Another Shove Towards Utopia

Morning Thoughts #61

Politicians, ideologies, and religious doctrines, etc., can only deliver complete peace on a societal level. Outward calm doesn’t inherently trickle down to each individual soul. We all have warring factions that exist within us, which will continue to exist regardless of the political or religious system that surrounds us. And any lasting peace you have achieved in your inner life has almost certainly been brokered by yourself.

Implicit in totalizing political systems that promise total peace is a willingness to fight all possible wars to achieve that goal. The preachers of utopias to come always overpromise happiness. When unrealistic guarantees are made, unthinkable means to achieve them begin to be considered out of desperation. Anything is done to maintain the appearance of keeping their word, even if it means burning a lot of books. There are entire ideologies committed to forcefully cramming human nature into boxes it will never fit into. Moreover, never willing to admit the imperfections in their doctrines, the true believer always knows that progress is possible. So, what has not worked for them yet must simply need to be imposed with a little more force or funding. (Did anyone else just feel another shove too? I'll check my newsfeed.)

Tomorrow's tyrants tell you today how the world can soon be made perfect. It's nothing more than an advertising campaign (or in a functioning democracy, perhaps a vote-getting campaign). Selling yourself impossible dreams eventually leads to selling yourself short. Engage with the world directly, and know that you will never be eternally satisfied because satisfaction is always relative. Only fools set their peaks in the thinnest of air and refuse to even pause to take a few deep breaths on their supposed way there.