the case for escape

having introduced "escape from babylon" - what babylon represents - i feel that it is now necessary for me to make the case for escape... why escape the system that provides for our every convenience? well, the answer is precisely that: because it provides for our every convenience... no longer are we required to be responsible for our own happiness and wellbeing; no longer are the duties of self-suffiency in the hands of the individual; no longer is justice a matter for the community... all these things are controlled by a powerful machine (or syndicate of machines): the global politico-economic market...

this "system" - i use this term loosely, to describe both commerce and politics - decides how much things are worth, how long people should work; how much they should get paid; and when they can retire... it also suggests to them what they should wear; how they should behave; provides handy definitions for success; frowns upon those who don't meet this image of success - ie. the failures; places people under extreme stress, then sells miracle drugs to cure stress... in short: it sucks the life out of living.

ok, so i don't really think that the system is an evil entity, some kind of self-aware cyber-lucifer... merely a series of technological, political, economic, and social advancements [sic], that have compounded one another to produce a world of marked inequality, intollerance, and greed... these traits have always been present - in every human... but in this age of "reason", concepts of equality, tollerance, and giving, are no longer necessary, because we aren't dependent on our neighbours, but on the system... it is our own fault really, but one that is exacerbated by convenience...

people no longer need the community, they just need goods and services, producers and service providers... people no longer need to contribute to the community, everything gets done for them, so all they need to do is go to work (usually in some meaningless job), get paid, spend, and consume... oh, and so many different ways to consume: "cars and phones and diamond rings, bling-bling," as jack johnson would say... and like children on a merry-go-round, it's kind of fun at first: this cycle of work, incoming, outgoing, being entertained... but then it gets a bit dull, and the only way to keep the demon (ie. depression) at bay, is to speed it up - more work, more pay, more expensive things, more elaborate entertainment... and at the end we have nothing really of worth to show for all our efforts...

before i go further, a balance is required: as i mentioned, the judeo-christian mythos is rich with imagery of babylon, and escaping her harlotry... it is an ethos that tends to promote conceptions of moral piety and righteousness in the face of licentiousness... well, this is no good! as the ancient philosopher king said, "vanity, vanity, all is vanity," and he was right! whatever we do, really, is meaningless - if we aren't taking joy in the doing of it... why should we trade one meaningless existence for another... why should why escape the tyranny of babylon, only to subject ourselves to self-righteous piety... this makes no sense!

no, i certainly don't want to demonise the cornucopia of the modern age, any more than i want to glorify an ascetic lifestyle... i merely want to suggest that as individuals, and as communities, we become responsible once more for our own wellbeing - our selfesteem, security, and justice - rather than having these fed to us as though we were babies...

so this is the case for escape...