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As I see It

18th January, 2007. 10:05 am. Journaling

For a class assignment, I've been asked to log a journal of my readings for Postmodern Political Theory, which is a reading of mostly Nietzsche. Since I find it fascinating, I'll post my journals in this space. :)

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The first two sections of Beyond Good and Evil introduce the reader to a whirlwind of questions and possible stipulations that Nietzsche uses to break down the traditional prejudices of the philosophers. The first, and ultimately most important question is posed as a very basic examination of the most fundamental prejudice of all philosophers, and indeed all society. Nietzsche asks “Suppose we want truth: why not rather untruth? And uncertainty?”

In asking for the value of truth, Nietzsche is striking directly at the heart of all 'goodness' based philosophy in that he is revealing its most fundamental prejudice. Nietzsche readily accepts that the good may have value in society, but he asks why not selfishness, deception or lust? In the end, it comes down to a prejudice of logic. All philosophy has accepted that the definite and the certain is inherently of more value than the indefinite and uncertain. He traces this prejudice through the lineage of various philosophers and states they “all pose as if they had discovered and reached their real opinions through the self-development of a cold, pure, divinely unconcerned dialectic...while most often a desire of the heart that has been filtered and made abstract-that they defend with reasons they have sought after the fact.” Most philosophy, then, is but the personal confession of the author that seeks nothing other than to release its philosophical might into the world, an academic discharge of the will to power.

Nietzsche poses the will to power as that which a living thing seeks above all to discharge. It is pure strength in conviction of itself, the most common manifestation of which is the notion of 'self preservation'. Self preservation is in fact not equivalent to the will to power, but it is one of the indirect and most frequent results of such. An example that comes to mind is a Buddhist monk who chooses to set himself on fire, whether Nietzsche approves or not, this is clearly an example of the will to power that is not exclusive to what is claimed as the 'instinct of self preservation' in many circles.

The seminar discussion was extremely interesting in that it was at once fascinated with the questions of Nietzsche and seemingly abhorred by the extensions it seems to present. Truth, one girl said, must be accepted because it is simply what she desires to seek and she insisted she needed no further reasons. No, of course you don't, but the question remains, why not untruth?

A considerable discussion on the existence of and merits to Nietzsche's concepts of masks dominated the discussion. Of particular importance was a comment that equated the mask with the person itself, as the very thing it is. A mask is most commonly associated with that which is alien, other, or a concealer to the fundamental truth that underlies the external deception. To suggest that perhaps there is no deeper fundamental layer, to suppose that the adoption of masks is what makes a person who they are is an extremely powerful and liberating statement. It is not enough to recognize that others wear masks, or even that I wear masks, but to understand that the adoption of a mask necessarily alters who and what I am extends the image of the mask to the sort of primordial unity that I believe Nietzsche is trying to accomplish.

Attention was also paid to the distinction between true/false as a manifestation of dogmatic thinking. Truth over untruth, it was discovered, is a moral prejudice inevitably bound up with perspective. The value we place on truth necessarily implies a hierarchal rank that progresses from some level of absolute truth down to its certain opposite, falsehood. The problem, practically speaking, is that truth, whatever that may be, is claimed to be the top, the highest, the best, without any empirical evidence for having done so.

The problem I think we are experiencing in the seminars is one of traditional prejudice. The history, the sheer weight of all that is tied up in a word like truth precludes the mind from a fully complete understanding of what is asked of us. When words like true and false come into the conversation, there is already so much unconscious meddling in the discussion that it seems as though we cannot escape into a ground level dissemination.

So I pose it this way: consider two options, A and B. Why choose one over the other?
The answer, I presume, that would be most readily found is that one option poses some distinct advantage over the other. Suppose I choose A, I must for some reason believe that A is superior to B because of some practical applicability to my life. However, depending on the context in which the choice is made, B could certainly be chosen as the more powerful statement. Context, or position, then, seems to dictate the adoption of one choice over another. Simply substitute a TRUE statement and a FALSE statement into the two variables and I believe the distinction between the two seemingly opposite paradigms begins to break down.

Current mood: thoughtful.
Current music: Norah Jones - Not Gay.

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8th December, 2006. 12:18 pm. A Poetic View of Abortion

An anonymous person send this to me, I found it very poetic, fluid, and makes a good point:

An unborn child (fetus) is considered by many to be a potential human, but not an actual person until it is released from the womb. Although this unborn child is incapable of complex thought, independent functioning or of having a spiritual understanding of the world, it cannot be denied that this is a living organism.

As believers in the greatness of living things and the utmost respect for all the creatures of the earth, if we feel saddened by the killing of a seal, hanging of a chicken, or even the breaking of a branch on a thriving tree, what then for the living organism inside of you? Not only does this living creature feel, as any living thing does to survive this world, but it breathes your air, receives your nourishment and literally shares your blood. Why then should this unborn child be given life and a parasite should be eliminated? Through your actions, did you create the parasite? Did you make a choice to bring that parasite to life and then rip it off of your flesh?

The gift of fertility, the ability to bring life into the world was once considered to be powerful and holy; that your genetic makeup can be shared with another individual, that you could feed that individual inside your own body and that you could release that person into the world from the place it was first created. What is the difference then if a living sperm or egg does not reach its potential as contributing to the human being? Without interception, the sperm and egg will not become a human being. They complete their cycle as a sperm or an egg as the cells divide and die. With the choice to act in sexual intercourse, and that act resulting in a developing fetus, the fetus will develop into a human being should its development be allowed. Without interception, the fetus will continue to develop simply through the everyday functioning of the parent. The fetus, unlike the sperm or egg, is the whole being with all of its parts either currently existing or existing inside its genetic makeup yet to be developed. A sperm, however, contains only some of that potential individual which can only be executed into the whole being if the miraculous connection with the egg should occur when a whole being chooses to participate in the higher act of sexual intercourse that stills our mind and brings us, whether we realize it or not, closer to God.

Make Notes

6th December, 2006. 3:42 pm. Where Lovely Mermaids Flow

I wonder, what is the allure of mermaids? Is it the fact that they're through and through water creatures, thirsty for what a man from dry-land can bring? Or perhaps because they are mythological, and what we don't know attracts us.

I've nearly completed my undergraduate degree in Political Science.

O rly?

Yes, rly.

What I feel qualified to do:

RULE THE WORLD

What I am practically qualified to do:

Volunteer with a political campaign
Drive a taxi
Drive political volunteers in a taxi

MY POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.

You know what I miss? The feeling that anything was possible. In my mind, once you KNOW that anything is possible, you slowly start to stop feeling it. I mean that once the mind conceives of something, and truly takes it to heart, it stops being important to the self, and thus to the feelings.

Feelings are more like the domain of the unknown. Feelings let us know when outside cirumstances are turning us MORE into the person we want to be or LESS into that person. That reminds me, I wonder when I'm going to die?

Descartes said "I think therefore I am" which strongly suggests that there is more than one kind of substance that makes a person a person. There is something that we normally identify with "I" and then there is the "I" that knows it is the "I".

Think of it like a projector screen. I am being projected onto a screen (the outside world) by a projector, but no matter how hard I ever try, I can never be or know who the actual projector is. In this way, we are always mysteries to ourselves.

Curious.

Current mood: awake.
Current music: Fade to Bluegrass - Ride the Lightning.

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11th August, 2006. 1:56 pm. Life And How Its Lived

Wow Van Morrison, I say good day to you!

I went to see Van the Man the other night in Toronto, and MAN did he ever disappoint me. He had a pretty kickin Jazz band that I wouldn't have minded seeing IN A JAZZ CLUB ABOUT 1/100'th THE SIZE OF THE ACC.

He didn't speak to the audience, slurred a lot of speech, and walked off before the last song was even over. My God, what a drunk bastard. If he was here right now, I would say straight to his face that performance was a waste of my 64 dollars.

Make Notes

30th March, 2006. 12:51 pm. GDP per capita ranking

1 Norway $42,400.00 2005 est.
2 United States $41,800.00 2005 est.
3 Switzerland $35,000.00 2005 est.
4 Iceland $34,600.00 2005 est.
5 Ireland $34,100.00 2005 est.
6 Denmark $33,500.00 2005 est.
7 Austria $32,900.00 2005 est.
8 Canada $32,800.00 2005 est.
9 Australia $32,000.00 2005 est.
10 Belgium $31,800.00 2005 est.
11 United Kingdom $30,900.00 2005 est.
12 Netherlands $30,500.00 2005 est.
13 Japan $30,400.00 2005 est.
14 Finland $30,300.00 2005 est.
15 France $29,900.00 2005 est.
16 Germany $29,700.00 2005 est.
17 Singapore $29,700.00 2005 est.
18 Sweden $29,600.00 2005 est.
19 United Arab Emirates $29,100.00 2005 est.
20 Italy $28,300.00 2005 est.
21 Aruba $28,000.00 2002 est.
22 Taiwan $26,700.00 2005 est.
23 Spain $25,100.00 2005 est.
24 New Zealand $24,100.00 2005 est.
25 Greece $22,800.00 2005 est.
26 Israel $22,200.00 2005 est.
27 Kuwait $22,100.00 2005 est.
28 Cyprus $21,600.00 NA
29 Slovenia $20,900.00 2005 est.
30 Korea, South $20,300.00 2005 est.
31 Greenland $20,000.00 2001 est.
32 Portugal $18,400.00 2005 est.
33 Czech Republic $18,100.00 2005 est.
34 Estonia $16,400.00 2005 est.
35 Hungary $15,900.00 2005 est.
36 Slovakia $15,700.00 2005 est.
37 Lithuania $13,700.00 2005 est.
38 Argentina $13,600.00 2005 est.
39 Oman $13,400.00 2005 est.
40 Mauritius $13,300.00 2005 est.
41 Saudi Arabia $12,900.00 2005 est.
42 Latvia $12,800.00 2005 est.
43 Poland $12,700.00 2005 est.
44 Trinidad and Tobago $12,700.00 2005 est.
45 South Africa $11,900.00 2005 est.
46 Croatia $11,600.00 2005 est.
47 Chile $11,300.00 2005 est.
48 Russia $10,700.00 2005 est.
49 Malaysia $10,400.00 2005 est.
50 Botswana $10,100.00 2005 est.
51 Costa Rica $10,000.00 2005 est.
52 Mexico $10,000.00 2005 est.
53 Uruguay $10,000.00 2005 est.
54 Bulgaria $9,000.00 2005 est.
55 Kazakhstan $8,700.00 2005 est.
56 Brazil $8,500.00 2005 est.
57 Libya $8,400.00 2005 est.
58 Romania $8,300.00 2005 est.
59 Thailand $8,300.00 2005 est.
60 Iran $8,100.00 2005 est.
61 Turkey $7,900.00 2005 est.
62 Namibia $7,800.00 2005 est.
63 Belarus $7,600.00 2005 est.
64 Tunisia $7,600.00 2005 est.
65 Macedonia $7,400.00 2005 est.
66 Algeria $7,300.00 2005 est.
67 Panama $7,300.00 2005 est.
68 Cyprus $7,135.00 NA
69 Colombia $7,100.00 2005 est.
70 Belize $6,800.00 2005 est.
71 Ukraine $6,800.00 2005 est.
72 Bosnia and Herzegovina $6,800.00 2005 est.
73 Dominican Republic $6,500.00 2005 est.
74 Venezuela $6,400.00 2005 est.
75 China $6,200.00 2005 est.
76 Peru $6,000.00 2005 est.
77 Turkmenistan $5,900.00 2005 est.
78 Gabon $5,800.00 2005 est.
79 Armenia $5,100.00 2005 est.
80 Lebanon $5,100.00 2005 est.
81 El Salvador $5,100.00 2005 est.
82 Philippines $5,100.00 2005 est.
83 Albania $4,900.00 2005 est.
84 Paraguay $4,900.00 2005 est.
85 Jordan $4,800.00 2005 est.
86 Azerbaijan $4,600.00 2005 est.
87 Egypt $4,400.00 2005 est.
88 Sri Lanka $4,300.00 2005 est.
89 Guatemala $4,300.00 2005 est.
90 Jamaica $4,300.00 2005 est.
91 Morocco $4,300.00 2005 est.
92 Ecuador $3,900.00 2005 est.
93 Guyana $3,900.00 2005 est.
94 Indonesia $3,700.00 2005 est.
95 Syria $3,500.00 2005 est.
96 Georgia $3,400.00 2005 est.
97 India $3,400.00 2005 est.
98 Iraq $3,400.00 2005 est.
99 Cuba $3,300.00 2005 est.
100 Lesotho $3,300.00 2005 est.
101 Vietnam $3,000.00 2005 est.
102 Honduras $2,900.00 2005 est.
103 Nicaragua $2,800.00 2005 est.
104 Bolivia $2,700.00 2005 est.
105 Serbia and Montenegro $2,600.00 2005 est.
106 Angola $2,500.00 2005 est.
107 Ghana $2,500.00 2005 est.
108 Pakistan $2,400.00 2005 est.
109 Papua New Guinea $2,400.00 2005 est.
110 Guinea $2,200.00 2005 est.
111 Mongolia $2,200.00 2005 est.
112 Bangladesh $2,100.00 2005 est.
113 Cambodia $2,100.00 2005 est.
114 Sudan $2,100.00 2005 est.
115 Moldova $2,100.00 2005 est.
116 Cameroon $2,000.00 2005 est.
117 Mauritania $2,000.00 2005 est.
118 Chad $1,900.00 2005 est.
119 Laos $1,900.00 2005 est.
120 Uzbekistan $1,900.00 2005 est.
121 Zimbabwe $1,900.00 2005 est.
122 Senegal $1,800.00 2005 est.
123 Korea, North $1,800.00 2005 est.
124 Kyrgyzstan $1,800.00 2005 est.
125 Uganda $1,700.00 2005 est.
126 Haiti $1,600.00 2005 est.
127 Togo $1,600.00 2005 est.
128 Nepal $1,500.00 2005 est.
129 Bhutan $1,400.00 2003 est.
130 Cote d'Ivoire $1,400.00 2005 est.
131 Rwanda $1,300.00 2005 est.
132 Mozambique $1,300.00 2005 est.
133 Benin $1,200.00 2005 est.
134 Central African Republic $1,200.00 2005 est.
135 Burkina Faso $1,200.00 2005 est.
136 Tajikistan $1,200.00 2005 est.
137 Kenya $1,200.00 2005 est.
138 Eritrea $1,000.00 2005 est.
139 Mali $1,000.00 2005 est.
140 Nigeria $1,000.00 2005 est.
141 Madagascar $900.00 2005 est.
142 Zambia $900.00 2005 est.
143 Niger $900.00 2005 est.
144 Afghanistan $800.00 2004 est.
145 Sierra Leone $800.00 2005 est.
146 Yemen $800.00 2005 est.
147 Guinea-Bissau $800.00 2005 est.
148 Congo, Democratic Republic of the $800.00 2005 est.
149 Ethiopia $800.00 2005 est.
150 Congo, Republic of the $800.00 2005 est.
151 Burundi $700.00 2005 est.
152 Tanzania $700.00 2005 est.
153 Liberia $700.00 2005 est.
154 Somalia $600.00 2005 est.
155 Malawi $600.00 2005 est.

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14th February, 2006. 12:28 pm. Ok ok...Its Valentine's..Here's a lovey work

I am he who sets his sights so high
And enjoys the journey no matter the result

I am healing and in healing may others be healed!
For with the love of God coursing through my veins
All things are possible.
I have stood in the doorway of a miracle
It is knocking on my door,
Entering my heart unexpected,
For love comes even in the midst of seclusion.

I am an aspiring monk,
My love for God is the guide
By which my quest is defined
The creator guiding my movement in this slice of eternity.

I picture our Earth
Mother nature being an angel
God's natural law at work in balance and harmony
As some of us disrupt and take all we can
I seek order and to give back what I have.

I have discovered a jewel
And will cherish it
For in cherishing is appreciation
And love is that which appreciates the unseen and unsaid.

I am a paradox
For as I love myself in honesty
I know another in closeness and truth.
And as I know another and our bond tightens
I care not for myself.

I am above all a spirit
My body is a temple
A walking prayer.
And I love a good walk.

I am not the words that I write
But they reflect an inner understanding.
I am not a conman in the night
Hoping to steal away love under cover of darkness.

I am not in love at what she gives to me
But rather what I can give to her
And what we can give together.
I love not because I need
Or depend or to comfort
But because I see a soul so completely,
That not to love it would be like death.

I am a poet,
But I do not throw around love.
I am a reader,
I read to learn from the mistakes of history
And to know how better to live.

I am a listener,
I listen without thinking of speech,
So I can hear what is said.

I argue too much.

I believe in Jesus Christ, fully and completely.
In believing my heart is opened to His truth and those of his brothers.
From Him all love is possible.

I wish the hungry to be fed
The poor to be working
The family to be woven
The loved to be loving
The loving to be loved
All life to be honored.
I wish the seed of divinity
That is planted in my heart
To grow unfettered by the cruelty
Of this material world.
I am he who loves you.

Make Notes

14th February, 2006. 12:24 pm. A Work of Mine!

I'm going to start posting my work on here..I don't have as much to say as far as commentary goes. Rest assured, when I do, I'll post. For now, I'll post as much writing as I can.

-Daryl

Considerations Of Distress

Darkness nears
And minds begin to wander
To all the places we put our pain

And the echo beckons
Against the padded wall
Where once we were sane

How I’ve missed those carefree times
When my thoughts were carefree rhymes
So tonight let’s have a drink
And stop and think
Of all the ways it just makes sense
All those mornings
On the fence

Pin the ribbon on my sleeve
Send me home with all the gold
It’s less than nothing
For only love can break the mould!

Make Notes

26th November, 2005. 9:07 am. Il fait neige!

how beautiful the snow does fleet
more graceful than the ice or sleet

it cares not for the needs of man
it cascades down throughout the land

it falls without regard or thought
it knows not that what moves is hot

it shows itself and covers all
the holy and the sinner tall
dress us all in gowns of white
no matter if we deserve the sight

marriage of the earth and heaven
the snow is yes the angels song
notice how the souls engage
nothing now exists thats wrong.

snow on my love
for there is no storm
snow on oh Lord
till hearts are warm

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25th November, 2005. 6:08 pm. Woah

Woah.

What is this that STIRS? I've written about ten pages of pretty worthless material tonight. I didn't even attempt to keep up a pretense of form.

To move from internal calm to love is to open yourself up to something that you reserved only for yourself. I only ever really loved myself. Who else was worthy?? Well, plenty are. EVERYONE is, but I am incapable of loving everyone the way that I want to.

One love? Tis but a dream. It takes everyone to love the one for it to exist at all.

When I try, when I give myself to it, I am drained. I cannot love and be happy. This is my experience right now, anyways. There's a song called "To Be Alone With You" by (you guessed it) Bob Dylan. Great song.

I suppose the way to do it is to love completely and openly with every ounce of your being while NOT losing the ability to look within. I lost because I slept. I awaken and come to some realization, some truth, and the reason for it seems gone. But it's not, really.

God this is ramble. Terrible. WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MIND?

JESUS!

The Christ!

So what?

Guide me internally. That's what I want OH LORD. But its not about what I want is it? Never has been. Its been about what I need. To grow!

Ultimately, we grow alone. It is our purpose. To become the better, the higher and more absolute vision of ourselves.

I want to see the situation as God sees it. I see her as God does. Why not myself? I see her as God does. Why can't I detach?

Mock on, mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau;
Mock on, mock on; 'tis all in vain!
You throw the sand against the wind,
And the wind blows it back again.
And every sand becomes a gem
Reflected in the beams divine;
Blown back they blind the mocking eye,
But still in Israel's paths they shine.

The Atoms of Democritus
And Newton's Particles of Light
Are sands upon the Red Sea shore,
Where Israel's tents do shine so bright.

Current mood: awake.
Current music: James Blunt - Goodbye My Lover.

Make Notes

22nd November, 2005. 2:28 pm. No fucking subject!

indoctrination

why are we in school?

To what end does university deliver us?

What should be our pursuit? What is the priority?

Humanities, what is the good in them?

All education now is merely a vessel to the corporate structure.

The essential question, WHY has been erased from the collective mind. What AM I DOING?

so is there a barrier to ultimate knowledge and therefore I must dance away my troubles?

or am I just not trying hard enough?

or does it come in time?

Maybe dancing is a route to undoing indoctrination. And by dancing I mean smiling.

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