conditions remains outside our collective consciousness. Why? What hinders us? It’s a cancer, a disease; indifference, apathy, ignorance, arrogance, pride, envy—not human nature, as we are often told, but the lack of utter willpower necessary to strike down this illness. Too many of us choose to bury our heads, and we all suffer for it. We refrain from going just far enough, going that extra distance, towards a more just/more humane existence. The weight of this suffering, the knowledge that our current state stands to be altered (and can be!), the recognition that we hold such revolutionary power and potential but know not how or when to act on it—it’s just too much sometimes. I feel as though the majority of humanity has been corralled into this pen. We’ve been told all our lives that we either belong in this pen or we don’t; that’s up to us. We try to break out, only to no avail. We see a select few escape its confines, but the vast number of us remain. Meanwhile, those privileged enough to have either a) long escaped the pen, or b) been born outside of the pen, continue to offer words of “encouragement”, all the while taking preventive measures to ensure no significant number gets out. We are told we’re to blame, that we don’t try hard enough; eventually, the majority believes it, turning on themselves when the guarantors of their captivity stand just outside the confines.

But I take refuge in this: that every now and again, a sizeable number within the pen fight back. Unified, they seek to tear and break down the walls that separate the prosperity from the squalor. And sometimes they manage to succeed.

[praxis1966]

I'm going to leave this thread open because I think there's a valid discussion to be had here. But in the future, please refrain from copy/pasting posts multiple places on the board.

Consider this a friendly verbal warning for spam posting.

[Le Socialiste]

I'm just venting, folks. I feel better now (for the most part). I got some much needed sleep. :)

[praxis1966]

Well, for what it's worth, I do sympathize with a lot of what you're saying. I'm reminded of this panel discussion that aired on CSPAN once with Noam Chomsky and Elaine Brown. At the end of it during the Q&A session, one of the students (it was being held at Harvard U IIRC) asked if the two of them enjoyed activism.

To the best of my recollection, Chomsky replied, "No. It's the worst job in the world. It's painful, depressing, frustrating work. But I do it because it's what has to be done."

[Summerspeaker]

I feel like this all the time. It'd be hard for me to be happy and impossible for me to be content even if my own circumstances were pleasant. (They aren't.) We're in a desperate struggle for the well-being of the species and planet as a whole. Despite the flaws, I miss the passion of radicalism from the early days. They never forgot the gravity and immediacy of the cause.

[Game Girl]

The day we're born, is the last day we're truly free. We only regain that freedom when we die, which is why I don't fear death.

The world isn't perfect, that much we know. The sad truth is that it may never be perfect. But we can get it near perfect if we work together to make it better for the entire human race.

Humanity is not perfect either. We're a flawed species and we need to better ourselves. Sadly, there are those who have abandoned their humanity and are beyond reaching. I pity these people, but they can't be saved from their own self destruction.

[REVLEFT'S BIEGGST MATSER TROL]

Forgive me, this is a rant—plain and simple. Ever get those moments that just seem to steal upon you, suddenly, with no warning? I was reading this article by the WSWS (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/suda-j16.shtml (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/suda-j16.shtml)) when it hit me: the ills of humanity are so arbitrarily built upon, if for no other reason than for the betterment of those overseeing it. And the awareness that accompanies this, the realization that there is such sadness, such suffering, all for the continued existence of an oppressive, dictatorial system—the enormity of it staggers me. It would be so easy to just bury my head in the sand, to just pretend none of this really existed. Leave it for someone else to take care of, and damn the consequences. Modern history has been witness to the material conditions wrought by an increasingly unstable economic structure, one that is inherently dependent on the forcible expropriation and suppression of whole swathes of global society, yet the potential to rise against these conditions remains outside our collective consciousness. Why? What hinders us? It’s a cancer, a disease; indifference, apathy, ignorance, arrogance, pride, envy—not human nature, as we are often told, but the lack of utter willpower necessary to strike down this illness. Too many of us choose to bury our heads, and we all suffer for it. We refrain from going just far enough, going that extra distance, towards a more just/more humane existence. The weight of this suffering, the knowledge that our current state stands to be altered (and can be!), the recognition that we hold such revolutionary power and potential but know not how or when to act on it—it’s just too much sometimes. I feel as though the majority of humanity has been corralled into this pen. We’ve been told all our lives that we either belong in this pen or we don’t; that’s up to us. We try to break out, only to no avail. We see a select few escape its confines, but the vast number of us remain. Meanwhile, those privileged enough to have either a) long escaped the pen, or b) been born outside of the pen, continue to offer words of “encouragement”, all the while taking preventive measures to ensure no significant number gets out. We are told we’re to blame, that we don’t try hard enough; eventually, the majority believes it, turning on themselves when the guarantors of their captivity stand just outside the confines.

But I take refuge in this: that every now and again, a sizeable number within the pen fight back. Unified, they seek to tear and break down the walls that separate the prosperity from the squalor. And sometimes they manage to succeed.


http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/73/obamam-lol-y-u-mad-tho.jpg

[CommieTroll]

This is one of the best rants I've ever read, I feel the same way sometimes

[thesadmafioso]

The day we're born, is the last day we're truly free. We only regain that freedom when we die, which is why I don't fear death.

The world isn't perfect, that much we know. The sad truth is that it may never be perfect. But we can get it near perfect if we work together to make it better for the entire human race.

Humanity is not perfect either. We're a flawed species and we need to better ourselves. Sadly, there are those who have abandoned their humanity and are beyond reaching. I pity these people, but they can't be saved from their own self destruction.

You don't think that interpretation of freedom to be a bit limited? Death brings about an end to conscious thought and the ability to experience the world. You are without any control over anything. How exactly does that make one free?

More to the initial point of the topic though, that is some pretty spot on commentary.

[tracher999]

everyday man keep strong

[xub3rn00dlex]

The day we're born, is the last day we're truly free. We only regain that freedom when we die, which is why I don't fear death.

Then my hat goes off to you, because I am terrified of death. To me, that is the end of everything, and there is nothing beyond that. What terrifies me more than death, is dying without having made any difference in bettering the world, even for just one person ( and no, bettering the lives of the bourgeoisie because that's one less revolutionary to deal with doesn't count.)


The world isn't perfect, that much we know. The sad truth is that it may never be perfect. But we can get it near perfect if we work together to make it better for the entire human race.

Humanity is not perfect either. We're a flawed species and we need to better ourselves. Sadly, there are those who have abandoned their humanity and are beyond reaching. I pity these people, but they can't be saved from their own self destruction.

You have my 100% agreement. What saddens me more than this, are those who have abandoned their humanity because they've been crushed, torn, and shred by this system so much, that they have lost all hope and literally given up. It saddens me to no end knowing that there are comrades, wether conscious or unconscious out there, who have lost all hope for even a tiny sliver of a better tomorrow and gave up the struggle.

[Octavian]

The world isn't that bad as it stands. A thousand years ago people were constantly living in fear that they would be killed with the only thing keeping them alive being religion. They lived in cold and damp piss poor huts with a fire that filled the room with smoke. They had greasy hair and were covered in live, complete filth. They were the working class of yesterday and were the working class of today. I believe the world isn't the idealized fantasy of what many want but, as we have seen time and time again we can make this world better through philosophy, science and refusing to submit.

[Volcanicity]

The world isn't that bad as it stands. A thousand years ago people were constantly living in fear that they would be killed with the only thing keeping them alive being religion. They lived in cold and damp piss poor huts with a fire that filled the room with smoke. They had greasy hair and were covered in live, complete filth.
"The world isn't that bad as it stands"? In certain parts of the world this is peoples daily lives in 2011.

[Game Girl]

You have my 100% agreement. What saddens me more than this, are those who have abandoned their humanity because they've been crushed, torn, and shred by this system so much, that they have lost all hope and literally given up. It saddens me to no end knowing that there are comrades, wether conscious or unconscious out there, who have lost all hope for even a tiny sliver of a better tomorrow and gave up the struggle.

It's not uncommon for people to give up hope. I was one of those people. Sadly, I learned about the cruelty of humanity at an early age. It made me scared and timid. I never wanted to get close to other humans, except my family and my best friend (who I reguard as the closest thing I'll ever have to a sister). During my teen years, I made attempts to take my own life. My school found out and put me on a suicide watch.

Eventually, I gained something that gave me the strength I needed to keep going. My best friend, who was only 16 at the time, had a baby. She made me the child's Godmother. I thought my god-daughter was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on. I had a thought then. If I could try and at least make the world a little better for her, then I've truly acomplished something.

Thats my reason for doing what I do. I'm doing it for my god-daughter. I don't want her to grow up fearing the world like I did.

[Robespierre Richard]

Shouldn't you be used to this by now? I mean you've been in this world, what, your whole life?

[28350]

.
It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it

[praxis1966]

http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/73/obamam-lol-y-u-mad-tho.jpg

I'm going to let this slide for now, but keep in mind that memes (even if they are funny) and such are in violation of this subforum's guidelines. I know we're all still going through some growing pains because this section is relatively new, but try to keep the same decorum you would in the "serious" sections of the board...

[Chambered Word]

been there, man. :( reading about the 12 year old kid in the US who died from a toothache really sent me into fuck-this-shit territory recently (not to mention all the hysteria about refugees in Australia, which disgusts me to the core), but you get over it a bit.

[Nofuture]

Crushed? Unfortunately tragedy cannot literally crush me on its own. I think Kiekegaard wrote rather well about this feeling in The Sickness Unto Death. At the time, he was arguing for a more faithful embrace of the teachings of Jesus (rather than the Church) *anyway* I think a few people are finding it comparable to how some might feel in the stages of late Capitalism..something about lived life vs. life as experienced via capitalism (Living takes the essential role of Christ, Capitalism the mediation of the Church) So..yeah I basically just told you to read a book lol.

[Olentzero]

God, yes. Just had a moment like that after reading this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13796479). It makes me just want to give up on life.

But then I remember a show I saw late last winter; it was a Swedish talk show that had, for some reason, Barbara Ehrenreich and her book about positive thinking and one of the survivors of that Andean air crash they based the movie Alive on. At the end of the show the hosts asked Barbara if she had anything to say about the survivor's experiences (eating those killed to survive, trekking for days down out of the mountains just to get the hell out of there) and she said something like "It wasn't positive thinking that gave you strength, like you thought 'Oh, I'm going to have a nice cup of hot chocolate when I get home', it was more just grim determination: 'I may be very well heading to my death, but I'm going to get as far as I can before that happens and not just sit there.' "

That's what keeps me going. The world's already changed too drastically to bring it back to where it was ecologically even a hundred years ago. Right now we don't know where we're heading, but if I just sit here and give up, then it's marginally more likely the human race is fucked. But if leftists keep putting one foot in front of the other, fighting for every step forward, at the very least we can say at the end that we tried.

[Fulanito de Tal]

Sometimes I feel like a complete fucking sell out. I live in the beast (The US) yet I do absolutely nothing significant to change it. I go to school, come home, get my stuff done, spend little money, and that's it. If Che was in my apartment, he would spit on me and leave. Still, I know that if I did attempt something, my actions will not cause any significant change, so I do nothing, which means I support the current system. I'm stuck with living guilty or death.

[bcbm]

we're doomed anyway, don't be so hard on yourself