Something More (680 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 0.72 on 10 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Andrew <downerSTAIN.at.hotmail.com> (View user info) at 2005-02-12 21:43:34 EST
Man, what the fuck is wrong with the world lately? Everyone killing everyone else. Americans killing Iraqis. Iraqis killing Americans. Iraqis killing Iraqis. Kids killing kids in the streets, in the schools, on the playgrounds. Don't get me wrong, the world is fucking overpopulated. But we're killing the wrong people. Kids shouldn't be dying. As much as the youth of today sucks, they're still the future, whether we like it or not. I hear of kids getting shot over such petty things like a bike or something, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it makes me truly sad. I hear of people being slaughtered in Sudan for no other reason than having a difference in belief, or being born in the wrong area.
Belief. That's a pretty dangerous word in today's society. No matter what you believe, there's always someone out there to tell you you're wrong, maybe even kill you over it. Believe in God? There's some radical Muslim out there that would love to see you dead. Don't believe in God? There's some bible-thumper out there making a bomb for your clinic as we speak (not saying all abortion doctors are Atheists, just using that as an example). I find it funny that so many people today are so ready to kill for their beliefs, but when it comes to dying for those very same beliefs, very few are willing to. There used to be things worth dying for. Now we just have possessions. Things. We value our things more than the other people in our lives.
Which brings me, in a very roundabout way, to my main point. I was going to school the other day, had the radio on some morning show in the background, ignoring their witty (I think I counted 2 stale Lewinsky jokes) banter. A song came on that I had heard a couple times, but never really listened to. The song was Switchfoot's (I know, not exactly Zeppelin, hell, not even Sex Pistols) "Meant to Live". Though the actual music leaves much to be desired, the main message of the song (from my understanding) is pretty dead on.
Humans were meant to live for so much more than what we settle for. We have such advanced brains (compared to other brains on this planet), yet most people only use something like 10% of their total brain power, usually less. We were meant to be scientists, musicians, artists, inventors, innovators. Yet we settle for so much less. We settle for being white collar slaves. We settle for being cubicle fillers and paper pushers. All for the sake of "comfortable". All for the sake of these possessions, which we never really needed in the first place. Humans got along just fine for thousands of years without BMWs and fancy cell phones. We got along fine without that raise or that promotion or that "Good work Bob, now get back to being spiritually raped for minimum wage!"
What if we all spent a little more time working on who we are as people, instead of what we have? What if we strived for intelligence and understanding instead of possessions and status symbols? What if we all started asking "What if?" What we need now, more than anything, is innovation and invention, not complacency and acceptance.
"Imagine all the people, living for today."
User Reviews
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2005-02-13 13:28:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
For John...
Submitted by Stin (user info) at 2005-02-13 07:36:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I like and understand your point, but you also have to look at it from the other side.
This argument is one which I often get into when talking about the British education system, because the government share your view. They want to push as many kids as possible to stay in school until they're 21 or 22, and they have a third class degree in Surf Science, Football Studies, or Media & Culture.
My logic is to say, ok, we're not all going to be top-flight NASA sicentists, we don't all have the academic and intellectual capacity to be the CEO of a multinational company. However, we do all have skills. Some people are academic and book-smart, others are arty and creative. Some people have a good head for numbers, others are plain good with thier hands. Why not, instead of pushing everybody into the same square hole, let the round, triangular and hexagonal pegs specialise in what they are good at.
Skilled tradesmen are like gold dust here in the UK. You cannot get a good sparky, plumber, or chippy (electrician, plumber(!) or carpenter) for love nor money, because the kids who would have been good at that have been pushed through the academic system where they perform with a great degree of mediocrity.
Someone has to clean the streets. Someone has to perform the boring desk jobs, someone has to write music for TV adverts, some has to be the headteacher of a school and someone else has to cook the school lunches. I think a more important thing to do is strive for excellence in what we can do well, and to find our niche. There's nothing wrong with wanting more, but there still has to be a certain level of realism. I am never going to be the girl who takes over from Bill Gates, but I will be a pretty good music teacher.
Sorry, that was a little bit of a rant. I fully agree that we ought to try to be better people, care more about the people around us and our communities rather than having the latest car to keep up with the Jones'.
Submitted by OnlyBigbear (user info) at 2005-02-12 23:47:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
and i never have to question yours you mullet wearing priest baiting twit. youre just jealous because you can barely form coherent sentences, let alone rate items with any degree of insight
Submitted by lizzard (user info) at 2005-02-12 23:43:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by OnlyBigbear (user info) at 2005-02-12 22:38:09 (#)
Ranking: 0
I didn't miss a thing. In fact, the -2 was a mistake, I meant to 0 it.
I get the whole spiritual well being and mental health over physical possessions thing. That's not the point of my response either. If we try to limit ourselves, we lessen ourselves as a race. That's not my way, and that's not the way of the majority of the world. With greater understanding of the universe and the way it operates comes greater understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe. Technology is a necessary and logical step in that evolution.
As I said, I get it.
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there are days I question your gender
Submitted by SpiffyMcPerson (user info) at 2005-02-12 23:23:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
For the most part I agree. Life's so short, and it's sad seeing it wasted on such insignificant hollow possessions. Then again, a lot of worldly things are good. Calculators and robotics speed up innovation, telephones and radio can be attributed to keeping modern countries from falling apart, airplanes and cars allow the greatest minds from all over the world to meet and share thoughts. But there's also a lot of junk, and yes, humanity has really lost touch with the world today.
Submitted by downerSTAIN (user info) at 2005-02-12 22:46:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Ah. Thanks for clarifying. Sorry for being a dick.
Submitted by OnlyBigbear (user info) at 2005-02-12 22:38:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I didn't miss a thing. In fact, the -2 was a mistake, I meant to 0 it.
I get the whole spiritual well being and mental health over physical possessions thing. That's not the point of my response either. If we try to limit ourselves, we lessen ourselves as a race. That's not my way, and that's not the way of the majority of the world. With greater understanding of the universe and the way it operates comes greater understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe. Technology is a necessary and logical step in that evolution.
As I said, I get it.
Submitted by MyFriendOfMisery (user info) at 2005-02-12 22:35:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by downerSTAIN (user info) at 2005-02-12 22:34:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
The song would have sounded a little different if we were all
just doing artistic and fun things full time. Everyone does it part time, but
someone needs to do the boring jobs. You're right, we survived for thousands of
years without BMWs and cell phones, but now we can visit anywhere in the world
and communicate with people thousands of miles away, all thanks to technology.
If we didn't keep that stuff up, we'd all be stuck in our own little areas, and
the world would go back to everyone hating anything that's different, rather than
people being introduced to things that are different. Sorry, not my idea of the
ideal world
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I never said people couldn't/shouldn't have those things, nor did I say they weren't useful in their own ways (the BMW is a little debateable on usefulness, though). I just said people should not put nearly as much stock in those things as they do.
Thanks for completely missing the point of this.
Submitted by OnlyBigbear (user info) at 2005-02-12 22:09:17 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Imagine there's no jobs,
it's easy if you try.
Nobody working, just playing
shagging and getting high.
Imagine all the people
starving in the street.
And they say I'm a dreamer
but I'm not the only one.
Nobody's working the boring jobs
everyone's just having fun.
The song would have sounded a little different if we were all
just doing artistic and fun things full time. Everyone does it part time, but
someone needs to do the boring jobs. You're right, we survived for thousands of
years without BMWs and cell phones, but now we can visit anywhere in the world
and communicate with people thousands of miles away, all thanks to technology.
If we didn't keep that stuff up, we'd all be stuck in our own little areas, and
the world would go back to everyone hating anything that's different, rather than
people being introduced to things that are different. Sorry, not my idea of the
ideal world