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Cranky Swamp Yankee

Life & Events > The Universe and Capitalization
 

The Universe and Capitalization

I was thinking about e.e. cummings all day today, and I really think the man had it right. There is no place in the natural universe for capitalization.
We are all the same. We are all equal.
Not just human beings or black or white or Polish or Irish or gay or straight or right or left or men or women. The universal "us" is everything in creation. We are all made out of the same stuff. We are all on the same plane.
All of us.
Modern science tells us that, because of the nature of The Big Bang, we are stardust, and we are the same as the trees and the sun. The same as the dirt and apples and cockroaches and meteors and stars and oceans. The same as horse shit and roses and mosquitoes and elephants and fish and grass and cotton and barley and wind. We are all the same stuff, nothing different at all.
That should give us a comfort, I would think, knowing that we are all the same.
No hierarchy.
No underlings.
No lords.
The natural universe holds us all in the same esteem. We are all lower case, which is not to say that we are all mundane or unremarkable.
Just the opposite is true; we are all amazing and plain at the same time. Individual and joined. Flawed and perfect. Eternal and finite. Unique and staggeringly indistinguishable from each other.
In fact, there is no "other". There just is.
Capitalization is a human creation that artificially raises certain things above others. It is an arrogance, a hubris, a form of ranking in which the ones who created the system come out on the top of the food chain.
It is a divider that segregates the "haves" from the "have nots".
It is a judgement.
It is also untrue and unrealistic.
There are no capital "i's" in the real world.There is only us.
All of us.
The complete ALL of us.

And now, I'm going to bed.
My head hurts.

posted on June 10, 2014 5:53 AM ()

Comments:

OK, Captain Hippy. I keep my mouth shut about a whole lotta the stuff you say . The gun laws, the oil companies, the government, health care, yadda yadda yadda. But come on now. Equal? We are NOT all equal. A common mistake is the idea that equal RIGHTS are the same thing as being EQUAL. Those are two totally different concepts that sit in different stadiums in different states on different planets. I may have the same rights as Jerry Jim Bobarino sitting across the aisle from me at work, but he sure as Hell isn't my equal. If I am smarter than someone, become more successful, and want to enjoy life more, then I certainly can without feeling guilty for the guy that can't. Capitalization is NOT a human creation. It's a NATURAL creation that started with natural selection. That's in that same Cosmos episode where they talk about the 'we're all made up of star stuff,' rule. The stronger, smarter, faster animals and hunters survived longer and lived better than the weaker, dumber and slower ones. We may have evolved past the point of purely physical prowess being a scientific notation of how successful we are, but the people that are smarter sure have a better chance to make something of themselves than the people that are dumber. And they should be allowed to. Without guilt. They should be allowed to CAPITALIZE on the fact that they have that intelligence. That they know how to get a good job, make money, buy a bigger house, and drive a nicer car.

This obsession we have lately with equality is one helluva excuse for the unsuccessful to be able to penalize or look down on the successful because they are TOO GOOD AT SOMETHING. Give me a freaking break. Why should I take my foot off the gas when I'm winning the race? And make no mistake, this life is a GD race. Not to see who gets the most stuff, but a race to retirement. A race to the magic number, whatever it might be for whoever you are. I know what it is for me. The number that pays for the kids college, and sets up me and my wife for our expected life span on a yearly salary that resembles what I make right now.

Capitalizing on our strengths, in particular the unique ones, is the RESPONSIBILITY of each and every person on this Earth. Instead, we have 99% of people just whining about their own weaknesses, complaining they don't have the strengths that others do.

I wasn't born with a great singing voice, so if I wanted to be a rock star I'd have to learn to play the guitar.

I don't run really fast, so if I wanted to be a sports hero it would need to be in a sport that moved pretty slow.

Capitalize on your strengths while trying to improve your weaknesses. Don't fall behind this 'we are all exactly the same and equal so no one should be above anyone else in any respect ever ever BS.'
comment by oombutu on June 13, 2014 8:16 AM ()
I think you missed the point, Chris. No. Physically and mentally and physcologically, we most assuredly are not all the same, (I mean, hell! You're 6'8" and I'm 5'10"!), and we do our children a HUGE disservice when we give them ALL participation awards and have baseball games in which we don't allow them to keep score. Part of being human is owning up to our inadequacies and facing our failures without having those experiences become devastating.
The point of the post is that we are, in fact, all equal when it comes to the most important thing in ife, and that is the right to be treated with dignity. Just because i don't measure up to your expectations doesn't make me inferior. The post says that we ARE different, and, just because I am not the same as you, that doesn't make me less important than you or less right than you. Our stature and status is equal.
And not only are all humans equal in our importance to the universe, but we humans are no more equal or unequal than ANYTHING ELSE in the Universe.
"Captain Hippy"... I like that.
reply by hayduke on June 13, 2014 8:35 AM ()
Kristy, When donkeys fly. (Although my new wife is working on it!)
comment by hayduke on June 11, 2014 3:56 AM ()
Tee hee. Go wifey go!!!!
reply by kristilyn3 on June 12, 2014 8:56 AM ()
Teal, It's AMAZING what a good night's sleep can do!
comment by hayduke on June 11, 2014 3:37 AM ()
I like it. Does this mean you are gonna go vegetarian?
comment by kristilyn3 on June 11, 2014 2:10 AM ()
When donkeys fly! (Although my new wife is working hard on it!)
reply by hayduke on June 11, 2014 3:57 AM ()
It may take a long time, but everything will eventually again be stardust ready to create the next universe.
comment by jjoohhnn on June 10, 2014 7:43 PM ()
comment by jondude on June 10, 2014 1:32 PM ()
Okay, feel better already.
comment by tealstar on June 10, 2014 12:45 PM ()

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