We are living in the age of escapism. Harsh truths and brutal realities are ignored and thrown aside in exchange for comfort and sweet dreams. Video games, television, novels, and other luxuries are used as gateways to worlds far nicer and more fantastic than ones own. Whats the point of living if not to live for being higher than oneself? Always try to exceed your limits. Try harder. Go faster. Fly higher. Laziness is sinful and a sign of decadence and decadence is a sign of living a wasted life. For example, take achievements in video games. Certainly, there are achievements for doing something exceedingly hard, like beating a certain boss on a certain difficulty, but more often than not, there are achievements merely for doing something simple, like defeating an enemy for the first time or even starting the game up. This is a bad thing. It gives to the player a reward without ever making the player do something to earn it. Half the fun of learning is figuring shit out. What would be the point in knowing that Hannibal invaded Rome, if not for understanding that his quest was for the sake of vengeance? A man can draw inspiration from Hannibals noble quest, not from merely knowing that he rode into Italy astride an elephant. Its nice to know the what, but without knowing the how or why, then can you really claim to know the what? Moe anime, often within the context of the slice-of-life genre, is another example of escapism. An ideal world full of ideal characters who will always be there for one. Wouldnt that be nice to live in? Certainly. But that kind of world doesnt exist nor ever shall. Nor should it. Much for the same reason as to why dating sims present an idealized, false, and mostly unhealthy view of women, slice-of-life at this point only serves to give the viewer an escape from the dredges of daily life. But why escape? Why not do something to make it better? Ill be the first to admit that I wish I got paid better. I work full-time at my job and only make $600 a month. I end up losing $500 of this on various expenses, like gas, food, or even expensive dates that never go anywhere. I also go to school as often as I am able, despite hating the education system and most of my peers. I live at home with a family that is more abusive than not, live in a town full of potheads with nothing better to do, and try my best to learn a language that will not benefit me at all. Why do I do it then? Because I want to go higher than this. Ask not the lion for the sheeps share. The lion deserves a lions share. The lion is king of the jungle because he earned his place at the top. Need it be said that the life of a lion is short, desperate, and full of strife? Much in the way the Anglo-Saxons conceived of life as being a chaotic struggle, I too would think that that is how life should be lived. Fighting to the bitter end, reaching for the top, never showing my back to the enemy. That is how the lion lives. That is how the lion earns its right to roar. By struggling and surviving, always attempting to find its way to the top. Strength begets strength. Weakness gives birth to further weakness. Let it never be said that I am a cowardly or false-tongued man. I am a strong man living in an age of weakness. One day I shall rise to my place at the top. And I will have deserved it, having fought every step of the way for it.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 07:08:01 +0000
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