All that I care about is myself – not because I am of any particular importance whatsoever, but because all that I know, all that I can know, all that I can ever know, all that I will ever know for certain is myself. I am an individualist because I don’t have any other choice. I am an individualist because that is all I can fully understand.All that I can be sure about is what is happening in my own mind. I don’t know what anyone else is thinking – and, frankly, I don’t care. Now, it might be argued that a person could tell me his thoughts and desires, but how can I ever believe that he would be telling me the truth? Any fellow could say that he wishes me the best – but, in reality, the bastard might just want to stab me in the back.
While you might not be able to know what a particular person might be thinking, you can make a record of any activity directed toward you. And close examination of their actions will reveal an obvious pattern. The way that you have been treated will reveal an outline of the genuine nature of other human beings. You will see the true malevolence of other people if you keep an accounting of all the times you were mistreated. There is a reason why you are encouraged to keep a diary: so that you will not forget all the ways you have been wronged. You see the ledger and do not listen to what you are told.
Politicians are the perfect example that what a human being says cannot ever be accepted. Only a fool would ever trust a bureaucrat. You believe an elected official at your own peril. Just as it is obvious that any politician will only deceive you – it is imperative that you extend that same principle throughout the social order, and it is essential that you realize all citizens will be just as deceptive as their elected officials. If legislators are all liars, so are the people that voted for them in the first place.
I have no choice but to look out for myself – and let everyone else be damned. I am not going to take someone else’s word for anything. Individualism is not so much a decision, but a kind of last resort for the personality.
Since it is impossible to ever truly know the hopes and dreams of other people, you should not ever bother trying. But even the attempt to know the mind of another person will only prevent you from doing what is truly important: understanding yourself. Other human beings are merely sources of disinformation – and whatever anyone might say about you will only distort your own awareness. Don’t waste time on strangers; you cannot take the risk of believing their lies. Society is an institution designed to prevent self-realization.
You really cannot trust a single soul, even if he/she seems genuine (whatever that means).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if you need more material to fuel those late nights, have you thought about writing about the collapse of society? https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/
Thanks for the topic suggestion. The only thing I fear more than the prospect of social collapse is the possibility that the system will not collapse.
DeleteThe only problem is that we are all basically trapped into being with each other. Unless someone's got the backbone and the balls to go bush, we're stuck in this mutually dependent prison. Best one can do is just keep people out of the way as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteThe sentence is funny...in an honest disturbing way. "The only thing I fear more than the prospect of social collapse is the possibility that the system will not collapse."
ReplyDeleteI am an individualist because I realized at an early age that I was into different things than everybody else. Things that they found to be serious, I would laugh my Ass off at. I realized very early that they were a very dull lot that took their cues from pop-culture while I tried to create my own entertainment.
ReplyDeletePop culture is the honey that communitarians always use to bait the trap they set to ensnare the few remaining individuals.
Delete