Deskpoet's Journal: Being called to account--and ignoring it

I had a discussion--well, an exchange of messages--with a /. user known as Neocon today. It didn't go very far because, amongst other things, I'm not a "good debater", insofar as the arbitrary rules of "reasoned" discussion mean very little to me.

I'm not ashamed of that. I've colored within the lines all of my life, but I'm weary of the stand on chivalrous behavior so many of these lunatics wrap themselves in to get through the waking nightmare of their daily existences. I want to strip it all away, down to the barest, most essential thing, the brutal honesty that gushes forth when the veneer of civility is pushed aside like the dying husk it is.

Sadly, I didn't say as much in the exchange; at least, it was not noted in so many words. Rather, in a voice lacking any measure of nuance, I focused on the concept that debate is a joke when two unknown entities trade text in open forums without accountability. I imagine all the corresponding truisms were lost on this fellow--he seems convinced of his own voice, anyway, so I feel there was no harm done. It's not like his carefully constructed playland is going to fall into the sea tomorrow, so he can find out for himself where Reality lives.

Speaking of realities, lately I've been flipping through Morrison's Invisibles, which I missed during my decade hiatus from sequential art. I mention it here because it plays a few riffs on the themes of the day--as if they've changed any in the last five hundred years. The struggle is against the State (whether that's the Archons or the Britons), and the Scared Monkey is losing the battle with his creation. Soon, if the "good" people have their way, we'll all be humming the same aria from the Ring Cycle.

Of course, this doesn't really bother me all that much. I've given up on the concepts of "justice" and "freedom" in relation to our *very* humble species--most of us want neither, and wouldn't know what to do if we were confronted with them. I still can't watch or read the "news" as it makes me so angry I unequivocally feel the Shiva impluse, but since we've decided that children aren't an option for us, the combination of righteous indignation and the desire to protect posterity isn't strong enough to move me to action. Man is a flawed construct, and deserves whatever hell he permits his leaders to create for him. (Yeah, there's a bit of that "blaming the victim" streak in me, too. More evidence of flawed character?)

In any case, natural selection will weed out the flawed who call themselves anarchists or libertarian socialists (some might even get their moments of fame on the Cross), and the world will be one big Walmart, with oodles of happy consumers.

Today is a good day. It looks like a Brave New World instead of 1984. Amazing what a little sunshine can do.....