George Carlin had somewhere in his routines commentary regarding the silliness of patriotism, of accepting undue credit for matters which the individual had no earthly will in accomplishing for themselves. With that in mind, this will be a sort of follow-up to a recent essay of mine, in which among other related points, I wrote:
“Martin Luther King Jr advocated judging by content of character. Black, white, male, female, trans, gay, none of these terms are synonymous for good or evil. Ethically we can neither support or condemn someone based only on gender, skin-tone or sexual preference because anyone is capable of anything. To judge not by packaging whether real or ideal means going by our merits underlying the song and dance, appraising not by what we want to be or what we wish we were, but by how our actions actually affect those around us.”
That conveyance matches directly the sentiment expressed by Carlin, in that while nobody would care to be condemned for matters which they hold no control over, everybody would indeed care to be supported for matters which they hold no control over. Unironically so. If for example, your being gay is no decision of your own, then of course you should not be held accountable derogatorily for the particular state of being as that would be an unfair strike to your disadvantage. But by the same logic should you not be applauded for this thing which you had no say in, as this as well would be an unfair strike to the disadvantage of those not benefited by fate in the same way. Now this is an extraordinarily unpopular view, but I feel that accountability does have about it both give and take. There is no freedom from actions having consequences.
I am reminded of this when important studies are conducted addressing how slavery remains legal across approximately half the world, studies positing how such a thing might possibly be. As though Capitalism having manifested a huge grey area for socially-permissible exploitation, and extortion, is just such a herculean conclusion to wrap one’s head around. Debt regarded as a fact of life precludes liberty. As with everything else in proper society, including interpersonal relations, allowances are made to shield culpability, to protect our faults, our inadequacies and obsessions from accountability. And I am positively guilty of this myself, for my refusal to see wrath or lust as deadly sins, because I propose that ideally humans are supposed to have the capacity for an emotional range. Where advocates for war turn a blind eye to the casualties of innocents invariably involved, pacifists turn the other blind eye to the fascists who desperately require lights punched out. Conflicts cannot be resolved by killing, only indefinitely postponed; but conflicts can however be resolved by blockading enablement.
In the same spiritual vein, when paid journalists detract from measurable issues to wonder over a rise in popular witchcraft, they openly ignore how most Americans are fried on pills. Everything to do with pop culture is escapism, and sacrifice-free, fan-fiction religion is always more appealing than rolling up one’s sleeves and fixing what’s broke.
As noted with uploading consciousnesses as a virtual heaven/hell to hide from the world, or simulation theory as a casual stand-in for the general religious excuse of avoiding responsibility for the here and now *because* of an afterlife to look forward to rendering the here and now as inconsequential, tech too reveals itself as a cult. The notion that occupation is a way of life is advertising, and what is advertising but dogmatics? We see this most commonly in law enforcement and military, where humanity is sidestepped in favor of serving/servicing some higher order. Even when I was still looking for work I had reached the conclusion many years ago that, should a vocation fail to provide me with mental and/or physical exercise, I held zilch interest. Bribery was no deciding factor, not compared to visceral rewards of permanence or consequentiality. Which ruled out everything but what I might offer the world on my own, by my own time and resources. I never needed a fucking sales pitch to direct me.
There was a spiritual incarnation to this centuries ago, in what the Cathars called consolamentum. The basic idea is that either sacrifice or salvation cannot exist without the other, because they are in fact one and the same phenomena. More than a chastity sacrament, it was the struggle of the Gnostics, and throughout my years and travels everybody I have ever dealt with in this life made justifications for themselves, their faults, their inadequacies and obsessions. All in avoidance of sacrifice, and accountability. The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement intrigues me, for I am the opposite of what’s deemed as an incel because despite derision and soothe-saying alike I consciously elect to abstain. I understand that responsible pro-choice means choosing to not create either life or false hopes. I own my blame and credit as others must accept theirs. Anybody who’s found the buried prose porn at my site knows I am a far cry from asexual. Guys have biological clocks as well, and I do feel the draw to have children, but there are matters more important than what I want in this life. Or what I am informed to want.
Pro-choice could and should mean being mindful of when and with whom one is to indulge in sex. Which requires personal responsibility, when the convenience abortions not stemming from circumstances beyond their control are all about crying mulligan. Personalized eugenics gets a free pass from all the same voices for whom it would never dawn on to view their own beliefs by such definitions. Personally I think if we have the scientific means for extravagant plastic surgeries done in a lunch break, then science could and should also devise a minimally-intrusive method of rescuing an unwanted fetus asap, like a morning-after extraction. Someone somewhere will take it in. But that’d be unnecessary if more persons could take responsibility for their actions, if abstinence were not socially belittled and if people were conscious of cause and effect generally. Pro-choicers have every right to their claim that it’s their body, but responsibly that would mean avoiding inconveniences rather than only being cited for rationalizing after the fact. The predominance of abortions not resulting from victimization are avoidable for anyone but the egocentric. Who fundamentally prefer to avoid accountability, conceptualizing themselves with immunity and impunity.
Without paying the piper or giving to the devil his due. Neither the accomplishments, fallacies or miseries of others are a place for what is yours. I see this as irrevocably what the “free” in freedom means, and it comes with the awful price that you have consequence.