As I've continued to age, something that's become apparent to me is that conservatism isn't just a byproduct of being raised badly and having a lot of money and being white. It's also a byproduct of age. As we get older, we mourn our youth and alleged 'simpler time' in which we still had some shred of innocence.
I'm not saying that when you turn 35, you run to the nearest Klan rally.
No, what I mean is that as we age, a resistance to new concepts and new ideas begins to build up. I see it in everything from musical tastes to wed development paradigms to equal rights. While a certain amount of pragmatism has certainly settled in for me as I get older, I also find that I have to push myself a bit to resist slipping into 'x was better when I was younger' kinda thinking.
Nostalgia is a disease, and it's one I fight constantly. Nostalgia mutes any joy you might feel today, as you yearn for a past that is being viewed through blindingly rose-tinted glasses. I do this all the time, with the early 90s. I remember it as being a perfect time. Grunge rock, flannel, Star Trek, the Clinton election, T2, and on and on. When I look back, I see safety and a personal awakening.
If I really think, though, it wasn't perfect. I was in my teens, and everything was fucked up. Hell no, it wasn't perfect.
On top of that, now is great. Now is a better time than ever. A lot of that cool shit on Star Trek: The Next Generation that we wanted? We actually have better devices now. Who needs a PADD when you have a Surface or an iPad? Communicators and tricorders? We basically have all that rolled into a phone, which also has all the functionality of a PADD? Oh, and you can talk to it.
Beyond that, civil rights has come a long way (yes, it still has a ways to go) and we understand a lot more about the world around us.
Conservatism, in general, seems to invite a mode of thinking that states 'things stopped being good after x date.' There is something attractive about that, I'll admit. It invites one to stop facing the future, to only look backward, and not have to deal with what's right in front of them. It reminds me of my three-year old, when he's pissed that we're pissed at him. He just locks into a refusal to acknowledge the truth of the matter, that he threw a toy at someone after being told not to, and just screams and employs every avoidance tactic there is. There is no going back. There is only now. And why not just enjoy it?
Something I figured out, as I got older, was that deciding that I wasn't going to have a good time no matter what is a stupid way of thinking. I still see people do it all the time, when they don't get their way, or they are forced to compromise, and I still fight the tendency in myself, but my way of thinking is 'is it better to be happy or pissed?' I just find my fun.
Now, let's extend to this further, to the resistance of technology and science. I don't care whether someone is in fear of an angry invisible sky monster, or they just tell themselves that they're too old and give up on improving themselves, but rejecting technology and science is counterproductive, and ultimately, harmful. I roll my eyes at notions that there are things with which we shouldn't meddle. Yes, ethics is important, but not pursuing a particular branch of research because some angry monster to whom someone pays tribute once a week might ... what ... not like it? That's crazy. Any being worth worshipping should value life and the quality of it. Beyond that, evidence of the angry sky monster is anecdotal at best and utter conjecture.
Technology and science are the most important ideas in the world. If we pour energy into them, we can repair mistakes of the past and propel the species forward. We can unite, as a planet, and finally begin to realize our potential. We can elevate our thinking past outdated concepts like nationalism, and begin to think about the human species. We're in this together, no matter how much we might want to impose man-made borders and means by which to sort us. We are all human. We are all on this planet together, and we all impact each other. Science doesn't care what your nationality, ethnicity, sex, or anything is.
Let's let go of the past, let's let go of made-up ancient ideas, and let's have fun and learn together.
OK, this way got more preachy than I intended. You get the idea, though. The more election season beats me down, the more I wanna shake people and snap them out of it. It's all man-made nonsense. If we're obliterated by an asteroid tomorrow, no one's going to give a fuck about Hillary's email or the thirty more primitive utterances by Trump that came out today. That's all hyperbole and marketing. Get it the fuck out. Focus on what's real, what we can control. Let's carry the species forward, and stop getting so caught up in mad-made trivialities.
-Blaine
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