The Dream is Over - Final Goodbye

Well, I haven't posted in a year, guess I've been postponing it. This is my final post.

Goodbye, and thanks for joining me in this journey.

And now, I leave you with John Lennon's God, a song he made about the Beatles breaking up. The dream is over.

Martin Heidegger - Freedom/Anxiety

In theory we have the possibility of doing anything (of course there are some physical restrictions). The only wrong thing you can do is not to exert your freedom.

But this freedom generates anxiety. Martin Heidegger stated that humans are nothing: we are just possibilities waiting to be materialized through our actions and decisions. The problem comes when we realize there's nothing to guide us. "Is this decision the right one? Where will this take me? What would have happened if I had taken another path?" These thoughts often appear. Also, we will die someday, thus "becoming nothing" is another possibility. Our lives are just different ways of reaching our deaths.

Heidegger also said that when we approach the world, we always have a certain state of mind or mood. We are not apathetic. This affects our perception of the world and how we interact with it.

[This is all I'm summarizing from Heidegger. What comes next are my own thoughts. Please bear in mind this short summary was just intended to support my following point.]

The world is how we perceive it. It's up to us to make the most out of it. We are rationally aware of this. Then why can't we put this into practice all the time? Because of our irrationality. Our fears and insecurities get in the way. This issue will be discussed on my following posts.

The unavoidable selfishness

[Continued from here.]

People tend to give the minimum effort always. We look for our own interests and act in the way it's most convenient. We try to brake the rules (rather than debate them in a civilized way), impose ourselves before others, let others take the blame for our actions, "streetwise-ness", etc. You feel good when you get away with it.

You must always be one step ahead. You must always protect yourself, since they wouldn't care whatever happens to you. Unfairness, bullying, crime, etc., they are all manifestations of the same thing. It's funny how people criticize politicians, and yet they act the same sneaky way in their everyday life.

Egoism is often understood to be a consequence of our finitude. Since life is short, we want to have as many things as possible while we're alive. Therefore, it can't be helped. No one is saying egoism is bad or good, it simply is. Your actions (even the altruistic ones) somehow benefit yourself, otherwise you wouldn't be doing them.

The truth is, if people don't care about something, they'll never put any effort in it. What an individual considers important can only be decided by the individual himself. So, what should you do? On one hand, you should only care for yourself. On the other hand, you can't live alone; thus, you must understand what people close to you consider important and work based on that. Or, you can just continue not giving a shit, since that's what everyone always does.

Friedrich Nietzsche - The Death of God/The Last Man

With Modernism, religion had been displaced. God could no longer explain anything. Nietszche called this "The Death of God". We have killed God, no one can tell us what we should do, we can't assure what's right. What now? Do we get lost?

Nietzsche had always criticized society. He accuses us of being conformists: we no longer yearn for anything, we only search our safety. Why is longevity a virtue? Nietzsche called this "Last Man". The Last Man denies God's death and tries to hide behind new Gods, such as the State or money. He's always looking for excuses to not exert his freedom.

"One no longer becomes poor or rich; both are too burdensome. Who still wants to rule? Who still wants to obey? Both are too burdensome. (...) Every one wants the same; every one is equal: he who has other sentiments goes voluntarily into the madhouse." - From Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

Nietzsche wants us to accept our weaknesses, our contradictions, and stop denying our freedom. Sure, it's easier said than done. Yet, what I take from this is the importance of taking decisions. You can think a lot of things, but you are only defined by your actions.

The Replacements - Alex Chilton

If you liked this, try Can't Hardly Wait or Bastards of Young.