Opinions on the banality of modern life?

[Cellmold]

Firstly I know this has probably been done before, but I thought: hey why not?

On another forum someone posted this:

I've been asked that one too many times in my life.

You take out the trash, you file court papers, you pay taxes. These are trivial things that "just exist" outside the realm of a non-developed intuitive. They're just "there". Concrete, in the here-and-now, and since they are so incorporated into society, these things must be valid and socially acceptable hence how it seems to "blend" into everyday life.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a profound philosophical experiences with running errands , but everything comes with a complex framework attached to it. What if my gov't was paying my taxes, or what if money didn't exist? Have you ever tried to have this type of a conversation with your daily sensor? You'll seem like a creep!

But how did it come to be? Why has it become normal to live in a complex society in which you are born to automatically accept the system around you as something that "just is"? If I were born perhaps centuries ago, I would not be burdened by fulfilling my duties to file my taxes on time, yet something more primitive. I had no choice in this... why should I adhere?

To which I replied:

This was the unfortunately natural progression of humanity. I dont think it could be avoided.

We have jailed ourselves in chains of commerce and production. You dont need to adhere, no one does, but you will, even if you dont want to; because even if a person were to escape from all the conventional trappings of so called civilised life, he would still find himself building the same systems elsewhere, even if he had never experienced such systems, had never been touched by them he would end up doing this in some form or another.

The content might change, as in language, money, technical advances, culture etc.......but the format would not. It is inherent in our minds, we put meaning to that which has none and through this meaning we build our realities up into something tangible.

It is ironic really, we are caught by the very thing which is what leads us to question such systems in the first place: Our imagination. So we continue in an endless cycle, appalled at the banality of our every day lives, we seek to escape into some mental realm of escape, but we always forget that such banalities were a product of that same imagination and thus we are stuck with it....until the end of our lives.

Hmm that sounds depressing, but dont worry, we have also created such entertaining wonders as well, so with the banality comes the abnormality, the special, the fantastic, the brilliantly conceptual and the original.

To me it is merely two sides of the same coin, we need the banality so that we can escape into the fantastical, one cannot exist without the other.

What are your opinions? Sorry if my post is pretentious, but it's generally how I think about the matter.

*Prepares to have his cheap philosophy torn apart by his 'intellectual superiors'.*

ps: Im waiting for a joke on the banality of this topic....

 

[Fleeting]

I think about the system often, and how frustrating it is to see the big picture, to see how much is wrong, and to try and solve this great big problem from so many angles, but unable to grasp a solution. Only really able to see the ideal, finished result. Working towards that result seems so... Enormous. People have often called me unrealistic and idealistic on this subject, but I think anything is possible. We would just have to have enough minds working on it.

Society itself is a complex problem requiring fixing. It really is. At least we could all get together and try to work it out, or find something better, because what we have is complete garbage.

There are just so many variables.

Leadership is ruled by charismatic people persons who win people over by seeming nice, and awesome, and then stabbing people in the back, being greedy, and using resources without looking at the system.

Let's think about the basic needs of the people first. That's where I start. But, this can't be done without taking down walls and getting everyone to see that humanity is a large network, an organism, and that splitting it up is not efficient or helpful.

Then there are more sustainable sources of energy. Our current economic system is all about constant, and increasing growth. This is not sustainable, will collapse, and then we'll try and tape the vase together, so to speak.

I mean, I know nobody likes what if scenarios, but honestly! What if we actually took all of the resources from nuclear weapons, if we took all the resources in the world, really, piled it all together and had a look at it. We'd be able to split up food, no problem. We'd be able to put resources towards progressive science and medicine, no problem.

How do we reach this goal? No idea.

But, I do know that it's possible. It's just not probable.

I always think of ideas about reaching it... It's funny, I always take on too much, trying to figure out the hardest thing possible and getting frustrated about my lack of intelligence.

 

[Thalassa]

First of all you delude yourself if you believe society wasn't so structured before. Before it was simply structured by morality, religion, ritual, and tradition. People need a certain amount of structure to even be stable. In physics there's something called the border of chaos, and stability must be greater than change. So that's that.

What you seem to be talking about is how excessively Te our culture has become, basing life on somewhat philosophically or morally empty practical rituals geared toward finance, progress and competition rather than spirituality or even intellectuals. The West has become excessively masculine and invasive and pushy in its energy. We've reached a point where we seem to value wealth and progress over quality of life. Wealth and progress should be helpers toward better quality of life, not end goals unto themselves.

Also, I think Te doms (including ENTJs) and Si doms may question it the least, I don't think this is a sensor/intuitive issue. I do not think the average ISxP is terribly happy about the overly Te structure in our society than an INTP or ENFJ.

 

[Thalassa]

Note that by "you" I mean the general you, its not directed toward the OP or any other individual.

 

[Fleeting]

First of all you delude yourself if you believe society wasn't so structured before. Before it was simply structured by morality, religion, ritual, and tradition. People need a certain amount of structure to even be stable. In physics there's something called the border of chaos, and stability must be greater than change. So that's that.

What you seem to be talking about is how excessively Te our culture has become, basing life on somewhat philosophically or morally empty practical rituals geared toward finance, progress and competition rather than spirituality or even intellectuals. The West has become excessively masculine and invasive and pushy in its energy. We've reached a point where we seem to value wealth and progress over quality of life. Wealth and progress should be helpers toward better quality of life, not end goals unto themselves.

Also, I think Te doms (including ENTJs) and Si doms may question it the least, I don't think this is a sensor/intuitive issue. I do not think the average ISxP is terribly happy about the overly Te structure in our society than an INTP or ENFJ.

I had not stated anything about the structure of society in history. It has been this way at least since currency was invented, although I think that before then it was still structured similarly.

I think people've gotten used to the way our current paradigm operates, and ignore it because they think they have to. It becomes a matter of surviving, rather than understanding the world they've been thrown into, and trying to change its structure.

Money is a human construct, and just because we use it doesn't make it necessary. All it is, is debt now. Everyone is paying off debt with debt. It's ironic, if you are able to see the big picture.

Wealth and progress do not go hand in hand. They are separate ideas. Progress is about moving society forward. Wealth is doing the opposite.

In actuality, wealth is holding us back, and is blocking progress.

What's stopping people from giving food to people who are hungry?

Money. Because they can't afford it.

But, the food is there. It's only allowed to those who have money. And those who have no means to obtain it? Screw them. That's the way the system works.

 

[Betty Blue]

Firstly I know this has probably been done before, but I thought: hey why not?

On another forum someone posted this:



To which I replied:



What are your opinions? Sorry if my post is pretentious, but it's generally how I think about the matter.

*Prepares to have his cheap philosophy torn apart by his 'intellectual superiors'.*

ps: Im waiting for a joke on the banality of this topic....

NEW WORLD ORDER