All right. It's been over two weeks since I've posted, I've got 2 days clean and sober (no, I'm not an alcoholic or anything, I just wanted something snarky to start off this new post with), and I've got something to say for once, or twice. Maybe three times. Regardless! On with the show.
How do we judge normalcy? I mean, really. What is considered natural human behavior? We all have our objective morals, our personal standards we hold against people, but are those enforceable on a complete scale? I'm not saying abandon your individuality and become one of the sheeple that wreak havoc on society by doing nothing. Maintain your personal morals! But as per usual, this is a tangent for a different day.
Today, I beg the question: "What is normal?" More than likely, you've been told by someone or even told someone yourself "You're weird." But what is weird? Maybe it has to be defined in parts... Please note, I'm relying on the American ideals of normalcy. Not to say that we're better than anyone else, just this is my frame of reference. I'm not a Zulu warrior nor an Eskimo slave.*
Is normalcy the altruistic behavior we've come to accept as societal obligation? Someone once outlined this to me in a very interesting way. Think of a sweat shop. Think of the suffering men, women, and children in there. Think of how hard they work day in and day out for pennies on the dollar. Sure makes you wanna run out to UNICEF, huh? But, corruption in charity aside, who's to say that the money you're donating is going to help those people. Now I know there are those of you out there who are going to tell me that the money you give raises their quality of life and things like that, but I say to them, "What if you stop donating?" Will someone else pick up the slack? What about the person who was receiving your help? What if the person/group you're helping becomes dependent on what you're giving them? What if they need the money to continue their newly found lifestyle? Have you done good for them by creating this dependence? If that's the case, certainly you're idea of normalcy, in the form of altruistic behavior has failed in its goodness, has it not? Never looked at it that way, did you? It's surprising how good intentions can pave the way to hell, isn't it? Now, I'm not saying don't give to charity, not at all. Give if you will, but I say to you this. Don't give because it's expected of you. Give out of the goodness of your heart that you might help someone. And this is only the first facet of the multi-sided conundrum we call normality.
The next brick in this pyramid of the damned is public relations and societal actions. Not just the shit you do behind closed doors. For all I care, you can play pin the tail on the donkey naked with a midget riding a unicycle. I'm talking how we're supposed to act in public. What is deemed appropriate by people. What is considered "proper"? Why not form your own cultural norms? For instance, tailgating someone in upstate New York is considered to be impolite, however, doing the same thing in New York City is considered to be perfectly normal. Why not try this? Stop judging my ideas of normalcy, and I won't criticize the potential illogical basis of yours. I'll do what I want, how I want, and in such a manner that I deem it right.
A final screw in the bridge that everyone jumps off is greed. Everyone seems to claim that greed is a central part of human nature. We're greedy by nature. If someone steals from another man, it's just because he's greedy by nature. Well I've got one word that shoots this theory to shit. Altruism. Yes, altruism. For those of you playing the home game, altruism is the action of sacrificing oneself for another. You see it in squirrels a lot. One squirrel will sacrifice himself or herself to an eagle to save the squirrel colony. Why do people feel the need to act in such a manner to help others, when apparently we're greedy by nature? Who the hell knows? That's what I say.
People always say that the picture of human nature is beautiful and unable to be understood. A beautiful picture indeed. Yet we've bastardized it with so many judgmental changes and forced interactions, it's something completely different.
A beautiful picture indeed. So, in theory, if you smash that all together, and wipe off the blood, there's a picture there. A picture of human normalcy. Looks like someone puked on the Mona Lisa to me.
*For the record, I'm not saying Eskimos believe in slavery. I'm merely remarking at the possibility that they did or do, or what have you. I'm just saying, if they do/did, I'm not one.
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