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Failure of Imagination

The Failure of Imagination

Everything you can imagine is real.

- Pablo Picasso

Nothing imagined is real.

- John C. Hatt

The least palatable components of the Human condition have changed little over the recorded centuries. Members of societies still fight wars, oppress minorities, lie, cheat, steal, and rabidly pursue short-term governmental policies that have disastrous long-term consequences. The fact that Humans have yet to create equitable and peaceful collectives is often framed in a philosophical context in which the nature of Humanity is deduced to be inherently evil or inherently good and sometimes corrupted. The paradox is that while we are able to discern our faults, we are seemingly powerless to correct them. In stark contrast to our technical prowess, our social advances have been minimal during recorded history. It is the power of imagination that has created this dichotomy. Humans are able to discern, process, create and act on our perception of the environment within the context of imagination. This internal world view is dependent on both our senses and our imagination. Our senses are limited and our imagination is plastic. While we daily realize the inventions and benefits of imagination; Humanity is also saddled with the failure of imagination.

 

All of the promotion, politics and pervasive persuasion that permeate American society exploit the most important distinction of the Human species: Imagination. Our ability to think of things that are not has been the driving force behind our ability to alter the material world to meet our needs. Our inclination to confuse imagination with reality is at the heart of our ability to be persuaded by pleasant internal images, pontificated or viewed. It does not matter if a message is true or not, if we can imagine that it is, it becomes our reality. A false reality, fervently believed, becomes a collective or internal reality as real as the physical one. Contradictions between the internal world view and the physical world are easily dismissed by most people. Our internal construct of reality can vary widely from being in concert with physical reality to the delusions of schizophrenia. The physical reality is indifferent to our imagination. With so many false interpretations of reality guiding our actions, one can hardly be surprised at the ludicrous machinations of individuals and collectives. The failure of Human imagination is our failure to distinguish imagination from reality.

 

The failure of imagination is that Human beings are able to construct a world view, however erroneous, and act upon that construct as though it were a physical reality. The success of imagination is our ability to construct a world view not yet in existence and use that construct to create a commensurate physical reality. The successful use of imagination is to imagine what the physical world would look like from the point of view of a photon of light. The failure of imagination is to believe that Jewish people are responsible economic and social degradation. Both scenarios can provide powerful constructs in the mind which are interpreted and acted on as reality. The physical universe is the ultimate arbiter in matters of technology. We can imagine flying cars, but the technological obstacles put them beyond our means. The construct is relegated to the mental scrapheap.

 

This is not the case with sociological constructs. Our social conventions, politics, and laws have no physical tests in reality. There is no way to quantify whether Republican or Democratic control of government is better. There is no way to quantify a Republican or Democrat. There is no agreement on what is best for society. The rhetoric on both sides is so ethereal and obtuse as to defy definition. This is not to say that our future prosperity is dependent on quantifying social parameters.

 

Why is it that the world exists as it does today when it is possible to discern a different world view?

The failure of imagination

All of the promotion, politics and pervasive persuasion that permeates this society exploits the most important distinction of the Human species: Imagination. Our ability to think of things that re not has been the driving force behind our ability to alter the material world to meet our needs. Our inclination to confuse imagination with reality is at the heart of our ability to be persuaded by pleasant images, pontificated or viewed. It does not matter if a message is true or not, if we can imagine that it is, it becomes our reality. A false reality, fervently believed, becomes a collective or individual reality and is confined to that context. The physical reality, is indifferent to our imagination. With so many false interpretations of reality guiding our actions, one can hardly be surprised the ludicrous machinations of individuals and collectives. The failure of Human imagination is our inability to distinguish imagination from reality.

Christianity Explained

Christianity is the belief that some cosmic Jewish Zombie can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a "rib-woman" was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.

Short Term Morality

Moral action is not only derived from its consequences on individual and collective basis, but from the point of view of near and distant consequences for the future. At this time it may be morally acceptable to access energy from nuclear fission in order to prolong our fossil fuel allocation and reduce the pollutants associated with their burning. It is immoral to leave to future generations tons of poisonous waste that we are unable to safely reintroduce into the environment. Human Beings have a very short lifetime in comparison to the half-life of many elements. It is difficult to appreciate or care about a remote future when current needs have to be met. Short-term morality will eventually handcuff future generations of Human Beings with a continually degrading quality of life. I will certainly not live to face the problem of nuclear waste disposal. I will not suffer the most drastic effects of an increase in greenhouse gases. I will simply not live enough years to have these and other problems affect my life drastically. If I address these problems within my lifetime in order to lessen their future effects, I will certainly have to make some choices that will affect my lifestyle in a negative way. I would have to bear a future burden in the present time. Why should I?

Why things will not change

The political party system is an unreliable method for determining a candidate’s ability to reason effectively but a very efficient method for concentrating power within a democracy. Political parties, like religions, serve a dogma that represents the favored rules and standards of behavior for Human Beings within a society. Political parties in this country stay in power because they have the infrastructure and fund raising capability to successfully elect their own candidates. The institutionalization of their power is used to discourage the emergence of new and potentially rival political parties. They also have a long history of positions on the policies of government. The number of choices and the complexity of decisions are dramatically reduced in the current system. Acceptance of political affiliation carries with it consensus for the dogma of the particular party. The constituency can vote for policies in a very comprehensive fashion. A Democratic vote for liberal policies and a Republican vote for conservative policies. This system satisfies the voting public in this country. There are no other political parties with the capacity for long-term successful candidacies. The large sums of money needed to achieve leadership roles would become available only upon wholesale desertions of the Democratic or Republican parties. The greatest efficiency in the use of money to influence public policy comes with investment in winning candidates. There is little hope of either a plurality of political parties or the demise of Democrats or Republicans as long as constituencies are reduced to liberal or conservative viewpoints. The strategy of political parties served an educational role when this country was largely functionally illiterate and the communication of ideas was a slow and limited process. At this time, however, political parties condense power by limiting the available choices. Candidates and policies arise from only two different sources. At this time our ability to communicate gives us the promise of multiple choices of candidates and uncompromising solutions to problems. The prerequisite is that the power vested in political organizations is decremented.

Discerning truth in a persuasive universe

Start with the idea: “Everything you know is wrong”. Contradict any statement made to you as truthful. Support any obvious lie or fabrication. Do this on a strictly experimental basis. While you will find yourself suspect among your acquaintances, you will also find out how often the ideas taken for granted in routine of daily experience can vary wildly in their accuracy. Just as it is possible to fly to the Moon using the laws of motion set down by Newton, it is possible to go through life fairly self assured with the laws set down by your particular society and your teachers. If however, you wish to be as accurate as possible, in life, or in moon landings, it is imperative to use the best information possible. Playing the word game described above will not only illuminate some of the inaccuracies in the language, but in the logic we us to express our ideas, as well.It is the practice of politicians, lawyers, advertisers, and priests to use the inherent logical constraints of the language to persuade others to their view. Persuasion is a particularly annoying aspect of the societal condition. In mathematics, in science, an assertion must be substantiated by proof. This is hardly the case in the public arena. Matters of public policy are frequently determined by some sort of debate. That is, sides are chosen after a particular question has been named. Despite the nature of the question, or the validity of the evidence, there is always a side to be chosen. For or against. A person who knows the inherent vicissitudes of the English language, or any language, is able to manipulate the language and its concepts to achieve an argument that, on the surface, seems to support the facts. Taking course work in debate is an introduction to these techniques. In formal debate, the opposing parties are prepared to present either side of the question put before them. In such a situation, the debate is won or lost, not on the best empirical evidence, but on the ability of the participants to use the language is such a way as to convince others of their point of view. It is this compromise of truth that occurs daily in courtrooms, legislatures, and in the various media providing news and information services.

Moral and Legal values

Our moral knowledge and societal values are taught in very much the same way as we are taught math or English. A set of rules is set down which are meant to apply to certain situations in real life. To act in any way not stipulated in the rules is equivalent to immoral behavior. Life situations are rarely so easily distinguishable. The vast arena of Human interaction is played out in the gray areas. Christians are forgiven for their transgressions against their own rules. If this were not the case, none would reach their heavenly reward. I cannot think of any person known to me of legal age who has not committed a crime. I doubt if there is such a person. Most transgressions of the law are minor, though transgressions nonetheless. With the myriad of laws that have been enacted, it would simply be too burdensome to obey them all. Fortunately, while laws are written to be black and white, their enforcement is very much in the gray. Yet, we still act as if there were absolutes of right and wrong and as if their parameters were clearly defined. While it is easy to discern the parameters of a geometric problem, the Human condition is astronomically more complex. While there are thousands of federal laws to govern our behavior, hundreds more are signed into law every year. One might expect that with so many laws covering the Human experience that each year would see a reduction in the number of laws enacted as the gray areas of Human activity are slowly covered. In fact, the opposite is closer to the truth. More laws are enacted every year because growth of change in the Human condition is expanding the gray areas of Human experience faster than legislatures can fill them in. There is a term in law called the loophole. Stated simply, a loophole is that circumstance or set of circumstances the lawmakers failed to recognize when writing a law that would allow someone to act in some way the law was designed to prevent. Loopholes regularly put felons back on the street. It is an act of pure optimism to think any legislative body could put together a simple set of rules governing the behavior of its citizens by using language to describe them. But like the search for truth, we try to get as close as we can, recognizing that the language we use as the principle tool is flawed and our efforts are expected to achieve only partial success.

Debt part 2

I am still in awe at the debt this country is carrying. We would have to have budget surpluses of $500B a year for 20 years to pay off the debt. It's not going to happen. It's immoral and should be illegal. The people are oblivious and the politicians are insatiable swine feeding at the public trough. I just hope the whole thing doesn't come apart before I die. It's going to have to come apart before the salivating masses wake up.

neural cleansing

30
I remember all to well these things:

the summer shade of an orange tree,

the winter sky at night,

the feel of blue denim cotton.
Some are renewed on a regular basis,

others,

I hold inside for safe keeping.

The rest have been lost like a child's mitten, or they have died slowly.
At night, so quiet, a promise that stands in waiting to be kept,

fulfilled,

and brought to light.

I pass and smile in courtesy.
Promises and dreams and hope and aspirations crowd around me when I have time to spare.

A book of poems will not allay their voices.
I think I will take or leave themas I choose.

Smiling, when I walk with a careful step and wondering if a memory is a wonderful thing to lose.

The Three Tenets of Existential Terrorism
Words are not things or actions. They are vibrations of the air molecules or squiggles on a page. Mistaking words for reality is the mistake that puts politicians in office and sells all of the products, religions, and systems of government on the planet. Saying "Tree" is no more a tree than saying "I love you" means that someone loves you. To perceive reality as it is, one must accept that words are a vehicle for the transference of our perception of reality, not reality itself.
God is dead. I killed him (it, them, her, et al) on November 5th, 1991. Justifiable Homicide. The idea that the universe is run by some cosmic supra-hero concept of ourselves is absurd and unproven. The idea that the creator of the universe put us here in these bodies to satisfy some moral experiment is offensive. The God question; "What are we doing here?", may or may not be valid. At this time, we are here because the physical laws of the universe are not completely against our existence. Our short time of consciousness would be far better served ensuring our survival rather than posturing before some misanthropic cosmic deity.
The only government, the only rule of law, is economics. However our societies are structured, whatever religion or ethnicity, we have all decided that those with relatively more assets have better lives than those with less relative wealth. All measured value is economic value in this system.

One of the missing issues

One of the missing issues from the presidential campaign was population. We don't have and no one discusses population policy. Understanding the consequences of an increasing number of people and providing the resources they need to live at our current standard of living should be a role of government. Like the national debt, it is simply ignored by politicians and the voters. But not here. At this point in our evolution, it has become apparent that a lack of foresight by past generations has preempted solutions for this time. Unchecked population growth and an ignorance of the intricacies of the ecosystem have been the greatest moral failure of past several hundred years. We are at this time looking for answers to questions not solely of progress, but of maintaining the level of affluence we have already achieved. The greatest threat to our level of sustainability is the issue of population growth. The geometric expansion of population during this century is the source of the most difficult problems we will have to solve in order to ensure our survival. It is imperative that we reduce our population growth and eventually reverse the trend. Under the present economic and government systems it is clear that the physical resources of this planet and our own inventiveness are insufficient to give every person on the planet a standard of living equal to that of most industrialized Western nations. It is an immoral act at this time in history to have a large family. It was an immoral act fifty years ago as well and we are currently encumbered with results of that collective action. Yet, there are no restrictions on family size in this country. People are allowed to have as many children as they can produce. The set of moral values that equates population growth with prosperity still exists despite the evidence to the contrary.

There is no convincing evidence for gods, ghosts, life after death, extra sensory perception, visitors from other planets, astrology, fortune telling, or any of the myriad of belief systems that pervade Human culture. Yet these beliefs remain viable and prosper within the most advanced societies. They will continue to do so as long as we teach our children and each other that knowledge is ethereal. We continue to this day to face the consequences of the lack of insight into our own nature. We can carry with us the myths and stories that have propagated through generations of Human Beings. If we use them as a guide to our survival, that survival is left to the vagaries of chance.

first black president

Obama will be the first black president. Big fat hairy deal. There is no such thing as a Black, White, Hispanic, or Asian race. The terminology, although prevalent, has not be quantified. Nor can it be with today's technology. That would require genetic sampling of millions of individuals to determine the make-up of a particular race. If such a thing could be done, it would turn into a taxonomy rather than a few selections on your employment application. It would require thousands of sub-species to exemplify the myriad of arrangements of what is called race.

The problem is that ethnicity is defined in geographical terms by point of origin. Human Beings have been traveling and intermingling for quite some time, millennia in fact. The rate of movement and migration has increased rapidly in the last 400 years and geometrically in the last 100. Human Beings are constantly recombining with people who were geographically isolated centuries ago. This mixing of populations has diluted any possible structure or meaning to the term "race". What specific set of data makes someone Black? I have no idea. Certain large scale tendencies between ethnicity can certainly be found. Blacks have a much greater chance of sickle-cell anemia than do whites. What that means to the individual is uncertain. Environmental and economic factors also play a role independent of race. What is necessary to define one's medical propensity is an identification of the genetic markers for a condition and an understanding of the environmental factors that contribute to its expression.
Having people mark a broad category of race on a page is not a scientific endeavor, but rather a political one. Race defines a plethora of political issues in this country despite the inability to define it. Race is a popular social touchstone, but it is not in any contributing to either healthier lives or better Human relations. To suggest that this information is accurate, meaningful, or rational is to make oneself suspect.

revolution

The time has come for a revolution. The time has come because the highly perishable memory of the voting public is still fresh with the collapse of the economy. It is now that the weight of the official misconduct is greater than the inertia of business as usual. The time will soon come, however, when the malfeasance of their elected officials will be either eclipsed by a new catastrophe or mitigated through apathy and resolute acceptance of the status quo. Despite the voters’ propensity for short-term memory loss, the damage done in this round of delinquent governance will stay with us for a very long time. The debt we incur, nationally and locally, will remain a burden for the current generation and beyond. It will remain a burden unless decisive corrective action is taken to dispose of the politicians who spend public money without regard to the present or future, the needs of the people, or the responsibilities of government.
The people have to stop hiring used car salesmen and professional obfuscators and start hiring accountants, problem solvers (managers) and engineers. We pay enough taxes to fund government. Our money has been, and will continue to be funneled away into special interests, above market wages for government employees, and programs outside the purview of government. The people we have hired squandered the public resources and because the majority of representatives are re-elected, have no accountability or remorse for their incompetence. The two-party system has failed. Whether Democrats or Republicans control the legislature, it is only a re-shuffling of the special interest deck chairs on the Titanic. If there is no clear majority, there is stalemate and compromise, but no fiscal responsibility.
The $412 Billion spent on the interest on the national debt in fiscal year 2008 is a testament to the fiscal degradation and moral ineptitude of the people we have hired to run our government. That $412 Billion will fund nothing but the illusion that we are fiscally sound. The various bailouts will fund nothing but companies and individual’s inability to make sound financial decisions. Those of us who played by the rules must now fund the excesses of those who did not.
The American electorate is the worst offender. They are steadfast in their resolve to maintain the two party system which is now draining their economic potential and the potential of their children and grandchildren. Fortunately, a bloodless revolution can occur through the ballot box. Unfortunately, the future depends on it. We cannot continue down the path of fiscal irresponsibility indefinitely.

Justice

The recent bailouts for the private sector, both individual and corporate, will give additional pause to anyone who thinks playing by the rules is to their benefit. Those of us who have lived within our means will subsidize those who have not. Companies that made well reasoned fiscal decisions will be subsidizing those who could not compete. What are we to make of a government that rewards incompetence and greed? The best conclusion is that the government itself is incompetent and greedy and sees nothing wrong with those actions in others and actually seeks to perpetuate their malice. The managers and executives at AIG and other financial institutions have benefited from their short-sightedness and have not been punished for it. Before their dubious lending practices failed, they received and have kept their bonuses and inflated salaries. When the financial markets recover, the incompetent will rise again to visit their avarice on those of us who due our fiscal duty. Like the marauders of Genghis Khan, they will acquire wealth from the labors of others. They are protected by like-minded politicians. We will support their avarice until there are there are no resources to plunder. The only alternatives are to join the corrupt or live in poverty.

Debt

Everyone, in the legislative branch should be removed from their office and never allowed to have fiscal responsibility for fiscal malfeasance. With a debt of $10 trillion, we have crossed over into a fiscal abyss from which there can be no return. The debt is four years of federal budget. The service on the debt is the third largest budget item. The salivating masses are incapable of discerning the problem or taking action to remove these people from office. The sentient minority must therefore remove these carpet baggers from office by other means. The current economic crisis is only the beginning of the decline. these economic meltdowns will become more severe and frequent in the coming years. The United States is on its way to becoming another Russia, with the emerging eastern powers taking up the slack. In a democracy, we get the government we deserve. Our gullible and apathetic electorate has doomed us all.

origins

We insist that there had to have been a beginning. As has been the case numerous times in the past, the Universe is under no obligation to bend to our preconceptions. If we seem to be chasing our own tail every time we try to figure out the primordial beginnings of the Universe, perhaps it is because we are asking the wrong question. Perhaps a more complete understanding of the nature of the architecture of the Universe is required before we are able to ask the right questions. In any event, we lack the information necessary to make an effective judgment of the matter. What conditions existed before the Big Bang are inaccessible to scientific observation. The Universe as we know it came into its recognizable form around 13.7 billion years ago. What was occurring or not occurring before that time is not known and any evidence of the pre-Universe Universe has so far been imperceptible. The evidence we have at hand is that the current expansion will continue indefinitely. The possibility of a cyclical universe will depend on acquiring new insights and evidence. We are left with the implication that although the Universe has an order and direction, its purpose (if there is one) remains unresolved.

War

Entering the fifth year of an open-ended conflict in Iraq, a few things are certain:
The Iraqi's don't want democracy, it simply not something they desire or require.
Oil is the main reason we are there and there are no immediate substitutes for our energy needs save for conservation and decentralization of energy.
Billions of dollars and thousands of lives will continue to be drained by the conflict because the people we have hired to run the government have neither the imagination or the incentive to effect a resolution of the crisis.

faith

Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile!
Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - )
Belief systems are based on faith that is based on dogma that is usually derived from ancient writings based on an ancient belief system। Faith in god is a very nebulous term and an article of reverence such as the Bible is replete with opposing interpretations।Religious systems have dominated the collective thinking of nearly every known civilization of Human Beings. The acceptance of a concept or an entire set of rules based on faith has some justification in the way we have invented and implemented our societies. It has been the oligarchy of knowledge that has left the mass of Human Beings to accept dogma as truth. Without the physical or intellectual capabilities to challenge authority, it becomes prudent to accept and submit to that authority. Throughout nearly all of the history of Human civilization, religious precepts have dominated not only the Human view of the Universe but the laws governing behavior within a collective. The roots of all cultures are grounded in the religious belief systems that have proven the most successful at survival.

fund of econ

The fundamental aspects of money and supply and demand in economics produce a system that in some ways emulates a survival of the fittest scenario. The goal for every nation is not economic survival but economic prosperity. Economics is a Human invention and as a result does not follow exactly a Darwinian evolution. Rules of economic behavior are created by the national community. These rules are written by and favor those nations who will be able to realize the greatest gain from their implementation. Economics is much like a sport in which the rules are enforced by the home team. In order to succeed, economics must be played according to the current rules. Whether or not these rules represent an equitable exchange of value is irrelevant. Either poor nations will remain in poverty until the rules for economic prosperity change or a poor nation can play the game by the rules.

controlling the collective

The amount of aberrant behavior within a collective result from the flawed system of reward and punishment. In order to obtain the full cooperation of all the individuals of a collective it becomes necessary to provide a coherent and intellectually defensible set of rules. When the law is based on politics, race, economic status, or religious beliefs, there will always be ample room for variations in the concept of right or wrong. Rule of law that is based on concepts that are accessible to every literate person and can be defended on the grounds of empirical evidence and reason will inevitably lessen the burden of misinterpretation. There will exist an element of any collective that will be in opposition to a law for which the evidence is lacking to make an informed choice. The collective must provide a means of expressing discontent and create an arena in which the voices of the minority can be heard. When the laws of any collective are based on dogma, the defense of the status quo depends on physical violence. The opposition to any dogma can only achieve change through the use of physical force. If successful, the overthrow of any dogmatic system is usually replaced with equally dogmatic, albeit conceptually different, rules of behavior.

the collective

The creation of collectives and the power that arises from guided collective action develop into its most potent forms during times of war. Given the life or death scenario involved, solders are prepared to commit acts that would be considered horrible in the context of nearly any civilization. There are boundaries to war. These rules of war exist only to ensure that the combatants will be able fight each other some time after victory has been decided. Until this century, the expectation of completely obliterating a society has not been a reasonable possibility. Nuclear weapons have changed irrevocably our ability to destroy an opponent. Nuclear weapons have created the possibility of being defeated in victory. The destruction of the already tenuous stability of the ecosystem on which our survival depends could destroy an aggressor who had successfully obliterated an enemy. We are, however, quite prepared at this time to engage in such a scenario. Most of the nuclear forces of the world are ready to attack on a moment's notice. While the probability of nuclear conflict is low, there exists no lower boundary of probability that is sufficient to allay the fear that accompanies the potential use of nuclear weapons. It would not be nearly as reprehensible to possess nuclear weapons technology if Human Beings fully realized the potential for self-destruction inherent in such weapons. If it were a matter of policy that the survival of the Human species is the ultimate goal of any collective, we would not possess nuclear weapons. War would be an unfathomable relic of a previous age.

transcendence

Perhaps the most pervasive doctrine among all the world's religions is that of transcendence. This is also an assertion that is by its very nature unavailable for direct inspection. The lack of evidence to the contrary is in no way vindication of the premise. When a Human Being or any other living thing dies, its metabolism stops and it ceases to be alive. Human Beings find other explanations to death that are an integral part of any religious system. Whether it is reincarnation, transformation, or ascendancy, religious beliefs assert that what we are able to perceive of the physical Universe is only a small part of our existence on this planet. Most religions base the results of transcendence on the behavior of Human Beings before death. Most positive afterlife experiences occur as the result of pre-death compliance with the rules of behavior dictated by religious doctrine. Like the religious tenets of creation, most people are brought up with the notion of life after death. With no evidence to support the notion, this belief is still considered valid. Without some concept of transcendence religious philosophy can become indistinguishable from secular philosophy.The concept of transcendence is accompanied by the rules of behavior necessary in order to produce a positive experience in the purported existence after death. There is also the promise of a negative transcendence when the religious doctrines are not followed. This concept is very useful in controlling the behavior of a large number of people for whom justice is not a reality in their own experience.

so it begins

"I'm sick to death of reading things from neurotic psychotic pig-headed politicians. All I want is the truth. Just gimme some truth. " -Lennon

There is no truth in the media, only persuasion, only advocacy. This ends here.