A Game of Bajskastning.
I’ve always been a bit misanthropic as long as I can remember, and it’s grown stronger during the last ten years or so. Not because I live a life which is miserable, actually the opposite — but I’m older and see more clearer and landed in insights I never thought I would have, and one of them is that we’re living in chaos and there’s nothing we can do about it. It is what it is and if we accept that life will be so much gentler — and if we fight this we will merge with the chaos and be one with it, which in the end will lead to destructiveness for both ourselves and those around us. There’s nothing wrong with caring for the world and other humans, I do that to, but it will go wrong if we let it take over us and suck us into a hopeless battle against imaginary and real windmills.
Humans seems obsessed with having so-called “leaders”, people who for one reason or another seems more fit than others to lead the society — often on the expense of others and creating a winning situation for their own fans. But the world isn’t a stadium and the population isn’t players — at the best they’re spectators with little or no power to influence the game. I’ve realized that, and have decided since long to turn off the TV when one of those games start and do something else instead. As we say in Sweden, it’s a game of bajskastning — throwing poop at each other — to win cheap points for the believers. Isn’t that incredible primitive? Oh, let me rephrase that: isn’t that just stupid? Primitive is a good thing, it something that keeps us closer to what we are and the nature — our instincts, to put it simple. Instincts is something we’re denying ourselves, much because of the social construction of moral — and that’s something created by “leaders” of all kind.
Do I belong to a political ideology? If you use those words; absolutely, but I rather not. I see it as my personal, highly private values — and I don’t want to taint it with politics. My values is my ten commandments, sorry for making a unnecessary biblical reference, and those are the ones I follow in my life — and still there’s not one single political party that can satisfy me that way. Mind your own business, each to his own, sexual freedom, everyone walks their own paths, total acceptance of others until they prove the opposite, positivity before negativity, don’t be a blamethrower etc. are a few key phrases in the long list of values I have stored in my mind, and while it’s easier to write than to act those some days, I always do my best to don’t leave that path.
Leaders (hell, I hate that word!) just don’t belong in my life. Why would I submit to someone else when I know that I know best myself? Why would I openly follow a political ideology when my own ideology serves me best? To be frank, political ideologies are the illness of mankind. There’s no grey zones anymore, we’re supposed to choose side instead of making up our own minds and being served an easy to digest message that will save us and kill someone else. I refuse to sign my name on that list.
The most disturbing thing is that the masses, after they’ve chosen side, stay on that side no matter what. They doesn’t care if their political or religious leader goes completely nuts, they’re there with their flags and pamphlets and taglines and a total lack of critical thinking. Maybe they’re deeply ashamed and now it’s too late to change their mind? The hell do I know, but I’m not one of them.
Even if I more than one time have stated that humans in general are stupid I’m also sure that if they become free from ideologies they also can be more open-minded and generous with how they see other people. When they’re not trapped anymore in their herd mentality they will understand that mankind is so much more than their little bubble of political buzzwords and closed minds. Yeah, even I can sometimes feel that mankind is worth saving — but it all depends on its habitants and what they do with their lives and not the lives of others.
Don’t follow leaders, follow yourself, and you’ll see how life will become much richer in experiences.
