Haunted Society A.K.A. The Return of the Prodigial Blogger

Alas, here I sit at work, it is 0200 Hrs and I find myself bereft of any and all work. I've actually been at a lack of labor since I arrived at 2100 Hrs. but I was in the midst of a fascinating literary work which derived me of any knowledge of having nothing to do. I suppose many people would love the concept of doing nothing for ten dollars an hour, well, 15 dollars an hour right now, I'm in overtime, but honestly time drags so much slower when you have naught but the flicker of a moniter and the far-off keyboard tapping of your sole other co-worker to keep you company. I am Michael; this is my latest blog, perhaps it will be my opus magnum, or just a long-winded pile of forgotten hubris, it's often just a roll of the dice.

     My literary distraction for the night was "Haunted" by Chuck Palahniuk (Puh-Lah-Nee-Uck) who is better known for the novel "Fight Club" which has since been immortilized in celluloid (not cellulite). I can not, of course, advertise, nor suggest said book to anyone I know due to objectionable content; however, I did enjoy it with much gusto and devoured the bloody, gore drenched 408 pages gladly, and will happily regurgitate the philosophy along with many a two-pency back at anyone willing to listen.

     The point: We like black and white villians and heroes. We want to know where the boundries are, and if those boundries do not exist we will create them. Demonization of whomever is handy, a political figure, a preacher, a parent, a spouse, any way to make us the victim of the injustices of life, not to become the villian ourselves. When you become the victim you recieve the reward everyone truly seeks: Lack of responsability, who could blame you for that action? You're just a victim, it's the devil that made you do it. A life of ease, the victim is held with low expectations and low standards, it's the life we run to, the life of absolute simplicity. So consequently, one may start becoming a self-inflicted martyr, making themselves open to abuse, or finding circumstances to make them the victim, inflicting fear and loathing on their own minds, their own souls, yearning for the freedom of victimization.

     Think about it, no one wants to be outdone if anyone is griping, if someone complains about their day at work, we want to outcomplain them about OUR wretched day. I observe this when people voluntarily take on overtime at work and suddenly it becomes a brag-fest about who is going to be working more grueling days, trying to illicit more sympathy from those around, but who pities someone making 15 dollars and hour? Sometimes 27 dollars an hour on certain days? However, somehow voluntarily taking on an opportunity to gain extra money becomes something to gripe about, how? victimization.

     I do it, you do it, we do it, everyone does it. It's not even necesarrely bad, just when it comes to extremes. The boys and girls who starve themselves, sometimes not for image, but to become a victim to society and the pressure set upon them. For the sudden influx of attention, for sympathy, suddenly there is no more responsibility. There's the people who don't sleep for days simply to see when they'll drop, people that try and overdose on caffeine pills hoping it will make them pass out at work, somone that makes sure they make all the wrong friends, someone that picks fights, haven't you ever seen that one skinny kid who just needles at the 'jocks' simply to say they are so senslessly cruel, the scenesters talking about how they are alienated but refuse to speak to anyone outside of their scene, minority members that are so 'opressed by prejudice' they will exploit their heritage to get whatever they want not realizing the shame and degredation of this act, not realizing the rift growing larger every day, perhaps even the young man that willingly takes on a graveyard shift yet complains about the boredom and eventually the fatigue, everyone that conveniently has opted out of any burden set upon them from the world simply by playing the victim card. Who are they a victim of? Themselves.

     What would happen if we took on responsability? Stopped sueing everyone for dirty looks, stopped complaining about the sad state of affairs without at least admiting you are every much as bit of the problem as any child molester, rapist, nun, Amish, serial killer, fat kid, yuppie, guppie, homosexual, acrobat, mime, blue collar, yokel, jew, or gentile. We all have excuses, despite that small kernel of knowledge that just knows we are to blame, the self-infliction continues, and the lie is perpetuated in our minds, it becomes habit to be spotless, sin free, and blameless, and the lie grows ever onward into our mind, consuming everything like cancer until all that is left is simply layer after layer of excuses and escapes.

     We pass off out sins, there is no need to think about commited sins that aren't our fault, and I'm not speaking on primarily religious grounds on that matter, but one rather weighty topic involving spirituality in this matter is indeed the passing off of sins to Christ. There is an idea which is abominably tenacious that perpetuates the church, the idea of passing off sins to Christ without ever taking on the responsability, without ever admitting we honestly were to blame. Was it Satan? The media? The world? Your parents? Your friends? That vile temptress? Perhaps we'll say it was us, or think it was us, maybe even believe it was us, but is there any responsability? Any action taken? Repentance is the admitting of whom is truly responsable, whom is truly to blame, obliterating any idea of someone else causing you to do what you did because when it all comes down to it you had a choice, or the illusion of choice, whichever side of the pre-destination fence you are on, and ultimatly take any and all blame for that which is your very own, your own fault, your own bad, you are not a victim of the world or the media, simply a victim to yourself and the sooner we accept this the sooner self-defeating cycles will end, the sooner recovery will become possible.

     I am guilty, I am horribly guilty of doing this, of creating worlds around me, of conveniently changing reality to fit my own pathos, to create a pathos, to expound on pathos. For this I apologize. I am also horribly guilty of everything above and more in the vein of spirituality, but my hypocricy is a topic entirely different and suited for an entirely different day.

     And for those of you unfamiliar with the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" television series had best go make yourselves familiar with it post haste, watch for the stories, stay for the wraparound wit.