On the nature of existence

What cruel japes the gods do play, on mortal men doomed to die.

How unfair it seems, that we alone (that we know of) in the universe possess a fully realized consciousness. We are the stewards of our planet not only because we are the most highly evolved life form, but also because we alone are cognizant of the dangers it faces, albeit through our own actions. All other life forms on our globe are base creatures, concerned only with their immediate survival. None but us concern themselves with our physical appearance, the opinions of people we will never meet, or the true nature of existence.

And by this I mean we are cursed. Would that we could forget that which separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Would that we could resign from our position on the intellectual throne, for the burden of the crown can weigh heavy on our heads.  How nice it must be to wake up each day unencumbered by the events of the previous or the impending problems of the next.

There must be a reason why we are the species to which this responsibility has been given. We have already hurdled at least one gigantic mental roadblock in that we understand the idea of mortality, what is the next obstacle that will block our path? Time is the 4th dimension, at some point in human history we recognized the concept of time and used it to organize our existence and that of everything around us. Will we at some point discover the 5th, and from that point make a further leap in human development?

Will future persons of our species (or more highly evolved creatures than our current Homo Sapiens) look back at our struggles in the 21st century and laugh? How simple we must seem to them, to be confined to 3 dimensional space, aware of the 4th but unable to manipulate it. Or will our increasing technological ability destroy our advancements before we are able to reach that point? There are theories, and not unreasonable ones, that suggest that once we reach the singularity, where technology is capable of increasing its own intelligence, humanity will be unnecessary.

Of course, this is a cold thought. This is the result of pure logic without accounting for emotion. If we’re to believe that there is more to the universe than meets the eye, it seems that humanity will always have a place in the universe. For as smart as an AI robot may be, could it ever experience the bliss of young love? Feel the awe of a gorgeous sunrise?

The human eye can only see a portion of the color spectrum. The ear can only hear a small range of the possible frequencies. There is an entire world underneath our feet, above our heads, and even inside of us that we will never be able to detect.  We still don’t really know what dark energy or dark matter are. It’s possible that we are in but one universe among many multiverses.  It’s possible that there are beings that operate in higher dimensions than us, which we will never recognize because of our human limitations. And it seems cruel to me that we have the power to imagine these things, to tease ourselves with the possibilities, knowing full well that we will never get to understand or experience them.

Donald Trump, modern day Narcissus, exemplifies the problems with America's political system

If you take Donald Trump seriously, I'm not sure I can take you seriously. He's a clown. A trust-fund baby, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who masquerades as a self-made businessman. A draft dodger who has the gall to insult John McCain (whose politics I disagree with but who I respect for what he went through in service of our nation) when he can't even age gracefully (we all know that's a toupee). Though he didn't want to serve his nation when called to, he now wants to take a moral high ground and attack an actual veteran on the subject of veteran's benefits because it's politically expedient.

But besides all these things he actually has some downsides. He's a modern-day Narcissus, so in love with himself and his delusion of self-importance that he names great buildings after himself and spends much of his speeches bragging about large business deals he's done. Instead of explaining his positions or suggesting solutions to problems he loves to blame on other people, we get to hear tales of him selling apartments to "Chine-ah".

Does anyone really believe that a President Trump would act in the best interests of the American people, of the common man? Or would he act in the best interests of the Trump brand, his legacy, and his bank accounts?

I was the fire that burned under your skin,
the ache that never subsided.
I was the feeling that you wont feel again,
from the heart where you never resided.
I was the day where you'd dawdle and play,
and the night where you'd look for a friend.
I was the fall, melancholy and cool,
and the summer which drew to an end.

An epiphany

I had a realization tonight. About 3 minutes ago in fact. It came to me while I was watching this video. 

Some people have a tendency to assume that people in general are all the same. That we have the same fears, ambitions, insecurities, etc. While watching this awesome video about the people, culture, landscape, and history of Guatemala it struck me how they were so in the moment and grounded. There wasn't an air of materialism or greediness about them. 

I haven't done much international traveling but from what I've learned through others, people in different cultures don't have the same mental hangups we do. Sure, we've got a higher standard of living (based on a standard we created for our status quo) but in happiness indexes the US and other first world countries are a ways down the list. Is there a real negative correlation between wealth and happiness? Is it the fact that we're so comfortable that causes us to worry more? The logical thing to assume would be that as your quality of life increased, your worries lessened. You've got more money, more possessions, you don't have to worry about your next meal or if you'll be robbed. So why do you instead worry about what others think of you? Is it part of the human condition that we will always create problems for ourselves if we have outsmarted nature? 

How awesome it would  be if we could have a philosophical awakening in this culture and shed ourselves of our materialism, of our greed, and our vanity. Truly be ourselves, all of us, all of the time. No falseness, no lying, no scheming, no betrayal. We should realize that we've created technology that enables us to live incredibly comfortable lives, all of us! Our greed causes some to miss out on the life that we all have a chance at. If we shun greed and accept a slice proportionate to what the community can handle then everyone can join in enjoying the comfortable life. 

But we have a short time with which to appreciate the world and how we've adapted it. The Earth is already above what is considered by many to be it's carrying capacity. And every second of every minute of every day children are being born. Some are exiting the other side of the tunnel at the same time, but not at the same rate. The crowd density inside the tunnel is increasing, causing conflict and aggression. And I'm not sure that there's anything that can be done about it. 

Alone together

We were alone together
Two survivors stranded on an isolated isle deep within the ocean of humanity
Neither of us ready to admit that we needed each other
Tried so hard to pretend the other didn't exist
Until it became painfully clear
We were alone together.

We are the 99%

(written during the Occupy protests, originally supposed to be a hip hop verse)

We are the 99%.
And the people that make the cents,
can't afford to pay their rent.
Now try to make sense of why they're bleeding us dry,
the minimum wage stays the same but inflation's sky high.
Sometimes it seems I'm barely eeking it by,
just a nine to five guy seeking a slice of the pie.

It's not the 1800s, now none of us are free,
thanks to Condi, Mitt Romney, George Dubya B.
The Patriot Act stole our civil liberties,
pulled the rug from under our feet and dropped us to our knees.
And the Federal Reserve is as Federal as FedEx,
and I'm fed up with their corporate greed and excess,
we expect less of a return on our investments,
when their recklessness is the reason we're in this mess.

The President's promises of providence promote opulence
provided proper pennance is paid to placate the populace.
The problem is, prospects dont seem prosperous,
politicians pilfer our paper to pad their pocketbooks.
The pompous pricks appear to protect public property,
while privately pushing to proliferate public poverty.
Probably a ploy to make people practically panic,
now the proletariat passes on the power, just how they planned it.

Skye

We slept, supine, beneath star-speckled skies,
her hand in mine, fingers intertwined.
As fingers dance across my palm,
she hums the tune, I sing along.
With our bed of earth and our blanket of stars,
no lights from cities, no noises of cars.
A gentle caress from the warm summer breeze,
while grass roots grow grass roads, next to skyscraper trees.


Falling in love under a full moon on a fall night,
it's orbital glow bathing us both in pale light.
As we inch closer I can feel her heart beating faster
but mine is as well, so what does it matter?
As we gazed upward, through time and space,
I recall the wonder of her face.
Her childish grin, her sparkling eyes,
looked to belong to our star-speckled skies.