I had an interesting exchange recently. It was at an "End of the World" party and liquor flowed freely. And as alcohol is wont to do, tongues were loosened and lo and behold, philosophers were created out of whole cloth!
The exchange I refer to was with a friend who claimed that his reality was a product solely of his mind. A similar remark by philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer caused his German contemporaries to ask, "And what does your wife think about that?"
I never got the chance to spring that witticism on him nor to further explore his claim. The table was laid and dinner took precedence over repartee.However the idea that all reality was a product of our minds intrigued me.
Of the philosophers I have read, most will argue that we create our own reality; tempered and molded by past experiences and current attitudes.
But Joe's (not his real name) claim was that he created the world around him including me and the people at the party! That's pretty heady stuff, heh? So fascinated was I with this concept that I have spent hours searching the ancient and modern philosophers to find any that have explored this theme.
During my younger days I studied Zen Buddhism and find that to be the closest metaphysical system to Joe's ideas. Now perhaps Joe was pulling my leg or making an end-of-the-world joke, but there is a state that approaches reality creation. Insanity! The insane person creates their own world and to them it is as concrete and real as yours and mine. While in that state they can stick their hands in fire and believe it is ice water. The sun seems to be the moon and day is night. They have truly abandoned our reality and now occupy one of their own creation.
Now I can hear you saying, "Why the hell is he going on about this stuff?" My usual topic is politics and not this psychobabble bloviation. Well there is a reason for this madness. It seems that the current and past administrations have been practicing Joe's ideas for some time. Here are a few examples of their creativity:
1) The government spends trillions of dollars because that is the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt.
2) The Supreme Court has ruled that the lower courts cannot display the 10 Commandments while they sit beneath a 10 Commandments plaque.
3) Hard work and success is rewarded with higher taxes and government obstruction while slothful, lazy behavior is rewarded with EBT cards, WIC checks, Medicaid, subsidized housing, and free cell phones.
4) You faithfully pay your mortgage, denying yourself nights out and other goodies; while your neighbor defaults (while buying iPhones, TVs, and new cars). The government forgives his debt and reduces his mortgage (with your tax dollars).
5) How about a minor needing parental permission for a field trip but not for an abortion.
6) Ah yes - using the "N" word is hate speech but singing about raping hos (that's gangsta for women) and killing cops is "art."
How about some Arizona reality bending? On June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Arizona law that directs police to check the immigrant status of criminals. Less than three hours later Obama issues an executive order blocking Arizona's access to the federal database; effectively disabling Arizona law.
But wait, there's more! Within the hour, Obama's Justice Department announced a toll-free hotline to report "instances of racial profiling." So we have a Justice Dept. that will not investigate Black Panthers intimidating Philadelphia voters but uses tax dollars to sue Arizona for enforcing their borders.
There are opposing camps in Washington. One wants to print more fiat dollars, spend trillions more, and raise taxes while destroying jobs. It also demands spending deficits of $1.6 trillion in 2013. The regulations passed that will affect American business will amount to a hidden tax of up to $20,000 per family, now couple that with the Obamacare taxes I examined last week and our nation seems to be in a death spiral. There is a multitude of ways to describe what is happening in Washington; but the editor has asked me to be less vitriolic and I acquiesced. Therefore you make the call.
Larry Tradlener lives down McElmo Canyon.