Thursday, August 19, 2010

finding excuses

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Last night's BBC map showed vast areas of Pakistan affected by an enormous flood. Huge. Debilitating. Outside words even as words like "cholera" or "starving" or "helpless" were voiced over the scene.

In China, clips showed cities and towns inundated, though on a smaller scale ... but still huge to those swept away or simply disappeared like woodsmoke on the evening breeze.

And somewhere in the past -- a month was it? or two? or three? -- was an earthquake that literally decimated Haiti.

Elsewhere in the world, men and women prosecuted one war or another -- shot, hacked, maimed, imprisoned, tortured, bombed, won, lost ....

On a comedy channel, a very funny woman once did a riff on situations that individuals got themselves into and yet clearly deserved the question, "What the fuck is the matter with you!?"

I don't care what flag you're flying ... what the fuck is the matter with you?!

Sure, we can all be dickheads, but do we need to institutionalize/find excellent excuses for the condition?

What the fuck is the matter with you?!
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2 comments:

  1. I'm sick and tired of truths. But I find no use for non-truths. What the fuck should I do?

    Everybody around me is being truthful. My government, my family, my best friends, even I myself am being true to myself. But what the fuck should I do? Set up another blog on Zen to propagate my version of the truth?

    Actually this is exactly what I thought. But my government and parents censor freedom of speech. We are an authoritarian society. We are liberated only in name.

    ricebowl

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  2. I have looked and studied Chinese Zen, the depths of Shurangama and all the stuffs, it gave me witness of my prior pain and suffering, it is truth, but it is no solution.

    I did not work hard during school! Said my parents. You liked girls when you should be studying! What did they do for me? More angst.

    You should stand up for yourself! Said my manager. What did that mean? I should stick a sword into her cos he is triggering my headaches. If only they give me work that is suitable for my spiritual convictions, and they pay me for it.

    You see. This is MY education system. We were taught to change things, but we learn that inevitably nothing can be changed. That's the way things are. That's zen. Every morning we begin with hopelessness, not hope, at the end of the day after all that hard work, we thought that tomorrow there'll be hope. Then we go to bed. It could very well be the other way in the States. Every morning you begin with hope.

    And you know something? I was never envious of what the AMericans have. I just want to see how you guys, from your experiences, can shed light about where my country and myself should be heading next. You want me to count on China's ideologies? I'm not too sure about that.

    ricebowl

    ReplyDelete