A Double-Edged Sword of Liberty?
I was at a Mexican Independence Day party recently with Mexicans from 5 various states (man, do they enjoy partying!) in Mexico. It was really cool to see their traditions and sincere celebrations.
I had a chat with one friend at the party where I said “Man, people are so excited and nationalistic!”. He replied, “Nah not really, I mean these people don’t really care”. I objected to myself, ‘Not care? The songs, the flags, the music, the food, the colours, the traditions, the fireworks–what is he talking about?’. I mentioned how all these things showed ones excitement to be Mexican and while he agreed, he added. “But, they have other things in life now, their life is not for the country or each other”. I continued with his point, “so, you mean since they have apps, phones, smart TVs, many jobs, abundant Tequila, lots of food, friends from around the world–they are less passionate about the country”. He replied “Exactly, years ago, they had nothing to their name and what united them was nationhood & religion. Now, relative to our ancestors, we live very good without a need to put country first”
I am a libertarian so I disagree with the idea of nationalism, or any collectivism at all & where it leads (the 20th century shows I’m correct) although I admit it’s utility in some circumstances. But–I realized an obvious problem that emerges out of freedom and individualism.
One who has the access to all the sex, food, music, entertainment and potential teachings or business opportunity in the entire world is in effect, pluripotent. They can, and in some sense are, anything and everything. Though individual humans, are not just anything–and when we’re not anything–we are nothing and empty.
You’re saying… What the fuck is he talking about?
Here’s an example, I recall going to the small and relatively unknown Isle of Man museum where many images showed the jobs for men about 100 years ago. If I recall, they could either have been in the British military, a coal miner, a fisherman and another job I cannot recall (though equally physical job). Notwithstanding some rare circumstance, you were one of these as a man in 1910–thats it. You’re life, career and necessity to provide for a family was in some sense, pre-determined.
Fast forward 100 years, and we have so much opportunity that we don’t have 4 options, we have about 400,000 options. To throw a curveball, we are bombarded with experts in their various careers already ‘doing that thing’. It’s much harder to orient oneself trying to choose 400,000 options than choosing 4 options–and as a result, we may flat out do none of them.
“How do I know if this is for me? Will I be good at it? What will people think of me? Is it a good time to be in this industry? What will my family think? Do I have what it takes? Will it pay enough?”
Apply this to a plethora of options and you’re looking a knot of complexity. We are given the freedom and opportunity–but we are more likely to choke and do nothing. Want to know why a Zebra has stripes? Because it’s evolutionary advantageous when running away from a chasing predator. The lion gets distracted by the numerous running objects, with the hypnotic stripes, it chases all of them. But, a predator can’t kill 10 at a time, so the net result is it’s less likely to even catch one!
Same thing, more objects at the salad bar [for the lion], but it can’t decide and is more likely to walk back without food– no “food” increases the chances of depression and negative emotion.
Doing nothing (or catching onto nothing) is a disaster for ones mental health. Imagine all you see are people who are at the top of their game and you are constantly reminded that you are not. Anytime you reach towards something, you will inevitably fail at the new thing and then get hit with the temptation to give up because we can just pick up with something else (399,999 other things to try). Just think how many friends you have that have had career or educational changes…
However, if someone is motivated & focussed to do something (anything), then they begin to orient themselves in the world and develop as ‘something’. Would you rather suck at 100 things, or suck at 99 things and be really good at one thing? Would the lion inside of you rather eat 1 zebra, or remain hungry?
We are now lucky enough to have more than 4 (brutal) options, but if we sit on our hands to not take advantage of this luxury we will degrade mentally & become depressed, anxious, insecure and worried. I believe it’s important for people to maximize the amount of freedom for individuals at all costs, but in order to not become overwhelmed by the complexity of the world, it’s important that we must aim at something.
#StayOnTheBall
If you’re taking aim at a new blog/vlog with a simple website, don’t go without your own legal policies! Here’s a deal offered: http://websitepolicies.com/pricing?in=809
