Neighborhood Watch: Gangs active in the Existential Vacuum
The Existential Vacuum is a rough neighborhood to live in. It is a dark, barren, and population intensive area characterized by a pervasive sense of personal doom and ennui. The streets signs are gone or point out the wrong ways. Imagine growing up in a strange city, a dangerous slum, where no matter how good your sense of direction may be; you are always lost and alone. Welcome to the Existential Vacuum, it is the place where we live, only the strong survive.
The citizens of the Existential Vacuum, trapped in their environment, have no instinct that tells them what they have to do and no precedent that tells them what they ought to do. They usually do not even know what they wish to do; they are looking for leadership. Unfortunately two gangs of thought, conformism and totalitarianism, have taken over the streets of Existential Vacuum, they offer an easier way to live.
Conformism, the older of the two gangs, founded on the suspension of an individual's self-determined actions or opinions in favor of obedience to the policies and procedures of one's peer-group, or deference to the imposed rules of a powerful individual, is the practice of "going along and getting along" with people who appear to be more powerful. The members of the Conformist gang are individuals and small groups that do best by blending in with their surroundings and by doing nothing eccentric or out-of-the-ordinary in any way. Those people in the Conformist group do what they think other people want them to do.
Totalitarianism, the newer thugs, sprang from the loins of the conformist group. It was founded on the idea that one strong person or group controls nearly every aspect of public and private life; these guys can be tough cookies. This gang remains in power by means of an official all-embracing set of principles. They rigidly control all the information their group receives, and brutally cracks down on the EV citizens that would criticize the leader or group in control. The people in the Totalitarian gang do what other people want them to do—or else. The totalitarians depend upon the conformist in order to thrive.
Like any group of thugs, the Conformism and Totalitarian gangs need the support of people like you and me in order to survive. We need to rid our neighborhood of these gangs before we can make it a better place.
Here are some simple steps that you can take to break the cycle of thinking and help destroy the gangs that are ruining our neighborhood.
1. Do think for yourself. Do not jump off the bridge because all of your friends are jumping.
2. Do question authority. Would you jump off a bridge because someone told you to?
3. Do not be afraid to speak up. You opinion matters, most of all to you, and that is important.
4. Do trust yourself. At the end of the day, the only opinion about you that matters is your own.
Remember that living in the Existential Vacuum is confusing and the only way to move out of the neighborhood is by thinking clearly and trusting yourself. Good luck and you are not alone.
The Existential Vacuum is a rough neighborhood to live in. It is a dark, barren, and population intensive area characterized by a pervasive sense of personal doom and ennui. The streets signs are gone or point out the wrong ways. Imagine growing up in a strange city, a dangerous slum, where no matter how good your sense of direction may be; you are always lost and alone. Welcome to the Existential Vacuum, it is the place where we live, only the strong survive.
The citizens of the Existential Vacuum, trapped in their environment, have no instinct that tells them what they have to do and no precedent that tells them what they ought to do. They usually do not even know what they wish to do; they are looking for leadership. Unfortunately two gangs of thought, conformism and totalitarianism, have taken over the streets of Existential Vacuum, they offer an easier way to live.
Conformism, the older of the two gangs, founded on the suspension of an individual's self-determined actions or opinions in favor of obedience to the policies and procedures of one's peer-group, or deference to the imposed rules of a powerful individual, is the practice of "going along and getting along" with people who appear to be more powerful. The members of the Conformist gang are individuals and small groups that do best by blending in with their surroundings and by doing nothing eccentric or out-of-the-ordinary in any way. Those people in the Conformist group do what they think other people want them to do.
Totalitarianism, the newer thugs, sprang from the loins of the conformist group. It was founded on the idea that one strong person or group controls nearly every aspect of public and private life; these guys can be tough cookies. This gang remains in power by means of an official all-embracing set of principles. They rigidly control all the information their group receives, and brutally cracks down on the EV citizens that would criticize the leader or group in control. The people in the Totalitarian gang do what other people want them to do—or else. The totalitarians depend upon the conformist in order to thrive.
Like any group of thugs, the Conformism and Totalitarian gangs need the support of people like you and me in order to survive. We need to rid our neighborhood of these gangs before we can make it a better place.
Here are some simple steps that you can take to break the cycle of thinking and help destroy the gangs that are ruining our neighborhood.
1. Do think for yourself. Do not jump off the bridge because all of your friends are jumping.
2. Do question authority. Would you jump off a bridge because someone told you to?
3. Do not be afraid to speak up. You opinion matters, most of all to you, and that is important.
4. Do trust yourself. At the end of the day, the only opinion about you that matters is your own.
Remember that living in the Existential Vacuum is confusing and the only way to move out of the neighborhood is by thinking clearly and trusting yourself. Good luck and you are not alone.
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