Fact of Life #1

The majority of the people in the world are ignorant. There exists a handful of intelligent ones. These intelligent people spend their lives thinking of ways to attempt to save the ignorant people from destroying each other and the planet.

Changes

Sometimes something happens like a chance encounter that changes your entire outlook on life. I was upset before, over things that don't seem so important. My heart feels something now. I saw a light. This doesn't make any sense to me and I wish someone can help me make sense of it all. I just feel like all the problems are gone, but my heart hurts in an absolutely new direction. I don't like it when i feel this way and would rather just forget. But it helps me forget all the other stupid things I worry about. This writing seems aimless and maybe somewhere hidden in it there is a meaning, a point, a direction. I hope it is obvious to someone and they can explain it to me, or let me know they get it, and actually do.

More shoes

I find it fascinating that you can get TWO years for insulting a foreign leader in Iraq. Maybe the guy should be asked to be handed over to the US military. He wont have to worry about jail time, just a little bid of good old fashioned waterboarding. Thanks a lot Dick Cheney. No really..... Thank you.

Shoes

Since when is it a crime to throw a shoe at someone, if i threw my shoe at you, would i get arrested and detained.
or what if bush threw the shoe back at him, now wouldn't that be something. And what a cocky mother fucker, going on a fucking victory lap. What fucking victory? You killed your man, Saddam, found no weapons, and then tortured people and you have the balls to parade around them in victory. People hate you, don't you get it, the worst president EVER. This isn't a joke. You suck and inspire hatred and anger. I actively look for intelligence when it comes to you to give you the benefit of the doubt. But how can a man be so blind? You even had to sign a document that protects you from being prosecuted for war crimes. You self-centered douche.
Learn to read, asshole.

...and when i saw her, I knew she was the person I was going to marry

How many times have you heard that from a "happily" married man? It is good to have the ability to see someone and know you will marry them, but seriously, how did you know? How many times that day did you say that about someone else? This is just the one it worked out with. Good for you though homie.

Happiness

The opposite of happiness is not sadness, but boredom.

I am bored.

Inner Purity

Nobody has ever changed the outside without looking inside first and changing that. We are surrounded by shit, pure and simple. Things just seem to suck. We can worry about it. We can complain about it. We can blame others. We can wait for change.

Or we can take the opportunity to look inside, and to improve ourselves, aspire to greatness within our hearts. Through that inner change, that inner purification, our environment, our surroundings, will follow suit. The power is in our hands, but we cannot force the world, the only control we have is over ourselves. We have no control over our situations, just ourselves, and we need to take a good look inside if we ever hope for change.

God Bless.

Intelligence

Intelligence is not a function of Education; but rather a function of contemplation.

Orphans

How much of our personalities and who we are is influenced by our parents, or more specifically the loves of our parents, for those of us who are lucky to be blessed with it. I cannot imagine how it must be to grow up without the care and attention associated with one's own parents. It breaks my heart to think about the number of orphans in the world, many of whom do not have loving homes or people to care and love for them. I have the utmost admiration for people who devote their time to the care and upbringing of orphans. Things like this help keep things in perspective.

Orphans deserve our undying love and affection for they have suffered greatly through no fault of their own. Parents should never have to bury their children and little children should not see the end of their parents before they are ready. They become the children of the community, of society, and are our collective responsibility, and orphanages and homes should be one of our highest priorities when dealing with budgets and funding.

I find it difficult to articulate this into words for it saddens me in a different way. I don't feel trapped, but rather ignorant to the years that I could have been more helpful. I mus encourage myself to make a change in my life and contribute to this area of society as much as I can.

Update to follow.

Marx and Social Equality

Imagine a group that set out to plan society and government. But as soon as they do, they die and are re-born, but they can come back at any level of this plan, male or female, and at any class of society. Motivation for equality and empathy?

1. Who would you most NOT want to be in the society you are familiar with?

Any thoughts?

The Dark Knight

So what would you do, would you take the overstep boundaries of the law, in order to serve justice where the law cannot?

Batman - Vigilante or Hero
The Boondock Saints
Etc.

Is it vigilantism or responsibility? Where do you draw the line? Is it too much power for one person or a group of people?

Al Capone, crime boss, was convicted on tax fraud.

When does personal justice against the tenets of the law turn into a call for anarchy? The Joker.

???

Beef with Bush

Why is it that a president was almost impeached for a personal sexual scandal whilst another is safe while having the lowest approval rating of all time?

Salman Rushdie

"Author Salman Rushdie has threatened to sue a publisher over a book by a former bodyguard that he said portrays him as cheap, nasty and arrogant and depicts his police guards as "losers" who drank on duty."
- http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,396526,00.html

I guess some people don't like being betrayed as things that they believe they aren't. Lawsuits must be the way to go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses_controversy

Maybe someone can help point out the difference here? What goes around comes around I guess.

No Questions? Not Now

I am told by a few people sometimes not to question. Not to ask too many questions and just accept things as they are. Accept things because that is the way it always has been. People accepted it before you, and so should I. But the people before us are not like us. They did not have the tools to question. They did not have relatively high literacy rates, did not have full access to libraries, educational programs, or even the rights and responsibilities associated with democracy. All these privileges give us the right, the responsibility to question what may seem normal. What has been accepted for hundreds of years. We can learn for ourselves, we ponder, and study. Instead having to travel to hear a scholar or master speak, we can simply go online and look up a youtube video, or even go to the library and read their biography and books. It is all at our fingertips. Our ancestors did not have these benefits and therefore less of them had the ability to fruitfully ponder their reality.

That is the difference, and that is why we should and can challenge the status quo, challenge the hypocrisy of our time, and challenge societies inequalities.

Be the Star

It isnt easy to find a star in any society, but then it is up to us, the individual, to strive to be that star, to rise up, and encourage others, and it is that human quality, that star quality, that others will be instinctually attracted to, and emulate.
You and I must become aware, and spread that awareness through good living, good action, good thinking, good deeds, and it will spread by God's will on its own.
I know how it can be disillusioning sometimes when you are faced with the malicious people, the people that you cannot understand. But know that even they are a product of their environment at some level, and dont hate them for it, but show love in order for them to understand that ignorance is not the way, because I believe, it takes a lot of effort to be ignorant. It takes a lot of effort to close your eyes to reality, to the benefits of positivitiy, reason, order and love. And if we live that love, we STRIVE to improve ourselves all the time, not others, but ourself, to remove hatred, anger, maliciousness and ignorance from our hearts and mind, and become more self aware of our actions, and our drain, and how we can and do hurt others. 1) it will take up most of our time, we wont have time to hate others, and 2) we improve. We make the personal Jihad against the Nafs. We cleanse our soul. And a pure heart is an attractive heart, that will have its followers.

No More...

No more distractions
no more differences
no more hatred
no more ignorance
no more fear
NO MORE

Do not allow yourself to be dragged into ignorance. Do not allow yourself to believe that you will be ignorant, that you are destined to be ignorant if you are not educated, if you are not old, if you have not paid your dues. All your answers, all fundamental knowledge will not be found on TV, in Books, in Experiences, but inside. Through reflection we will find our humanity, regain the knowledge of our dignity. The answers are always inside us, regardless of color, race, language, nationality, age. We can always find it. We, YOU, are capable of everything. I am capable of everything. I will REMOVE myself from the stream, no, the raging river of distractions, of lies, of profits and wake up to my own abilities, to the power of my mind, and of MY HEART. We are slipping further and further from ourselves, from the Truth, from GOD. They are the same, and we cannot allow it any longer. I cannot allow it for myself. I will stand up, and I will die proud and free, the way God created me, and I will know Him, know myself. I will love my brother and sister, regardless of race, religion, creed. God created us all, and we are all the same, and we are ALL lost, and we must find ourselves, find GOD, and remove our minds from focusing on distractions. We must not let our society, our surroundings control who we are: humans, with God-given dignity, rights, responsibilities and freedoms. I cannot betray that responsibility, that test. I cannot be forgetful any longer. I will break free from these shackles that serve to limit my potential, these human shackles. I will use powerful tools granted to ALL human beings, tools of love, of reason, of respect, of responsibility. These tools are accessible to all of us because they are inside of us. I will not let myself be manipulated, to be controlled, to be told of my limitations, to be reminded of my limitations. I am not too young, too slow, too simple, too negative, too naive or too positive. Do not shackle me, and let us be free. Free of hatred, of anger, of destruction, of war, of murder, of rape, of violence, of ignorance, of limitations. You and I are capable, always have been capable and always will be capable. I say no more... for your sake, for my sake, for humanity's sake.

Quality over Quantity

It is not the quantity but the quality of the mind. It does not matter how many people follow a certain thought. Society is simply a collection of minds. What is important is the quality (clarity, strength, purity) of the mind. This is not a dictatorship or control. You would not be affecting the world through your individuality but through the quality of your mind. This mind quality would be something people would instinctively follow.

In this way, change will come from inside us and not found outside. We must search our souls in order to locate it, to free our minds of the shackles of confinement and the mob mentality.

The Struggle

"Joy lies in the fight, in the attempt, in the suffering involved, not in the victory itself." - Gandhi

Will we achieve what we set out to do, no matter how indomitable it may seem? Does it even matter? The struggle, the "Jihad" is where we can find the fulfillment. As difficult and as painful as it might be, it strengthens the soul, nourishes the soul. The destination is important, but it is the journey that defines us.

Let's take the journey, and not hasten the coming of our own ends.

Discipline of Conscience

"It is because we have at the present moment everybody claiming the right of conscience without going through any discipline whatsoever that there is so much untruth being delivered to a bewildered world" - Gandhi

I believe that this sentence has many implications and directions for anyone with the courage to think about it. Do we have an existential right of belief, of personal understanding, or does it come from study, thought, and discipline? But the follow up question is what constitutes enough discipline, or correct discipline? Does all discipline lead towards the same direction? And if so, how do we achieve the discipline?

I think that Gandhi has it spot on here, and I discipline involves personal growth, questioning and understanding. But this goes a step further. Discipline involves knowing that their are limitations to your thoughts, to your understanding, and you might have missed some things. You should be open to those being pointed out to you. The discipline to not retreat to ignorance and close mindedness and to face the fears of mistakes, and muster up the strength of will to question and study with new information in light. To know you know nothing. To know you don't have the answers, and you only make an attempt for good, even though that attempt might be wrong.
I think that would solve the issue of getting carried away with something, or taking something too far.

Immigration Racism

Pim Fortuyn, a dutch politician once commented in a column about foreign immigration into the Netherlands bringing with them their own customs, values and traditions that he perceived disturbed the more liberal state and constitution: "How dare you! This is our country, and if you can't conform, you should get the hell out, back to your own country and culture."
This view I feel is common amongst many in the world on all sides of the table. If you don't like it the way it is, then go back to where you came from. But how can such an idea be logical or sound in a world that is so affected by each other, with globalization, multi-national capitalism, and the effects of a devastating age of colonialism that has hardly left our sights, let alone our memories. I am sure many immigrants would love to just go home, but our home is not ours anymore. It is the dictators and tyrants that you have empowered and supply with money, weapons and a blind eye that forces immigrants into leaving their homes. It is your economic policies, your unbalanced deals, your broken promises that has destroyed my home and caused me to come to yours. And I remain a thorn at YOUR side even now, as you are the thorn in mine. My very existence bothers you, my food, my language, my difference bothers you. That causes you to hate me, but you hated me before you ever cared about differences, when you cut up my land and split up its families. I allowed it to happen, and I must clean up the mess, but I cannot even use my own land as a base, since my words are my very own death sentence. You built your country on by stealing, conning and raping my home, and with your elite ideology, you insult me. And now you want me to conform and convert my identity to yours, to the identity that raped me. You want me to become the rapist that raped me! And if I do not, I go home, to my culture, the culture that has been violated, the land destroyed, the families murdered, the voices silenced. Violated, destroyed, murdered and silenced with YOUR weapons, with your "culture", with your ideology. How dare you! How dare you!

Smile

I was just walking down the street and a little girl, aged about maybe 11-13 years old was walking in the opposite direction. She looked at me and just smiled. An innocent pure hello smile. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It made me think, we are funny creatures. Something so small and seemingly insignificant can have such an affect on our mood. I wanted to thank her. It was such a nice smile. It picked me up. This is probably wishful thinking, but could you imagine if we did that to each other more often, just smiled at strangers. We don't smile to convince them of something we don't smile to make them feel comfortable. We just smile. And we never see them again. I hope the feeling she gave me doesn't go away and I can pass it on. It was great. Just great.

Mixed Heritage

In this day and age, there is a new generation. A generation I feel that truly is new. A mixed generation, one that society cannot categorize in one or the other, but share a bond through mixed heritage. I am one of these people, and the specifics of the mix itself does not really matter here but rather the feelings associated with the mixing itself. For a period, it feels strange, because members of society always seem to prefer the comfort of set categories with very little deviation, from government officials, to neighbors, to friends and to family. But it is difficult for us to sit in one category. For we are not a product of one category but rather mixed. So how shall we define ourselves, and define our legacies? Where shall we stand? Shall this mixing be that of conflict, that of West vs. East, Traditional vs. Modern, Old vs. New or rather a fruitful collaboration if you will. Only time will tell, but the question falls to the individual to define themselves.

That was the easy part, the hard part comes along at the tough times, when it feels like the odds are stacked against you and you search for support, only to find that wherever you turn people think you are crazy, because you are not "completely one" nor "completely another". To both sides you are crazy, but it all seems to make sense in your head. You are confused, as I was told once. But I was also told something else. A reminder that I would like to put into words to help during those times where support is needed; You should not feel the need to fall into one of society's predetermined categories, because you are your own mind and a result of your own experiences, and instead of having pride with that one category, that superficial creation of nation, team, color, or institution, have pride in specific values and issues. Let your stance on specific issues define who you are, as opposed to a category. I am not completely American, English, Indian, Chinese, or Australian but rather I am actively against racism, against occupation, or against colonization.

I hope what I am trying to convey makes sense.

Sadness

I am at another crossroad.

I am feeling this overwhelming sense of sadness, anger, impatience and general unpleasantness that I seem to have trouble crawling out of. Conflicting thoughts go through my head, about life, and reality. It seems easier right now to devote my life to financial pursuits, since results are immediate, savings grow, and my mind is occupied. To enter the capitalist stream and begin the life of accumulation. But there is a but. It would feel like a betrayal, a betrayal of all I thought, all I believed and all I fought against as little as I did. It just seems the fight is futile, the fight against racism, poverty and illogical wars and killing. I am wavering at this part, and I do so without a fear of judgment from others, because that is not what this is about and never has been about. This is about defining my life and making a responsible adult from the child. This is the transformation. The question is what is a responsible adult? Is it a subjective or objective? Are there definite answers? There are so many road blocks in the way in order to enlighten people, to enlighten myself, roadblocks of various proportions and magnitudes. It is lonely, trying to find the strength to dig deep and find the courage to move forward against the road blocks. But there is a fear, what if I dive in, and there is not enough? Where does that leave my heart, mind and soul? In shambles, in dust? This confusion is a mind trap.

Neutrality and Silence.

Neutrality is a position. Staying silent is not staying neutral. You cannot abstain from a choice, you cannot ignore some choices, even a postponement of the decision is a decision and a choice itself. You can support the positive, you can fight the negative, but by not supporting the positive you by default support the negative, and therefore a part of it.

"If anyone of you sees something objectionable, he should change it with his hand, but if he cannot, he should change it with his tongue, and if he cannot he should do it in his heart, that being the weakest form of faith." - Muhammad (s)

"Your silence will not protect you" - Audre Lorde

Rationality and Reason

It is much more difficult to argue against a rational argument that it is an irrational one. Violence, yelling, and abuse is not a rational argument, and it is easy to find the faulted person when one is fighting and the other is still and calm. Embarrassing your opponent with rationality, reason and a calm head I think is the best way to get any idea across because it gives your opponent room to reach a conclusion free from the pressure or threat of violence or personal abuse. As human beings I think we lean towards rationality and reason and I think that is all we really want, a reasonable world. We struggle for it. But we must be reasonable in our struggles and not betray the very goal we are trying to achieve.

Protests

I walked into a protest today, a peaceful protest, but a protest nonetheless. I don't think it is important to mention the cause but let me assure you it was a fine one, one worthy of protest. I just had a few observations. There were law enforcement authorities that joined the rally, of course not for the cause but their paychecks. The rally went well and was considered a success for numerous reasons; good turn out, no body got hurt, the message got across, the police really didn't have to do anything. So all in all it was all good. But it raised some issues for me, not about the merit of protests, but rather how it is done. A protest or a rally is an inconvenience on many people, for example the law enforcement officers, the construction workers whose construction area happened to be where part of the rally was being held. I understand that these things need to be done, but wouldn't a small gesture of apology and thankfulness towards these inconvenienced people help your cause. A coffee, a popsicle or a smile and sorry even I think would go a long way in furthering your cause. Here is my reasoning, not everyone will support your cause, but many people will be inconvenienced by your rally, and a gesture of apology will convert to the rationale and reason behind your cause because it removes the stigma of angry unreasonable mob protest. It makes it look like you are doing it because you have to, and you are sorry that you have to do it, and I hope you can understand. Taking that time and making that effort, that gesture of love and understanding to the bystander removes the stigma and seed of hatred towards whoever or whatever you are protesting against.

One thing I noticed though was that by mentioning this to some people I got some people in the protest I got some very dirty looks. Why? Is it because the protest was more important than the cause? Is it because the cause is more important than the police officer's job or the construction worker's projects? Is the idea more important than the individual? We cannot create more grievances for some in order to protect others without apology or request of understanding. The idea cannot be more important than individuals because unfortunaltly that leads to fanaticism and extremism.

It comforts me to know that there were some people that did not give me a dirty look, that listened to my point, and I appreciate it immensely. These people were free from arrogance, and through them I hope change and positivity will flow and hopefully infect others.

Pride and Arrogance

For some reason both of these things seem to go hand in hand. It is unfortunate how we strive to be proud of things only to fall into the trap of becoming arrogant about it. I think this applies to many things, large scale and small. So many empires and civilizations have fallen victim to their own arrogance that they lose their drive, and that becomes the beginning of their downfall.
I find it difficult to understand how advanced the ancient civilizations were, from Greece, to Egypt, to Rome. These places and others truly reaches a level of advancement that we find very hard to appreciate from this day and age. Things we cannot even do today. They had running water to a city, working sewage systems, advanced politics, architectural wonders, even y today's standards.
And they all fell. They reached a peak, and then fell. I believe this is due to their own arrogance, "We have made it so far, We can do anything, Nothing can stop us now". If history has shown us anything, it is that what goes up, must come down. Why don't we learn from history, taking the ancient part away, the Islamic Empire was also very advanced and at it is very hard to appreciate that. They fell too. They are still recovering from that fall, but sometimes still maintain the arrogance that came with it, hence causing a difficulty to rise up again.

Todays civilization should have a serious look at history. We must appreciate the advancements of the past, appreciate our own advancements, be proud of the work we have done. That is the easy part. We must also know at all times that the work we do and the advances we make can all be taken away and lost, and we may fall just as all civilizations before have. We need to keep this in mind in order to destroy the seeds of arrogance and nurture the seeds of humbleness.

If no one is there, does it matter?

I am watching the documentary series BBC Space. It is presented by Sam Neill and is incredibly dramatic. In one episode, it talks about how a comet may hit earth and wipe out all life. It also tries to hypothesize on solutions and things to do. Now here is my question. If all of life was wiped out, would it be sad? If there is no one there to experience the after effects, it would be momentary and one second we are there and the next we aren't. So whats the big deal? Would you even want to know it was coming at us? Would you want to know the world would end? Are we just wasting our time trying to protect ourself from inevitable death? Shouldn't we be doing things to improve life for all, as opposed to trying not to die? Isn't that a better use of time and resources? Making our lives meaningful as opposed to empty.

Myth of Freedom

How free are we? Everywhere I look i constantly see things that I can't do. In every society I have visited or lived in, even visiting a country. You can't visit this place if you have this visa, you can't work here if you worked here before. You can't leave here. There might be the illusion that one can leave but in reality, institutionalized consequences prevent us from really experiencing the freedoms that we are told we have. After the enlightenment and the increase in "religious" freedom as in the freedom to choose, or to refrain from choosing, as well as the decrease of the power of institutionalized religion in aspects of our lives, it has been replaced by a new "legal" code that is just as restraining as the "religious" code it replaced.

2pac and Gandhi - Opposing the Status Quo

I find very many similarities between the lives of these two men and their lasting legacy, even though they are separated by time and space. They both brought about "radical" ideas that disturbed the status quo. They fought against oppression, albeit with different tools. They prodded the oppressor, trying to confront them with a picture of their own madness. And hey, they were both bald and skinny. And both shot.

By using reason and logic to humiliate the oppressor, they made some significant steps for the oppressed. With Gandhi, it was non-violent resistance, which was meant to embarrass the British and wake the world up to the madness and oppression occurring in India.

With 2pac, the idea of "Thug Life" and shocking stories and imagery to confront America and make it face the reality of the ghetto. To embarrass them and wake them up, uncovering some false assumptions. Nothing was made up, it was just reality.

In both cases, what i admire the most is that they both appealed to people's basic humanity. I believe that our soul is in essence good and against hypocrisy, oppression and all things that arise from a lack of logic and reason. Oppression, poverty, these are things that do not make sense, whilst caring for each other makes sense on every level. Whatever religion you follow or lack thereof, it only makes sense to foster positivity. A dog eat dog world is very dangerous, and if you eat someone, someone will come and eat you.

Ofcourse, society cannot have people like this running around. Can you imagine people were prodded to think? Imagine a world where everyone thought about their actions in the long term, thought about their responsibilities, and grew out of ignorance. That would be a place where our current status quo could not exist. The rich might stop getting richer, and nobody really wants that....

Reminds me of Socrates too and Malcolm X as well, prodding people to think with questions, and his execution. There is no room for thinkers, for challengers, for reformers that keep the oppressed, the impoverished and the weak in mind and try to improve their situation. Will things ever change? And what will bring it about?

Journal Writing

I have never been one to write journals or to write things that I dont expect anyone to read. I never really realized why but some have assumed it was some sort of vanity, and a search for congratulations. But a few days ago I had an epiphany, or an excuse, whichever stance you prefer. This is not a shot at all the Journal Writers out there, but I never saw the point of writing anything that no one would read. If I don't want anyone to know, I just keep it to myself, "no evidence". I guess I always thought that writing something that wouldn't affect anyone else was pointless. I understand the benefits of writing journals that include documenting one's thoughts, venting, and a form of memory among many other things. I am just glad that I have figured out why I can't journal.

A Brother's Poetry

THE OPTIMIST (Feb 2007)

reason could rein in
the sublimity of your dreams,
but use it to reach them

realism may restrain
the lushness of your ambitions,
but use it to shape them.

cynicism can constrain
the pursuit of your goals,
but use it to achieve them.

WikiKnowledge - The Rise of Fundamentalism and Loss of Meaning - Armstrong

Central to her reading of history is the notion that premodern cultures possessed two complementary and indispensable ways of thinking, speaking and knowing: mythos and logos. Mythos was concerned with meaning; it "provided people with a context that made sense of their day-to-day lives; it directed their attention to the eternal and the universal". Logos, on the other hand, dealt with practical matters. It forged ahead, elaborating on old insights, mastering the environment, and creating fresh and new things. Armstrong argues that modern Western society has lost the sense of mythos and enshrined logos as its foundation. Mythical narratives and the rituals and meanings attached to them have ceded authority to that which is rational, pragmatic and scientific - but which does not assuage human pain or sorrow, and cannot answer questions about the ultimate value of human life. However, far from embarking on a wholesale rejection of the modern emphasis in favour of the old balance, the author contends, religious fundamentalists unwittingly turn the mythos of their faith into logos. Fundamentalism is a child of modernity, and fundamentalists are fundamentally modern.

Emptiness at the Crossroads

I have reached a very important point in my life. A point I think we all reach at one point or another, I hope. It is a crossroad that will dictate the path of my life. 

I am becoming aware of things, things such as racism, poverty, gaps. Not to say that I was not aware of their existence before, but I think there is a difference between watching a documentary, attending a lecture, or writing an essay and feeling it and seeing it. I feel like I must pursue this further, knowing how many roadblocks there are on the way because it goes against everything our society tells us. 

I am at this point, this point where I am deciding about what to do with my life, what path to take. And i am faced with this and I am trying to study my options. Well here they are:

1) Pursue what I feel in my soul is my purpose. Follow the injustice, knowing if I ignore it I will be a hypocrite. Go against what is asked of me, what is required, what OTHERS think is required of me, and do what I think is required of myself, what will give me a peace, even though the path leads into the darkness, and I dont know what I face. I disagree with a lot of things in the world, picking one, and working on it. And making that my goal, not life, not happiness, but actually making that STRUGGLE my goal, not marriage, not children, not money. It is a hard decision to make since everything is geared towards us ignoring these feelings. It makes me think about our society, our society that ENCOURAGES us to ignore, in order to get by, to look out for number 1. It hides this is an illusion of fulfillment, where it sets the goals of life for us, goals that seem meaningless and empty to me, get a well-paying profession, get a family, raise em right, and thats seems to be it. Help as many as you can, but devote most of your time and effort to your worldy fulfillments, remember the crap in the world, but forget about it at the same time so it doenst depress you to nothing. Live for YOUR kids, live for YOUR family first. 
Why is it like this, is this a new hidden message with the new generation or has everyone faced these choices? 

2. The second option, incase you havent already guessed, is to ignore it. See the injustice, but convince myself that I am dealing with it in other ways. Pursue what is expected of me, because I know once I devote myself to it, it will get done, doing it before making the choice implies a lack of devotion and unsureness. So whatever choice I make I must be sure. I must devote myself to it. Set small goals, small goals, get a degree, get a job, get a wife, get kids, enjoy it, live it, get sucked into it, deal with the hypocrasy and the suppression I feel by immersing myself in my family and my job, as rewarding as it is. Everything in pop culture, everything it seems we are taught and the messages of society from east to west, as a person who is lucky enough to have grown up in both, seems to say take this option. All our movies, songs, books seem to point here. Why? Option 1. is scary, extremelly. It could lead to chaos, it could lead to madness, to imprisonment, it is risky. But what is life without risk. How can we live our lives without that risk, how can we expect change to come easily, how can we call it a STRUGGLE without having to struggle against everything. It might be easier if I had something to lean on that confirmed all this, but there isn't now. Just my jumble of thoughts at this crossroad, the outcome of which will decide my life. 

All I know is now I feel empty, feel meaningless and feel lost. I dont know where I am going, and I dont know what to do. Am I the only one? Do we all go through this? Did we all and I am late? What is going on? I just know this silence makes me want to scream, this emptiness makes me want to choose quickly, and convincingly. 

There isnt much more to say... just frustration and emptiness.

Anonymous words, similar feeling.

"I’m writing this because often times we feel helpless. Often times we feel powerless. I’m writing this because today I saw a documentary, and it matters not which one I saw, because at the end of the day, there are countless times in our lives when we feel inspired. But so often, so little changes. We go back to that feeling of being helpless, powerless, because, when it comes down to it, we are only children, with so little difference we can make at this time. And that is why I am writing this, because so often we feel helpless. I have been noticing a lot of what I like to call ‘dualities’. Seeming contradictions in our lives, yet both sides need to be accepted. In this case, I am specifically referring to how you tackle that feeling of helplessness. On the one hand, our existence is irrelevant, and more often than not, harmful. Sometimes, it feels that just by being alive, and being one of the few privileged people in the world who have every resource available to us imaginable (which, if you are reading this, you are likely one of them), we are partly responsible for the atrocities in the world. Or maybe for its eventual demise. Yet, on the other hand, our happiness should be our number one concern. Because, at the end of the day, nothing exists outside of our own mind, and, therefore, our reality is the only consequential thing in the universe. So how do we resolve this duality? Who knows. I still am at a loss for what I am trying to say. I only know this: I’m writing this because often times we feel helpless. But I do know I have a desire to leave this world and the people in it whom I love in better shape than I received it in. The means to that end, I have no idea. I feel helpless now, that is certain, but I also know that we can work towards a goal. I think that the generation previous to us has not left the world in better shape than it received it, and it is up to us to change that trend. So for now, like I implore all of you, I keep my ears constantly listening. Keep my eyes sharp. I will keep my mind open, and, most of all, my heart beating. One thing I’m sure of, the world we leave behind will be very different than the one we have inherited. For better or for worse, however, is up to us."

WikiKnowledge - Socrates - Wisdom and Knowledge

Despite claiming death-defying loyalty to his city, Socrates' pursuit of virtue and his strict adherence to truth clashed with the current course of Athenian politics and society.[6] He praises Sparta, archrival to Athens, directly and indirectly in various dialogues. But perhaps the most historically accurate of Socrates' offenses to the city was his position as a social and moral critic. Rather than upholding a status quo and accepting the development of immorality within his region, Socrates worked to undermine the collective notion of "might makes right" so common to Greece during this period. Plato refers to Socrates as the "gadfly" of the state (as the gadfly stings the horse into action, so Socrates stung Athens), insofar as he irritated the establishment with considerations of justice and the pursuit of goodness. His attempts to improve the Athenian's sense of justice may have been the source of his execution.

According to Plato's Apology, Socrates' life as the "gadfly" of Athens began when his friend Chaerephon asked the oracle at Delphi if anyone was wiser than Socrates; the Oracle responded that none was wiser. Socrates believed that what the Oracle had said was a riddle, because he believed that he possessed no wisdom whatsoever. He proceeded to test the riddle through approaching men who were considered to be wise by the people of Athens, such as statesmen, poets, and artisans, in order to refute the pronouncement of the Oracle. But questioning them, Socrates came to the conclusion that while each man thought he knew a great deal and was very wise, they in fact knew very little and were not really wise at all. Socrates realized that the Oracle was correct in that while so-called wise men thought themselves wise and yet were not, he himself knew he was not wise at all which, paradoxically, made him the wiser one since he was the only person aware of his own ignorance. Socrates' paradoxical wisdom made the prominent Athenians he publicly questioned look foolish, turning them against him and leading to accusations of wrongdoing. Socrates defended his role as a gadfly until the end: at his trial, when Socrates was asked to propose his own punishment, he suggests a wage paid by the government and free dinners for the rest of his life instead, to finance the time he spends as Athens' benefactor.[7] He was nevertheless found guilty of corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and sentenced to death by drinking a mixture containing poison hemlock.

WikiKnowledge - Ibn Abdul Wahab and Bin Laden - Dr. Natana DeLong Bas

The global jihad espoused by Osama bin Laden and other contemporary extremists is clearly rooted in contemporary issues and interpretations of Islam. It owes little to the Wahhabi tradition, outside of the nineteenth-century incorporation of the teachings of Ibn Taymiyya and the Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah into the Wahhabi worldview as Wahhabism moved beyond the confines of Najd and into the broader Muslim world. The differences between the worldviews of bin Laden and Ibn Abd al-Wahhab are numerous. Bin Laden preaches jihad; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab preached monotheism. Bin Laden preaches a global jihad of cosmic importance that recognizes no compromise; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's jihad was narrow in geographic focus, of localized importance, and had engagement in a treaty relationship between the fighting parties as a goal. Bin Laden preaches war against Christians and Jews; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab called for treaty relationships with them. Bin Laden's jihad proclaims an ideology of the necessity of war in the face of unbelief; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab preached the benefits of peaceful coexistence, social order, and business relationships. Bin Laden calls for the killing of all infidels and the destruction of their money and property; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab restricted killing and the destruction of property... The militant Islam of Osama bin Laden does not have its origins in the teachings of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and is not representative of Wahhabi Islam as it is practiced in contemporary Saudi Arabia, yet for the media it has come to define Wahabbi Islam in the contemporary era. However, "unrepresentative" bin Laden's global jihad of Islam in general and Wahhabi Islam in particular, its prominence in headline news has taken Wahhabi Islam across the spectrum from revival and reform to global jihad.

WikiKnowledge - The Practicality of Philosophy - Al Farabi

The practical application of philosophy is a major concern expressed by al-Farabi in many of his works, and while the majority of his philosophical output has been influenced by Aristotelian thought, his practical philosophy is unmistakably based on that of Plato.[54] In a similar manner to Republic (Plato), al-Farabi emphasizes that philosophy is both a theoretical and practical discipline; labeling those philosophers who do not apply their erudition to practical pursuits as "futile philosophers". The ideal society, he says, is one directed towards the realization of "true happiness" (which can be taken to mean philosophical enlightenment) and as such, the ideal philosopher must hone all the necessary arts of rhetoric and poetics to communicate abstract truths to the ordinary people, as well as having achieved enlightenment himself.[55] Al-Farabi compares the philosopher's role in relation to society with a physician in relation to the body; the body's health is affected by the "balance of its humours" just as the city is determined by the moral habits of its people. The philosopher's duty, he says, is to establish a "virtuous" society by healing the souls of the people, establishing justice and guiding them towards "true happiness".[56]

Of course, al-Farabi realizes that such a society is rare and will require a very specific set of historical circumstances in order to be realized, which means very few societies will ever be able to attain this goal. He divides those "vicious" societies, which have fallen short of the ideal "virtuous" society, into three categories: ignorant, wicked and errant. Ignorant societies have, for whatever reason, failed to comprehend the purpose of human existence, and have supplanted the pursuit of happiness for another (inferior) goal, whether this be wealth, sensual gratification or power. It is interesting to note that democratic societies also fall into this category, as they too lack any guiding principal. Both wicked and errant societies have understood the true human end, but they have failed to follow it. The former because they have willfully abandoned it, and the latter because their leaders have deceived and misguided them. Al-Farabi also makes mention of "weeds" in the virtuous society; those people who try to undermine its progress towards the true human end. [57]

WikiKnowledge - Human Beings and the After Life - Al Farabi

Human beings are unique in al-Farabi's vision of the universe because they stand between two worlds: the "higher", immaterial world of the celestial intellects and universal intelligibles, and the "lower", material world of generation and decay; they inhabit a physical body, and so belong to the "lower" world, but they also have a rational capacity, which connects them to the "higher" realm. Each level of existence in al-Farabi's cosmology is characterized by its movement towards perfection, which is to become like the First Cause; a perfect intellect. Human perfection (or "happiness"), then, is equated with constant intellection and contemplation.[36]

According to al-Farabi, the afterlife is not the personal experience commonly conceived of by religious traditions such as Islam and Christianity. Any individual or distinguishing features of the soul are annihilated after the death of the body; only the rational faculty survives (and then, only if it has attained perfection), which becomes one with all other rational souls within the agent intellect and enters a realm of pure intelligence.[44] Henry Corbin compares this eschatology with that of the Ismaili Neo-Platonists, for whom this process initiated the next grand cycle of the universe.[45] However, Deborah Black mentions we have cause to be skeptical as to whether this was the mature and developed view of al-Farabi, as later thinkers such as Ibn Tufayl, Averroes and Ibn Bajjah would assert that he repudiated this view in his commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics, which has been lost to modern experts.[46]

WikiKnowledge - The Oneness of God - Al Kindi

According to al-Kindi, the goal of metaphysics is the knowledge of God. For this reason, he does make a clear distinction between philosophy and theology, because he believes they are both concerned with the same subject. Later philosophers, particularly al-Farabi and Avicenna, would strongly disagree with him on this issue, by saying that metaphysics is actually concerned with qua being, and as such, the nature of God is purely incidental.[45]

Central to al-Kindi's understanding of metaphysics is God's absolute oneness, which he considers an attribute uniquely associated with God (and therefore not shared with anything else). By this he means that while we may think of any existent thing as being "one", it is in fact both "one" and many". For example, he says that while a body is one, it is also composed of many different parts. A person might say "I see an elephant", by which he means "I see one elephant", but the term 'elephant' refers to a species of animal that contains many. Therefore, only God is absolutely one, both in being and in concept, lacking any multiplicity whatsoever. This understanding entails a very rigorous negative theology because it implies that any description which can be predicated to anything else, cannot be said about God.[46][44]

In addition to absolute oneness, al-Kindi also described God as the Creator. This means that He acts as both a final and efficient cause. Unlike later Muslim Neo-Platonic philosophers (who asserted that the universe existed as a result of God's existence "overflowing", which is a passive act), al-Kindi conceived of God as an active agent. In fact, of God as the agent, because all other intermediary agencies are contingent upon Him.[47] The key idea here is that God "acts" through created intermediaries, which in turn "act" on one another - through a chain of cause and effect - to produce the desired result. In reality, these intermediary agents do not "act" at all, they are merely a conduit for God's own action.[43] This is especially significant in the development of Islamic philosophy, as it portrayed the "first cause" and "unmoved mover" of Aristotelian philosophy as compatible with the concept of God according to Islamic revelation.

Unfair Dealings - Reflections

So i just watched this documentary and I need to get a few things off my chest. 

What kind of democracy is this? I mean serious, how can we stand by and watch this happen. Shame on us. How can we ever pat ourselves on the back for no racism, multiculturalism and all that great talk. Arrested a bunch of individuals who ARE and WERE labelled so guilty that they reek of it and there were not even given a fuckin trial. There are in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT!!!! What the hell is going on, i didnt think this happened in Canada. 

I just also watched Taxi to the Dark Side, which is simillar stuff but happening to our comrades in the South of us. I mean serious, am i going to get arrested for typing this. Will someone knock on my door? Why do we take our freedoms for granted when we dont even have them. We have a myth of them, a myth of success and freedom, when everwhere you look in the world, EVERYWHERE, there are violations, oppression, and persecution that is sickening. It is disgusting. And why do we always seem to forget this. Why do we forget this, or become desensitized to it that we arent still shocked and appaled when we see it again. The world is crumbling, but it never really was up in the first place. 

There is a myth of success, of progress and ESPECIALLY about HUMAN RIGHTS!!!! THe myth of freedom, and of human rights. It simply doesnt exist in the real world. Where are human rights? Why are we in such despair and garbage and SOOOO many of us dont even know it. 

Some of us struggle, the best of us struggle. Why cant we all struggle, will it even make a difference. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Is it even important for there to be a light at the end of the tunnel, who cares about results? Lets just fight the good fight, fight oppression wherever it may be, from half way across the world, to our own neighborhoods, to our own hearts and prejudices. Struggle against them, not for the hope of winning, but from the fear of giving in to them. 

.....

The Why?

Every journey worth undertaking is done with the Why question first. If we cannot ask why, then we are mindless drones, an ideal for some. That is why I start this. I am trying to hook into the future, my future, to see if documentation will help me on my journey. I want to document my thoughts, because to be totally honest, I feel like I will explode if I don't. I also want to you, whoever you are, to read this, and to know. 

I called this Dare to Know , the road to ignorance. There are many reasons. First, dare to know is a motto favored by Kant. What it means to me, is that it is a challenge, a push to figure to step out of your comforts and your uninformed ignorance and to challenge your mind, to walk down a path leading to..... you don't know. It is accurate to call it darkness. The steps from the superficial lights of society, into the darkness, and hopefully, find the true light, or find solace in it's non-existence. This is very vague I know, but that is the precise reason I am undertaking this; to find some clarity in the vagueness. That is where road 2 ignorance comes in. This has just as much to do with the journey that it does the destination. The road implies a path, whether it be straight or winding, beat down or bush, the road is what we trod, whether we like it or not. It leads to ignorance. I chose this word for a lack of a better term. Socrates believed that the wisest person was one who was aware of their lack of knowledge. Hence aware of their ignorance; aware of what you do not know. That is what I am trying to do, to become more aware of my ignorance, and to accept it. 

So here is the beginning, may this be a fruit full journey, and enlightening one, where I may push my limits, and maybe prod some minds.