We are the Irrelevant Generation. At least so far. Our opinion does not count outside of our own members. Most of the people with influence in this country do not care about us except to the extent that they can make money off of us. This includes politicians, most people involved in government jobs, media, corporate executives, even schools. We exist to give them money, influence, and ultimately power. The more power we do not have, the more they do, which is a lot. We are irrelevant in terms of policy and practice. We cannot get jobs after 18 years of rigorous schooling. We have learned the travesties of World War II, how to calculate the volume of a sphere, why Emily Dickinson chose the color red instead of orange, why Freud was wrong and modern Psychologists are undoubtable, how we evolved from single-celled orgainisms, information incalculable. Most of which is utterly trivial. Many were not taught about sex, most were not taught Logic, none were taught how to live a happy life. The answer to many Irrelevants seems to be: Do not care about what you cannot do anything about or else you will be miserable and may go insane. A fine addage. However, this rules out just about everything we find important. You want to change international policy so we don’t needlessly murder people and instead help people? Good luck with that one. Let’s go more concrete then… You want banks to be accountable for their actions? Not a chance. Smaller then. You want the government to pay attention to the Constitution? The Supreme Court disagrees. Fine. Leave my internet alone. Nope. Leave me alone! Not when you’re on a terrorist watchlist. You want to leave? Where are you going to go exactly? There are no more “frontiers”. Fuck it. Now that’s the attitude you need to survive. Have some marijuana to go with your futility. If you’re lucky, the government will provide for you in a brand new, state of the art penitentiary. That or a dillapadated mental hospital. You’d rather live in a house? Get a job then. You want a job? Go to school. You went to school? Apply yourself. You find this impossible.
On the whole, we are rather intelligent, open-minded, and idealistic people. This is not a good thing for thriving in America. Growing up with information immediately available, we have learned a good deal about the world. First, America is not the greatest possible country. It is more of a self-preserving, haughty, ignorant bully. It beileves absolutely in its superior to every other country. At the same time, it has the world’s largest per capita prison population by far, one of the highest suicide and homocide rates, very poor healthcare, is as inefficient as getting high by smoking hemp, and has almost 16 trillion in debt with no realistic chance of paying it off for quite some time. We see these problems. We want to help. We are unable. America is the over-confident imbecile refusing the help of well-meaning people and instead raping them for the hell of it. We see good things in America, but it is incapable of change. At least change for the better. We are Jeremiah warning Israel to change its ways only to mockery and imprisonment. The problem is the same here as there: we have no authority. He just shows up and goes “Thus saith the Lord”. We are young and inexperienced. We haven’t dealt with the real world yet. Apparently I will wake up from one hell of a dream when I get a job. Then again, they must not want me to wake up. Also, this real world must teach one greed, intolerance, fallacious reasoning, and that up is down. I would rather dream.
All that I have said so far has been negative. However, the fact that I said it is positive. These words did not exist before I wrote them down. This, in and of itself, is a minor miracle because I realize the irrelevancy of what I am writing and yet I write. It is a compulsion more than anything. I have to do something and this seems interesting enough. I am incapable of simply doing nothing as many Irrelevants do and thus more apt for insanity or suicide or both. However, I don’t particularly want to die and I like sanity too much. Then again, we may live in an insane society so the only logical conclusion is apparent insanity.
To my fellow Irrelevants, I give encouragement. For instance, the Occupy Movement is no longer being dismissed offhand and the police brutality, while revolting, are giving them more attention. They are also organizing a coherent set of beliefs more than demands. I would not be surprised if a political party eventually sprang from it, which couldn’t hurt. If you find something you like, support it. Monetarily, with your time, emotionally, whatever. Just give yourself to it. If you do not like something, do no support it. If a company is responsible for displacing millions of people, do not shop there and if your conscience compels you, do something more. At any rate, do not lose yourself to depression or escapism or conformity or any other reason. Cultivate the parts of yourself you like and allow the others to die. Act. Do. Be. Do not react, do not do nothing, and most importantly be yourself. Do not be who others would like you to be. This is death and a farce. Do not lose heart and do what you enjoy and believe in. You are only Irrelevant so long as you don’t do anything.
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Metasophy 