BEYOND ETERNITY ISSN 1203-5416 Episode 05 <--> April 1996 Sanjay Singh eternity@cyberspace.org _______________________________________________________________ "... Of course I took this moment as light-heartedly as a coronary, felt the deafening roar of silence inside me when she said, 'Mister, you're sitting on my chair.'" [2nu] It's been a predictable month. Maybe that's good or maybe that's bad. I haven't decided yet. Nothing new seems to be happening, but two common themes keep on popping up, everywhere I look. Obsessions and economics are the two big patterns in my life right now. Friends are obsessing over themselves (I don't mean that in a bad way), over their problems, over their jobs, over their future, over money. And that's where we get into economics. Currently, we're sitting in a province wide public servant strike, and when I think of strikers, I think of money... again, economics. I've been talking to a friend for a while now about obsessions. About how I've seemed to get obsessive about truth. Maybe because I watch Homicide, maybe because I've been surrounded by uncertainty for so long, I need to find some kind of stability, and that comes from knowing what truth is... Maybe. So, naturally, this issue revolves around those two topics. Obsessions are interesting, but then again, economics aren't. I'm just hoping that the combination will work out. And before I begin. I found out who wrote last month's article I called 'Flashback'. Credit goes to Leeanna Werner [lewerner@indiana.edu]. I guess that's all that needs to be said about that. Now it's time to turn down the lights, turn up the music, and see where the next bunch of pages will take us... . . . . . Contents ======== - Introduction (you just read it) - How Far Will I Go? - A Simple Proposal - You Envy... Me? - The Spirituality Of Wealth [by Julian Barton] - Administrivia - Rules Of The Game How Far Will I Go? ================== "There are truths which one can only say after having won the right to say them." [Jean Cocteau] I've been having a long running conversation with a friend, and recently the topic shifted to obsessions. No matter how often and how much I manage to grow in between, whenever this one topic appears, my part of the conversation always follows the same pattern. And true to form, this time was no different. I can't really remember how this conversation began, but I do know that somewhere in the beginning we both agreed that having an obsession was pretty bad. But the night after we decided that, it hit me. I've been really obsessive about the truth lately. I passed this off a non-issue because I could explain why I was obsessing over it, and that fit perfectly with my other current obsession -- being able to explain why I do things. (This I actually recommend, obsessive or not, it's does bring a lot of control back into your life.) Anyways, this is where I hit the second phase of the discussion. The revelation. I was speaking out, quite loudly if I remember correctly, about the dangers of obsessive behaviour while I was obsessing. "Do as I say, not as I do." No thanks. That's the kind of garbage that got me screwed up in the first place. This is where I really start to second guess myself. Hypocrisy has a way of doing that to you. And this is the phase where I normally camp out for a few weeks. Ideas, concepts, arguments running through my mind. What's right? What's wrong? If I say that obsessions aren't that bad, then what? Doesn't that just open the door for fanaticism, and other undesirables? But what if I keep my stand? Obsessions are bad, but then every time I bear down to focus on something, I'll be wondering in the back of my mind... 'how far will I go?' I'll never really chase after anything anymore... from fear of being obsessive. And again, I'll be the jailor and captive combined. I know, like with everything else, a line has to be drawn somewhere. What's the difference between dedication and obsession? But there are just so many lines all around me right now, that I worry about waking up one morning and being tied down with all these rules that I've imposed on myself. That's where we come to the mother of all lines that need to be drawn... How many is too many? A Simple Proposal ================= "So long as all the increased wealth which modern progress brings goes but to build up great fortunes, to increase luxury and make sharper the contrast between the House of Have and the House of Want, progress is not real and cannot be permanent." [Henry George] Concept: Allan Baril Inspiration: Jonathan Swift [Incidentally, if you think the 'eat the rich' comment has anything to do with Aerosmith, find a copy of Swift's essay "A Modest Proposal."] What's wrong with the world today? Why is there so much tension? Why are so many people angry? Maybe it's because the rich keep on getting richer, while the poor... well, they're just forgotten. This just isn't right, is it? So what's the solution? Class elimination? Redistribution of wealth? Elect Robin Hood? None of these would work too well. Deleting 'rich' and 'poor' from our collective dictionaries wouldn't really change anything in the physical world. If we just took away money from the wealthy, what would stop them from making more? Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor would just complicate things... the poor would become the rich, and then we'd just have to do it all over again. It's far too messy, but I think I've found a better solution. What I propose is this. We just need to find a way to quietly and quickly get rid of anyone with a lot of money. This would lower the average income, and since there wouldn't be anyone that's rich, there wouldn't really be anyone who's poor. So, in effect, everyone would have almost the same amount (at least it would be a lot closer than it is now). So how could we do this? (Don't worry, I'm not going to suggest that we eat them.) How can we make everyone equal again? Well, the first thing we need to do is to raise taxes. Now, don't be scared by this... We have nothing compared to those capitalistic pigs, so our taxes should actually go down. So only those with lots of money will actually have to pay more. And I'm not suggesting a small tax hike either. I'm talking about making it unbearable to have money. And the more you have, the more you'll have to pay. This should have two effects. First, some of the 'producers' and 'entrepreneurs' will flee (like the cowards they are) once they realize that it's not profitable to make money. Secondly, anyone who stays, won't have too much money left. Problem solved? Almost. Next, we need to ensure that this won't happen again. Something needs to be done to ensure that everyone makes the same amount of money. The problem here is that wages are impossible to control in the private sector. So, the government will need to 'purchase' all privately owned companies. If the companies refuse to sell themselves out, then the government can just create some new laws to make owning a business very ... inconvenient. This will be very easy to do. At this point, there won't be too many private corporations in existence, so the existing anti-monopoly laws can come into effect, and shut down private business for good. The advantages of this scheme are pretty clear. But I'll just take another moment of your time, to highlight some of them... Firstly, no one would ever need to feel inadequate ever again. Under the rule of the state, we could all be equals at last. No exceptions. There would be no more "McJob" or menial labour, since every job would guarantee equal pay. Secondly, we won't see anymore unsightly beggars lining the streets. At last, we will be able to welcome our unkempt brethren with open arms into our society, as productive wage earners. Our streets will once again be beautiful. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, we'd finally be free. There wouldn't be a need for censorship. Obscenity is a product of individuality. Somebody has to stand out from the crowd to be able to cast a stone. It just stands to reason, that if no one stands out, no one gets hurt. So at least we'll finally have our paradise. No more shame, no more grime, and no one ever getting hurt again. Not much room for imagination, but that's a small price to pay. It may be a little quiet at times, but if you get bored, you're welcome to turn on the television. You Envy... Me? =============== "You're suspicious of your suspicions? I'm jealous. I'm so jealous. You still have the heart to have doubts." [from Homicide: Life on the Streets] I went home over the weekend. Nothing too special. You know, take a break from school, visit some friends who didn't follow you out of town when the school term started. Talk to the family (always an interesting experience). Like I said nothing too special. Well, at least Friday wasn't. Now Saturday was a different story... It seems that I'm the only member of my family that doesn't like small talk. I like the idea that if you have nothing to say, then don't say anything. But at Casa Singh, I seem to be in the minority... too bad, I guess that's the price I pay for using their washing machine. So it's Saturday morning, and I'm standing in the kitchen, hovering over a couple of slices of french toast that are being grilled. My mother's at the table, staring at some spreadsheets, or something. All of a sudden, she looks up and starts telling me about this dilemma she's having at work. It seems that one of her underlings came up to her during the week and told her that he wasn't going to do any more work. That's it. Nice and simple. He just wants to sit at his desk, and every other week, someone will bring him a cheque. Oh, if only life was that simple. My response to this was "so what happened after you fired him?" Personally, I didn't think that this was any great beacon of knowledge. Hundreds of years from now, high school students aren't going to be running around writing essays about whether I'm wittier than Shakespeare or not. It's just a pretty obvious fact. At least to me it was. She didn't like it. "You can't do that. You have to go through H[uman] R[esources] first." "Ok, so what happened after HR fired him?" "Their manager is on vacation until Monday, so I have to wait until then." "So when the HR manager is on vacation, nobody gets fired?" "No, but it has to be a special case." "Like someone telling you that they're not going to do their job?" And that was where I caught her. She didn't have an answer for that one. Well, she did, but the best she came up with was... "There aren't many jobs out there, you can't just fire someone like that." And this is where I started ranting (not that you would know what that's like). "The guy's a loser, get rid of him before he brings your department down." "You're obligation is to the company, not someone who doesn't want their job." "Why not open a job for someone who doesn't have one, that's willing to work for their pay-cheque?" And she replied, "I envy you. Everything's so black and white for you. You don't even care about how people feel. You have no compassion." That floored me. I had no response for that. Me, not care? Me, no compassion? Like one day I just woke up, hit a switch and became a machine. No emotions at all, no nothing. Just me and my little black and white world. Where the line between right and wrong, between truth and lies was always visible. This from my mother. I was shocked. I think I was even a little hurt. Of course, I was right. I knew that. I didn't care about this guy because I didn't know him. He wasn't someone I talked to, someone I tossed the ball around with on weekends. He was just some guy that didn't want to do his job. Did he deserve any compassion? No. I was just the only person in the room that was able to make an objective decision. Feelings have nothing to do with it. Friend or no friend, coworker or not, if you're going to make an executive decision, you become an executive, and make the decision. Friendship has nothing to do with it. It's just business, that's all. Maybe this search for the truth has gotten the best of me. Maybe I'm so far into it, that I can't see out, and so everything does appear black and white. What I do know is that I still care. If I didn't care I wouldn't still be trying to help the people that have helped me. I wouldn't be trying to give something back. I wouldn't be writing Eternity anymore. I guess the real question is, 'do I care as much as I used to?' I don't even know why this is bothering me. I'm happier now than I've been in a long time. But I don't know if it was worth the price I paid. I don't know if it's better or not. I guess even in my monochrome world, not everything is certain. The Spirituality Of Wealth ========================== "New and stirring ideas are belittled because if they are not belittled the humiliating question arises, 'Why then are you not taking part in them?'" [H.G.Wells] by: Julian Barton [st9541c1@echidna.cowan.edu.au] I'll admit that I probably don't hold exactly the same opinion as you when it comes to money and possessions. I don't see it as a choice between money or soul, between rich or real. To me, they are separate, almost unrelated parts of a person. It is often said that rich people are soulless; that poor people are spiritual. That is sometimes true. However, I know of people who are rich and deeply spiritual, and others who's poverty has offered them an excuse (which they have accepted) to become twisted and bitter, and consequently, far from spiritual. Carrying that on a step further, accepting that it is no longer a choice between cash and character, we get a better choice... Spirituality is something which is inherently ours. That is not threatened by any other choices made, so I'll have one of those, thanks. I can also take the stash too, without sacrificing my inner self. So we'll have a dollop of dough, too. It is a choice whether to be spiritual, and a separate choice whether to be rich. I feel that this stereotypical view of the rich as bad has three causes. 1. It's a hang-over from the biblical concept of the meek inheriting the earth. So it becomes a choice between poverty for 60 years then eternal wealth or wealth for 60 then poverty. Not surprising that they manage to sell the idea! Now, the truly greedy ones subtract 60 from infinity, realize they'll be very rich for a heck of a long time, and run out to torch their possessions. 2. When ever there's a choice between money and soul, people have a good excuse not to work. They have a respectable reason for not being rich, or part way there. Without this excuse, the poor must mostly be the lazy -- if anyone can sell their abilities for money, and they have no money, then they're either saying that they have nothing to sell or cannot be bothered doing so. If they have nothing to sell, why aren't they learning something? As it is, rather than admit to that, they can cry "I'm spiritual" -- and suddenly, not only are they no longer lazy or untalented, they acquire a new level of respect for their martyrdom! They might even be canonised! I'd rather they were shot for selfish laziness... Slight overstatement in the bullet, but selfish is a fair comment, else they could be like ... John Kehoe. A classic example of a spiritual man rolling in dough. As you may know, he's the author of several books on mind- power. Several books which have sold well. So, as well as helping people to empower themselves in life -- a mark of a spiritual person -- he's loaded. But there's more. Back in the days when I lived in Auckland, he was a regular visitor to the City of Sails. On one particular visit, he heard of a privately run and funded healing clinic or centre for someone or other. It was about to close, lack of cash. There and then he wrote a cheque for something like ten grand. Great! Cheque book diplomacy, he called it. His wealth allows him to do such good works -- show me a beggar who can do that! 3. The 'Tall Poppy Syndrome' Something people have is a tendency to cut down people who are too successful -- just watch the knives go for people like Alan Bond when he stumbles. I feel that the root of this is, once more, laziness. This Syndrome comes straight from ego and it's limits -- envy, limited thought, and laziness. Envy is clear -- someone has more than them, owns possessions they covet. Limited thought -- "There are a finite number of things, every one that he has is one less that I can have." Laziness, because these people show what can be achieved by those who work. That threatens those who'd rather day-dream, wish, and yearn. It says that if they stopped grumbling and started grunting, they too could be up there... Which requires work. It's partly fear, that if tested they could be found wanting. While ever they are a spectator, they can never fall short. If they try, they might not succeed. As it is they can hide behind, "If I wanted to, I could..." right until they die. Pity that feels so hollow. There are a few other reasons not to be rich -- that you'd rather spend time travelling, or with family etc. However, people taking those choices have no right to criticize those who don't. The problem with money, as I see it, is not with money itself. The trouble comes when people miss the inner picture, concentrate on the world of Mechanical Man, the surface world we're taught to believe is truth. Then the only goals they can set are fiscal, achievements often come at another's expense, and life is hollow. These are those who you'd say have "lost the plot," or maybe, they never knew there was a fairy tale unfolding around them. Money is a great liberating force, it allows you to experience life, to learn about reality, the great illusion called earth, people and parachutes. We can use it to help others, via donations of money, entry tickets to experiences, grants -- there are almost unlimited ways to give money away; institutions like Anglicare, orphanages, community groups, churches all use money. Rockefeller is remembered as a philanthropist, setting up libraries. That took cash. A penniless philanthropist is ineffective, at best. Mother Theresa is a marketing phenomenon, raking in the dough for her poor people. That money must come from somewhere. Rich people supporting the arts -- the list of good works coming from money is longer than people like to remember. And the poor? How spiritual are the drunkards, addicts, cynics...? I know the concept of the person living a simple life, blissful without possessions is common -- but how many people are like that? I know of few who do not covet more. Most of the poor people I have met yearn for greater wealth, rather than rejoice in simplicity. Money is almost completely unrelated to spirituality. If I sound like I'm going on a bit, it's true. That is one of my soapboxes. It gets on my nerves to hear supposedly spiritual people saying how they are 'above' money somehow. Another point -- how can I be like "The Millionaire," in the Dr. Hook song of the same name, if I lack the millions? Administrivia... ================ Beyond Eternity (ISSN 1203-5416) is a monthly serial that is written (for the most part) and compiled by Sanjay Singh, and then edited by Paul Sheen and Sanjay Singh. It's not a perfect process, but we come close. You can find older (or even current) issues from any of these places... mail: eternity@cyberspace.org web: http://www.interlog.com/~vash ftp: ftp.etext.org: /pub/Zines/Eternity/ gopher: gopher.etext.org (follow the prompts) usenet: alt.zines subscriptions: Just send me mail, I'll add you to the list. All I ask is that you let me know what you think about "Beyond Eternity...", and you can even mention how you found out about it. It's a small price to pay, but that's all I ask for. As always, if you have a question, comment, statement, rant, or anything, feel free to let me know. (Who knows, you might even feel better that you did it.) There's always room for me to improve, and there's always room for outside contributions. When I say that one person can make a difference, that includes you. Rules Of The Game ================= I take full responsibility of the overall content here. There might be other writers but what goes into this is my choice. Copyright is held by whoever wrote the article, and if it doesn't say who they were, then it was me. I'd strongly suggest asking them for permission before you reprint anything that was written in here (this includes my stuff). Chances are that I won't object, but I'd still like to know. In past issues of The Eternity Articles, I was asked if what I had written was true. I'll state this for the record now, "everything I write is true to me". As for the other writers, well, you'd have to ask them. As a general rule I'm not going to print pure fiction anymore, unless I think that it has a message that's worth relaying. I think that's all that needs to be said. Talk to you next month. Sanjay Singh (3/30/96)