Suspension of Disbelief

I'm really getting sick and tired of fake people. You know at least one of those people, right? The one everyone talks about behind their back. The one that comes home from an uneventful weekend skiing and is dead set on regaling you about how he saved polar bear from certain doom, rescuing him from the path of a falling tree, all the while maintaining perfect skiing form. In addition, he was commended for his bravery in a local paper, slept with six chicks or dudes, and was offered a spot on the Olympic ski team. THAT guy. Well, you know what? Fuck that guy! We KNOW you're lying. If it weren't for the mild amusement we get from trying to figure out what you'll say next, we'd be done with you ages ago. I want to know and respect the person that you really are. Your flaws and shortcomings are part of that person. Come on people, let's get real. Oh and I have another problem. Apparently I'm a problem magnate. Yup. What's that you ask? Ha! Well, it came to...

I would now like to tackle a rather heavily contested question. Are our lives predetermined? And, as with most difficult and highly debated questions, there is a simple and even obvious answer. If there are an infinite number of choices in life then predestination cannot exist. We must ask if there is predestination, who knows about it? That is, if our lives are predetermined, someone or something must by definition hold that information. Let's take the religious side first. That is, if we are predestined, then someone or something must know the outcome, otherwise we aren't predestined. There are those who say that God (I'm going to overlook this one) is devoid of time and therefore sees all that will happen. I have to contest however that evidence in the Bible proves this otherwise. God does seem surprised by human action quite frequently. You'd figure he'd have seen it from the beginning and not been too crushed when Adam ate the apple... Anywho... onto (slightly)...

The future is unwritten and fluid. There is nothing that we are that is concrete. Our jobs, our families, our homes, our friends, our daily activities, none are concrete. Anything can change at any time. And for all of us, we are able to maneuver within our means. Our means... But do they really exist? Is there really anything that we cannot do if we don't really really want to? Do you really believe that there is something that you can't do if you really try? If you do, you've got larger problems than any I can solve. Good luck. But beyond this I have a rather more frightening thought. If we choose not to follow a given path, any given path, and decide to do something else, will anyone actually predict how our actions would have changed their lives? Let me give you an example. If my parents never met, I would not have been born. Would anyone actually be asking where I am? No. If I never moved to my home city, would my friends ask what happened to me? No. If I had gone to a...

The dichotomy between the inflective self and the reflective being is present in everyone, however, the strength of the reflective in some people can be so much more dominant than the inflective; this aberration, when prevalent, will adversely affect their lives. This condition is prominent in groups of people or individuals who are particularly downtrodden, shunned, dismissed, belittled, and a thousand other words to the same effect. I would like to speak of two quite different instances where this aberration occurs, that is amongst African Americans and amongst the working class. First before describing the dichotomy between the inflective and reflective selves we must understand what they are. The inflective self is the person that one sees themselves as. It dictates numerous traits that we project to the world including but not limited to self-confidence, pride, intro/extroversion, speech, and personality. The reflective self is the person that the world sees you as, usually based ...

We are nothing more and nothing less than the information stored in our brain and our brain itself. Our knowledge is data run through a processor chip. Your brain is that processor. Some people have higher grade processors than others. Some will last longer; others will degrade slower. But every brain does the same job. Your genes are the rules by which your processor runs. Your emotions give priority to certain tendancies and presidence to certain reactions. Each and every person is configured differently, thus each and every person is different, but each and every one is an important part of the greaterverse. The greaterverse is not real. It is a concept solely devised to group together like actions. It is the compilation of all action, interaction and the causes and results of said actions and interactions. It is the "1's" and "0's" of the program of our lives as it runs through our brain. But we must remember not to confuse our brain with a computer, for...

My name is Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and I am your King. To be my follower you must renounce all other authority. To be my follower you must recant the teachings of secularists. To be my follower you must believe that I am good and all else is bad. To be my follower you must reject empirical thought, as my word is law. My word is infallible. My word is eternal and everlasting. My word is the only authority. My word is sacred. My word is to be revered as are those who speak it. Those who speak against me are heretics. Those who deny my teachings are blasphemous. Those who forgo my lessons will be killed. Those who spread my word will be rewarded. Those who die for my cause will be exalted. Those who follow my instruction unquestionably will be saved. Saved are those who follow in my footsteps. Saved are those who cover their bodies. Saved are those who drink not from false prophets. Saved are those who defend the traditions of my nation. Saved are those who pray for my divine grace. Saved are...