Epidiascope

Bits and pieces from a conversation earlier. A longer version is below.

[picking up from a conversation about societal change]

him: really, the people who make a difference will wield a pen or computer instead of a gun
what i do is very necessary, but only in support of people with ideas and the ability to express them
him: remember what i was saying as those who bear arms in support of those with ideas?
without our founding fathers and all the works they wrote and reproduced, often in a clandestine manner
our revolution would have been no different from a common insurgency
not unlike what we see in iraq today
what it takes to make a difference like that is a core group of intelligent individuals that can express what they want to fight for
and put it into some form of media that can be distributed to and will influence the populous
to the point that people want to take up arms

me: I wonder though…
the internet should facilitate that kind of speech and thought
but perhaps instead of facilitating it, it merely dilutes it
the real thinkers, people who can make a difference, are spread out, mixed with the people who like to make noise
rather than meeting and working collectively
him: people need a defined figurehead
maybe a couple individuals working under one name
to instill the kind of allegiance
to a cause that will make people fight
and die for it

him: i think it all comes down to having to decide if you’re going to be the guy that hopes he lives his life happily before the world tears itself apart
or the guy who keeps the world from tearing itself apart
or the guy who works to tear the world apart
most people take the easy way out
option 1
i’ve never met anyone who fits neatly into cat2
cat 1 is the pud
cat 2 is the hero
and cat 3 is the villain
theres lots of puds
very few heroes/villains
usually some blend

him: i think there really are some people in the government with some pretty quixotic ideology
that will never make a difference because the system is designed to cancel out any rapid change
and while the system protects us from rapid change for the bad
it also prevents rapid change for the good
and allows slow changes in the wrong direction
him: well, i’m sure you’ve heard me say that any sufficiently developed bureaucracy is indistinguishable from molasses
the systems build themselves over generations of people in them
becoming organic in their own right
kind of like a computer network built over the years by different admins
even the internet is an example
governed by a few simple protocols, and allowed to become something too vast to ever be comprehended by on man
however, somewhat unlike the internet, the government now has many times the amount of protocols and procedures guiding it

him: i don’t think the government is so broken that it needs melted down and reforged
it just needs hammered a little straighter
we’re at somewhat of an equilibrium
but we’re about to take a dive
i think of it as a function of a square
it goes for a long time before it starts going bad at any visiblle rate
but when it starts to go it’ll go faster than anyone can see it
i’d guess somewhere in our lifetimes

---

[edited for clarity]
[some conversation about the link between http://opensourceresistance.net/
and the ARG (alternate reality game) associated with it sponsored by the band Nine Inch Nails]

him: i cant imagine having the time and resources to get into something like that thats all a game
him: it just seems to me that there’s too much real shit to consider playing a game like that
people i know have died at work…
its just kinda weird
him: it seems to me that the target audience for something that immersive is someone who’s day to day life is so dull, they want some kind of alternate reality to dive into
him: as long as the government might really be doing something we don’t know about or they don’t want us to know about, why bother making it up?
and as long as there are people who hate our way of life and want us dead, why bother playing games?
i suppose i just have a really different perspective now
i think a couple years ago if i had gone down a different path, i might be into something like that
him: i think I’m just paranoid enough that blurring the line between fiction and reality that much bothers me

him: really, the people who make a difference will wield a pen or computer instead of a gun
me: I’m not entirely convinced that the latter won’t become necessary in our lifetimes
him: oh
i’m not saying that
what i do is very necessary, but only in support of people with ideas and the ability to express them
me: one wonders if an event and action such as the foundation of this country could be effective today.
him: are you reffering to the foundation of a country by the conflict of a guerilla force vs a regular one?
him: remember what i was saying as those who bear arms in support of those with ideas?
without our founding fathers and all the works they wrote and reproduced, often in a clandestine manner
our revoultion would have been no different from a common insurgency
not unlike what we see in iraq today
what it takes to make a difference like that is a core group of intellegent individuals that can express what they want to fight for
and put it into some form of media that can be distributed to and will influence the populus
to the point that people want to take up arms

me: I wonder though…
the internet should facilitate that kind of speach and thought
but perhaps instead of facilitating it, it merely dilutes it
the real thinkers, people who can make a difference, are spread out, mixed with the people who like to make noise
rather than meeting and working collectively
him: people need a defined figurehead
mabe a couple individuals working under one name
to instill the kind of alliegence
to a cause that will make people fight
and die for it
me: that, I think, is the fundamental problem when comparing Americans today to those at the founding…
everything is done slowly
gradually
with a minimum of fuss
with “open media” covering the whole way
the things that sparked the revolution were the things that incited anger in teh common citizen, mistakes made by the crown… if they had introduced the tax over 5 years, nobody would have noticed. They got away with a large amount of stuff as it was
him: well look at the individuals
the stock of america
230some years ago
the people here were those who had made the decision to make a rather arduous voyage to go somewhere where they would have more freedoms
him: people back then had strong beliefs and a strong work ethic
him: today, i think one of the best adjectives to describe america is squishy
him: americans today dont have the same kind of backbone as americans 200 years ago
me: americans today can’t be bothered to think about the important concepts tought in their history class
him: don’t even get me started on the american dream
we have similar opinions on that
i never learned any of those concepts in school
had to figure that out on my own
and i think it was greatly by chance that i came to the conclusions i did
me: today, we are born and bred to be complacent, happy with the status quo or the image that we can better ourselves through hard work
placid
and those who don’t fit that picture are squished
him: coughsocialization
i think most americans would be very happy if our government introduced policys similar to canada
me: so I guess the question is, how does one take the incredible communication tool the internet is, and turn it into a method to promote real thought and action? how does one FOCUS the distributed process that serves as a vent to people’s dissatisfaction?
him: well thats beyond me
me: probably beyond me as well… but it doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time to think about

him: i think it all comes down to having to decide if you’re going to be the guy that hopes he lives his life hapily before the world tears itself apart
or the guy who keeps the world from tearing itself apart
or the guy who works to tear the world apart
as hunter s thompson as that concept might be..
me: it’s true…
him: most people take the easy way out
option 1
him: as much as i hate to use the expression, take the blue pill
him: i’ve never met anyone who fits neatly into cat2
cat 1 is the pud
cat 2 is the hero and cat 3 is the villan
him: theres lots of puds
very few heros/villans
usually some blend
me: I think the problem is that category 1 is really two of them… those who believe that everything is really ok, and those who don’t give a damn
me: the “don’t give a damn” recognize that there is a problem
and eh…
him: that is a good call
him: so out of the first category, you have the naive and the quitters
me: I think the problem is that more people than we give credit for from category 2 are in politics and government. but category 1 sits on them and keeps them from making a difference

him: so you’re saying that you think a lot of people in the government are trying to keep things together, but they are hindered by the general public?
me: and those in the government who see government as a great personal opportunity
I think there are probably more “earnest” politicians than we like to believe
him: i think there really are some people in the government with some pretty quixotic ideology
that will never make a difference because the system is designed to cancel out any rapid change
and while the system protects us from rapid change for the bad
it also prevents rapid change for the good
and allows slow changes in the wrong direction
him: well, i’m sure you’ve heard me say that any sufficiently developed bureaucracy is indistinguishable from molassas
the systems build themselves over generations of people in them
becoming organic in their own right
kind of like a computer nework built over the years by different admins
even the internet is an example
governed by a few simple protocols, and allowed to become something too vast to ever be comprehended by on man
however, somewhat unlike the internet, the government now has many times the amount of protocols and procedures guiding it

him: i dont think the govenrment is so broken that it needs melted down and reforged
it just needs hammered a little straighter
him: which at the time, is probably a job best done by its own internal regulating mechanisms
me: I’m not entirely certain that it’s not gotten to the point where you can keep straightening it, but use destraightens it faster than you can hammer it back out
him: i don’t think its quite there yet
we’re at somewhat of an equilibrium
but we’re about to take a dive
i think of it as a function of a square
him: it goes for a long time before it starts going bad at any visiblle rate
but when it starts to go it’ll go faster than anyone can see it
i’d guess somewhere in our lifetimes[talk of Socialism]

him: so far, capitalism has done well for itself
me: capitalism is fundamentally the way human nature works… each for himself, and with others only so much as it helps him advance
him: it sounds bad, but i think capitalism works as well as it does by causing the individual’s work ethic to be fueled by natural human greed
him: do you beleve its fair to say, in this context, that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem?
me: the problem is the mass, the momentum, of people effected by downward force alone. So yes, very fair
him: thats all a little more than i even feel like thinking about right now
its good to be able to bounce ideas like this off someone though
if i said all that to anyone i work with, they’d get all confused and say i was retarded
me: talking about these things is important
whether or not it leads to direct action now
him: definitely an instance where knowledge that there is a problem is the beginning of solving it
but only the very beginning
me: yes