Un-Feathered Bipeds
Feb. 16th, 2024 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
corvid_conquestWhen canines roamed the ancient street,
They lived refused and shut in jars,
No trinkets chained their legs — so sweet
Was life, and not constrained by bars.
Though struggle was their lot content,
They would deface the currencies
Of lesser worth, and not relent
In doggèd chase of liberties.
Yet now they're gone, their flame was snuffed
Amid neurotic social norms;
And this prophetic sage rebuffed
Will die in charitied reforms.
The normal person always lies
Unto themselves until it dies.
Honest Cynicism contra Misanthropy
There was a time — two full decades back — when I hated humanity. Humanity seemed so insufferably populated by wretched and vile persons, that I denied that I was human. My outrage formulated a quasi-Therian identity in me. (I add the prefix, quasi-, because I am still unsure how genuine it was.) This too, attracted even more derision from my peers as I moved into middle school. When I moved to a different city, and to protect myself, I shed this identity. But, still some unattended emotions lingered. Humanity is, after all, capable of more incredible evil than that 10-year old me could have imagined. Why would an omni-benevolant God permit the continued existence of humanity? This was a recurring question for me. To not extinguish humans seemed like folly.
Recently, not even a week ago, the question resurfaced. I cannot entirely understand it, but if a human can refrain from carrying out the evil they are so easily capable — and thus does refrain — I wonder what potential for good they hold. The simple act of restraint is already an immense good, considering this; however, they can be good. Sometimes they are, in fact, good.
Consider what makes someone bad. What causes this? I have heard numerous answers. They say power corrupts. However, I disagree. Power itself does not corrupt, but corrupt people naturally seek out power. Does money change people? Well, money is a form of power. Power does not necessarily corrupt. Again, the corrupt typically are the most ardent at seeking out money. Well, that leads me to notice something. The corrupt hold money and power out of a corrupt desire. Are people bad because they desire the wrong things? I think that, perhaps, this is an adequate answer.
The ancient Cynics were successors to Socrates. They interpreted Socrates by stating, with their very lifestyle, that virtue was the supreme good. They went so far as to shun material wealth and power however they could, all so they could more easily live according to their nature. Although they looked down on the vanities of the people around them, especially the elites, they were not total misanthropes. They were arguing through their actions that humans should instead become who they actually are, because that is the best desire.
Now, I am also a Christian. The initial question must be settled. Humanity bears the Image of God, but has forgotten that they do. The lesser idols of greed currently hold their sway. The privilege of stewardship has been abused. But there are still those pure of heart seeing the hidden God, and He has become self-evident to them. And He has compelled them to become who they truly are, with the guide from the model of Christ.
The plume in black is rising ever higher
Upon the wind pulsating with desire.
~ Michel-Vincent Corbeaux
They lived refused and shut in jars,
No trinkets chained their legs — so sweet
Was life, and not constrained by bars.
Though struggle was their lot content,
They would deface the currencies
Of lesser worth, and not relent
In doggèd chase of liberties.
Yet now they're gone, their flame was snuffed
Amid neurotic social norms;
And this prophetic sage rebuffed
Will die in charitied reforms.
The normal person always lies
Unto themselves until it dies.
Honest Cynicism contra Misanthropy
There was a time — two full decades back — when I hated humanity. Humanity seemed so insufferably populated by wretched and vile persons, that I denied that I was human. My outrage formulated a quasi-Therian identity in me. (I add the prefix, quasi-, because I am still unsure how genuine it was.) This too, attracted even more derision from my peers as I moved into middle school. When I moved to a different city, and to protect myself, I shed this identity. But, still some unattended emotions lingered. Humanity is, after all, capable of more incredible evil than that 10-year old me could have imagined. Why would an omni-benevolant God permit the continued existence of humanity? This was a recurring question for me. To not extinguish humans seemed like folly.
Recently, not even a week ago, the question resurfaced. I cannot entirely understand it, but if a human can refrain from carrying out the evil they are so easily capable — and thus does refrain — I wonder what potential for good they hold. The simple act of restraint is already an immense good, considering this; however, they can be good. Sometimes they are, in fact, good.
Consider what makes someone bad. What causes this? I have heard numerous answers. They say power corrupts. However, I disagree. Power itself does not corrupt, but corrupt people naturally seek out power. Does money change people? Well, money is a form of power. Power does not necessarily corrupt. Again, the corrupt typically are the most ardent at seeking out money. Well, that leads me to notice something. The corrupt hold money and power out of a corrupt desire. Are people bad because they desire the wrong things? I think that, perhaps, this is an adequate answer.
The ancient Cynics were successors to Socrates. They interpreted Socrates by stating, with their very lifestyle, that virtue was the supreme good. They went so far as to shun material wealth and power however they could, all so they could more easily live according to their nature. Although they looked down on the vanities of the people around them, especially the elites, they were not total misanthropes. They were arguing through their actions that humans should instead become who they actually are, because that is the best desire.
Now, I am also a Christian. The initial question must be settled. Humanity bears the Image of God, but has forgotten that they do. The lesser idols of greed currently hold their sway. The privilege of stewardship has been abused. But there are still those pure of heart seeing the hidden God, and He has become self-evident to them. And He has compelled them to become who they truly are, with the guide from the model of Christ.
The plume in black is rising ever higher
Upon the wind pulsating with desire.
~ Michel-Vincent Corbeaux
no subject
Date: 2024-02-28 12:29 am (UTC)Among many fond memories of my Sanya visit, I remember a pair of larger dogs rushing snarling to defend their property against my pre-dawn wandering. Meters away, they stopped at the property line, which was not a fence but a row of trees. That old coexistence continues, just... not here.
Regarding the essay: I cherish Ani DiFranco's lyric, "I have earned my disillusionment." I think you've earned yours too. I hadn't earned mine, so I set it aside.
The ancient Cynics were successors to Socrates. They interpreted Socrates by stating, with their very lifestyle, that virtue was the supreme good. You sound like you're describing the Stoics more than the Cynics, though the Stoics didn't shun power and wealth. Oh, checking up on my info showed that your poem has a nod to Diogenes. Neat. There doesn't seem to be an extensive canon of Cynic writing, like there is for most other Hellenistic schools.
Consider what makes someone bad. What causes this? I identify three distinct sources: trauma, institutions, and the hindbrain. Individual thinkers tend to focus on only one of the three. You seem to favor the last of the trio, more often called human nature.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-15 02:01 am (UTC)As for my focus on human nature, it is simply the issue most within the individual's control. Trauma and institutions undoubtedly have their significant affects, but I must maintain a degree of pragmatism. Mastering myself, then I can justify extending outward to help solve the other two, and do it more effectively. Not saying I can't extend my helping hand as I do so, but does that make sense?
no subject
Date: 2024-03-20 10:48 pm (UTC)I'm... of the opinion that there's trauma in your past. That means you can tackle that third of the problem, too. Trauma causes brain damage, but enough effort spent fighting/circumventing/outwitting/escaping that damage gives the bearer of trauma abilities unknown to most people.
Institutions, for sure, are beyond your power and mine.
As for helping hands: compassion may be the greatest of the three theological virtues (faith, hope and compassion, the latter often being rendered "charity" or "caring"), but you can't take care of others until you've taken care of yourself.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-01 11:02 am (UTC)For the rest of your comment, I have no critique. It's sensible, and I appreciate your recognition from the last half of your second paragraph. That experience of trauma or poverty grants an amount and type of wisdom that differs from a person who grew up in a more comfortable experience, and is not appreciated enough in at least nations like the United States.