Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
WTF
Sanctioned snobbery – that’s what it is: holding someone back from the ability to advance in the world because of pedigree, race, birth, religion, sex, a documented education, appearance, etc. If a person has ability, they should be allowed rise to the rank of their ability.
The insidious, intoxicating hope of changing one’s life for the better is best seen in fairytales; peasants without noble birth, who earn the right to the privileges of nobility by their talent or efforts, or just plain luck. But, when someone has been given a break or has just somehow managed to better their circumstances, do they then become part of the machine that holds down others as they were held? How did the peasant manage living in the castle without alienating himself from his peasant friends and family?
Your good fortune is not your own when you have to rise to it; everyone you know expects you to elevate them along with you. And if you don’t, you become the prime example of the fact that rank and wealth do not bring happiness, which discourages others of your former low rank to even attempt to change their station, which, in turn, perpetuates the sanctioned snobbery you were trying to overcome in the first place.
How can you be happy if you have to brush off all your friends and family in order to enjoy your own damn well-earned privileges? The only course available to you is to establish new relationships with the already-privileged who will never accept you because you used to be an outsider. Consider the enormous burden that comes with achievement on any level. The higher you go, the more is expected of you.
Mediocrity is our only hope of happiness. Sometimes my job just sucks.
The insidious, intoxicating hope of changing one’s life for the better is best seen in fairytales; peasants without noble birth, who earn the right to the privileges of nobility by their talent or efforts, or just plain luck. But, when someone has been given a break or has just somehow managed to better their circumstances, do they then become part of the machine that holds down others as they were held? How did the peasant manage living in the castle without alienating himself from his peasant friends and family?
Your good fortune is not your own when you have to rise to it; everyone you know expects you to elevate them along with you. And if you don’t, you become the prime example of the fact that rank and wealth do not bring happiness, which discourages others of your former low rank to even attempt to change their station, which, in turn, perpetuates the sanctioned snobbery you were trying to overcome in the first place.
How can you be happy if you have to brush off all your friends and family in order to enjoy your own damn well-earned privileges? The only course available to you is to establish new relationships with the already-privileged who will never accept you because you used to be an outsider. Consider the enormous burden that comes with achievement on any level. The higher you go, the more is expected of you.
Mediocrity is our only hope of happiness. Sometimes my job just sucks.
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