‘I’m no rocket scientist, but it doesn’t take one to figure out that when all human life is considered sacred, human life is bound to run amok. And when it runs amok, other things die, or perish, or wilt away until they can no longer sustain anything of value. All in the name of goodness, of course, which makes humanity all the harder to oppose. And the circle becomes vicious, and life perishes in the wake of humanity advancing like a lawnmower.’ ~ A NON-ROCKET SCIENTIST
Strange thoughts: Until one fixes them, or accepts how there’s a time in one’s life where things don’t make sense in the straightforward, contoured way they’re supposed to, the natural reaction is to panic and lose it for real — panic, or pretend nothing’s happening, convincing oneself that everything’s AAA yippee-ki-yay OK .
So how do people get over this knee-jerk reaction? How do they admit to entertaining impulses that are not only private but also out of kilter with what they have been trained to entertain?
How do people own up to the strange thoughts inside their heads, some of which make a hell of a lot of sense if you examine them closely, without autopilot prejudice?
Here’s the thing. It’s a hard situation to deal with, very tricky, and deal with it most people don’t, certainly not at first. They like to think that no one shares their experience. They disregard those who do. They don’t care what drove them there or what others think, and don’t want to know anything that might drag them further down this twisted, unsettling path. They just want to return to their daily rounds, double-fast, away from the company of crazies.
In doing so, people across the world erect walls between themselves. They opt for routines and the typecast way of doing things, the autopilot, the ‘always-was, always-will-be’ attitude. They don’t explore what they think or feel, afraid to delve deeper. Up go the barriers, denying the legitimacy of what everyone is going through — the strange thoughts that put to question everything one takes for granted — all minds fixated on the normality they so crave, eager to ‘get back on track.’
And the gerrymandering of society spreads, sequestering and disconnecting humanity at will.
And just like that, before they know it, people at large are back to square one, back to the issues that caused the problems in the first place. Grab a hold of the first solid thing you see — routine — and stay afloat long enough to regain your bearings, is what one does in the aftermath. No more perverse thoughts about the state of humanity, its ontological trappings, any of that crap. Back in the routine you dive where everything is fine and normal, just the way it should be — the wife, the husband, the kids, the job, the car, the second car, the hobby, the vacation in this place that’s better than this other amazing place, plus the funny stories, the people we met, the things we said and say every day . . . the political beliefs that define us as people, shaping our neighborhoods and inner circles . . . the moral fibre inside which we stay warm and comfortable. The righteousness with which we measure our lives. The holiday gatherings and the bloated stomachs that come afterward, the hangovers, the abstinence, whatever we do when we get together with those who think like us, all normal and no strange, no peculiar thoughts at all, just jokes and comments that make us belong, the dedication to all things simple and human — activities so predetermined and predictable, one could set a person’s life clock by them, if not the schedule of an entire species.
And the gerrymandering of society continues, tearing human organization apart.
Humanity. Its own worst enemy, as well as public enemy number one for life on Earth.
Only strange thoughts will bring the toxic advance to an end, allowing intelligent life to resurge.
Intrigued? Watch this space for more.
From the collection of writings EON: THE ANGRY COMING OF AGE
For Strange Thoughts, click here:
http://www.locomotiveonline.com/locomotive/strange-thoughts-part-1/