That’s right bitches. I have a flippin manifesto. Here it is:
Abstract.
It’s difficult being an agnostic; Not having anything to believe in, admitting to the world that you have no idea what happens to you when you die. Agnosticism to me means that there is no proven explanation for the way things are, the way we are, the way the world and universe are. Science tries it’s best to answer these questions, but it seems to be like an exponential curve, always approaching the answer, but never reaching it. It’s all the more difficult to exist as an agnostic when all around there is nothing but chaos and man’s feeble attempt to introduce order and completely fail to enforce justice. The martial arts would encourage you to ride the waves of chaos and use it’s momentum to your advantage. My proposition is for a new approach to leadership, the kind of people who should be allowed to make decisions that affect us all, and a new, more realistic description of fairness. Nationally and internationally.
Introduction.
A wise person once said something along the lines of: “Simple people discuss people. Smarter people discuss events. The wisest people discuss ideas.” Or something similar. Einstein once said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
[End of random quotes to form an introduction section. Begin random musings about the way stuff should be sections.]
Infinity.
Infinity is a concept that we all struggle with. I once had an argument with my maths teacher, who was trying to tell me that conceptually in certain functions, “a very big number” in this case to the order of a few million, was “close” to infinity. I’m sure his argument made sense in some respect in the context, but my brain refused to accept his argument that anything could be close to infinity, by definition.
This is where the study of art, ancient history and religion comes into its own. Accepting your own dissatisfaction with any prior explanation for the universe opens a freedom to investigate and take on board what you believe to be most correct or positive from all other explanations. Studying the martial arts, yoga, expressing one’s self through all forms of exercise and art, writing, music, drawing, whatever are all ways of finding freedom from the given explanations for things. Then you can start to collate your own explanations, which are more valuable than anything anyone else could ever tell you. The important thing to remember is that no matter how certain you are about something, you could still be proven wrong. You will never know everything and should always accept that someone else’s point of view might be more valid in a given situation than your own. It’s a never ending journey of discovery. If it ended, then what would be the point?
Right and Wrong.
Hopefully the difference between right and wrong is mostly obvious, but there is sometimes a fine line or a grey area. What do you do under such circumstances? Some Christians would simply have you ask yourself: “What would Jesus do?” (I prefer “What would Bruce Lee do?”). But how can you yourself know what Jesus might have done based on texts retelling a two thousand year old history through many hundreds of iterations of translations and Chinese whispers, cover ups and conspiracies? There is very little doubt that Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Mohammed etc. did exist and were highly influential characters, even “prophets” if you like. But were they actual gods, or messengers or the son of a god through some immaculate conception? Being agnostic, I would never say “no they were not”. But I can say I find it far fetched based on my own experiences and what science can tell me. To some this may demonstrate a complete lack of faith. But to others, it will show a complete belief in the only faith that is true. It is a complete lack of faith in what one has been told to believe without just cause. But it is also a complete faith in the belief that no one has yet provided a satisfactory answer, and that the answer might be out there just waiting to be discovered.
The Big Questions.
Who am I? Why do I live? What is life? What is the universe? What created the world, Sun, solar system, galaxy, clusters, and the universe? What are the concepts of right and wrong? What is light? What is gravity? Can anything time travel? Are humans special? Is there a god or other supreme being? Was there a big bang? If so, what happened before the big bang? Is it right that I should work like a slave to pay for people who are too lazy to work’ cigarette, alcohol and narcotic habits, whilst they watch Jeremy Kyle and Trisha on a TV that they have either stolen or I have also paid for?
The Answers.
I’m sure many of us have answers to some of these questions, depending on what we hold true. The question we should be asking ourselves are why we believe what we believe, and is it a blind faith or a faith in something solid, observable, testable. There is nothing at all wrong with believing in something that cannot be proven, or even believing whatever you wish to believe if it helps you get through the day. As long as you don’t believe that a woman that has been raped and fallen pregnant should be stoned to death. That’s a bit silly. But I think most agnostics wish for something more. I think most agnostics such as myself long to believe in something, or have the answers to the big questions. But nothing, not even science as it stands can provide the answers.
The Candidates.
I think that each of the list below has something to bring to the table. Each one has it’s own explanation for the way things are, some of them sharing explanations. And each one has it’s own set of values for right and wrong, with a reason for following those values and possible repercussions if you get it wrong. They all range from the obvious to the vague; the reasonable to the absurd. Any rational human being can identify the difference. In no particular order:
Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Rastafari movement, Buddhism, Scientology, Science, Maori, Australian Aboriginal (various tribes), Native American (VT), African folklore (VT), Gaelic, Celtic, Druid, Pagan, Other, etc.
There is a strong argument for maintaining religious education for the youth in order to instil proper values, and also to make sure that part of history is not forgotten. However, what strikes me personally about some of the major religious movements is how badly they contradict themselves. They resort to deceit, violence, torture and murder when their message is supposed to be of love and peace. They force or encourage others to join their ranks when they should be respecting one another’s beliefs. I stress again the point here that they all have values, some of which are easily classified as “right” or “wrong”. We should draw upon them and take the right, leave the wrong and discuss the grey areas. Then this message and these teachings should be passed on to our children.
The Goal.
It is my opinion that none of the major religions has it right. I put forward that if anything ever had it right, it is more likely to be one of the more ancient mythologies based on ideologies such as “take only what you need, nothing more”. Or “there is good and bad everywhere in the world and in all of us”. Accepting statements such as this enable us to act in a more informed manner when we find ourselves in certain situations. They also enable us to live overall more positive lives.
The old goal: Years ago, my ultimate goal (read personal ideal for the world, rather than personal achievement goal. I wouldn’t be so bold) may have been to see the world go back to an older and better time, before banks, governments, mass religious movements etc. I envisioned a time where people grew, scavenged or hunted their own food for themselves and their families. However, upon further reflection, I have absolutely no personal idea what living in a time like that would be like. There may have been widespread rape and pillage. No hospitals, no healthcare, no internet etc. Buddhism teaches us that the simple life is best, and in many ways I agree. How much happier would everyone be if there was no temptation or coveting of other people’s “stuff”? Computers, iPhones, cars, clothes, whatever. This ideal would come with obvious drawbacks, touched on a moment ago, but debating it’s practicalities is futile because short of nuclear holocaust, nothing is going to enable us as a race to go back to living lives like that. We can as individuals give it all up if we choose to do so, but the rest of the world will continue to live their consumerist lifestyles and negatively influence nature, which in turn negatively affects everyone.
The new goal: So if the previous ideal is now considered impractical or even undesirable in some ways, the obvious question is what is the new ideal? Given the benefits that technology has brought us, it should probably be allowed to stay as long as it can be made clean. By clean I mean the resources required to continue it’s operation and development should not be allowed to negatively affect nature. I appreciate it’s easy to make such bold sweeping statements, but they need to be taken seriously. I foresee a global network based loosely on our existing internet and further advances in remote communication technologies to allow the individual human to connect with every other, and draw upon a wealth of knowledge, news and wisdom using their thoughts alone. A globally connected “brain” if you will, where each neuron is itself an entire brain. Obviously, privacy should still be paramount and invasion or interrogation of thoughts would be disallowed inherently within the technology. The aim of such a network would be to enhance human understanding of humanity and our place in the world and universe. The possibilities are endless.
We’ve become so dependant on our ease of transportation and access to energy. Likewise this needs to be cleaner. Real effort needs to be put into clean and renewable energy sources. The planet is becoming more and more densely populated with humans (another issue that needs addressing), and our effect on the world is too detrimental now to ignore any longer.
Furthermore, we should be encouraged to participate in expressing creative freedom in any form. The act of producing art of any kind is essential to personal development, relaxation and sanity. No one should be allowed to be just a worker drone, unless work itself is their art form. Exercise, relaxation, meditation, self expression are required for the furthering of ourselves as individuals and as a race.
A clear distinction between “poverty” and “freedom” needs to be defined. To quote various other authors, the things that you own, end up owning you. If someone chooses not to own “stuff” or work all the hours they have to afford petty luxuries, then they are not poverty stricken. They are free. They have a choice to not own such items if striving to own them makes them unhappy. Likewise, they should not receive any free handouts from their peers if they have not contributed themselves, unless they are patently unable to contribute. This may sound alarmingly similar to existing systems in some western societies that are open to abuse by the inherently lazy and selfish. Procedures must be in place to prevent such individuals from abusing a system that has been designed to help those who genuinely cannot help themselves.
Short of describing an entire list of government style policies that can be abused and poorly implemented, I’ll highlight that these are just ideals. The implementation is where such ideas fall down, so the implementation is what takes the most consideration. This begs the question, who does the implementing?
The idea here is that once we are all more in tune with ourselves and each other and the universe, it will be easier to make decisions that can ensure everyone is happy. The reason for unhappiness, almost without exception, is the want of things that we cannot have. One way of negating this is to give up all material things. This is how Buddhists achieve enlightenment. Realising what is actually important in life is a direct result of what I will call enlightenment. And to achieve this we should all practice the ideals outlined here.
Ideals.
Love. Peace. Respect. Compassion. Happiness. Pleasure. Freedom. Knowledge. Understanding. Development. For all.
People.
People are needed to achieve our future goals. However, the people who have the power in most societies at present do not display many if any of the qualities required to take us in the right direction. They seem to be mostly if not entirely out for themselves and furthering their own careers towards a position of power. Making decisions that affect us all is just something good to put on their CV to that end. They are, in essence, lost. They are generally intelligent and highly educated, and in fairness often try to make the right decisions, but if their intentions are not pure from the start, they are bound to make bad decisions. One way to begin the move to a greater, global future would be to encourage as many of these leaders as possible to engage in some of the practices that will help them to open their minds to a wider universe. A leader has to feel truly connected to the human race. They should feel the suffering of the most unfortunate (as stated before, not necessarily “poor”). They should experience at first hand the massive divide between rich and poor and what that actually means to the individual.
At the risk of sounding extreme, I would suggest that maybe a recommended working holiday schedule for true leaders would be a rotation of:
- An Australian Native style “walkabout” in the wilderness, free of commercial life and pressures. This doesn’t have to be in Australia, it could be the Yorkshire Dales or Peak District, or any other area of natural wilderness in their world region. They should hunt or gather all their own food, shelter and clothes.
- A period of living rough on the street as a homeless person does. Probably best if they’re in disguise to avoid attack or kidnapping.
- An extended break to an idyllic location such as the Seychelles or some other island paradise. They should be encouraged to experience true beauty as well as pain. Afterall, how can you really appreciate one without having experienced the other?
- A week in a rough council estate followed by a week in a grand country mansion.
- A team building week consisting of paintball and go-karting with other world leaders and cabinet members.
Their weekly ritual, as well as making big decisions that affect us all, should include spiritual relaxation techniques such as Yoga, Tai Chi, Buddhist meditation, deep contemplation and watching inspirational, thought provoking film such as “Fight Club”, “The Matrix”, “Forest Gump” and “The Men Who Stare At Goats”. They should read intelligence papers, news articles, manifestos and minutes, science articles on subjects that matter, including developments in quantum physics and cosmology, plus graphic novels and other fictional literature.
What Next.
The next document to follow in due course will be a suggested step by step hypothetical timeline for implementing some of these improvements, including some more of the practical details. If you wish to see some specific item included, you can contact me via the contact page. And if you want to make this real, simply nominate me to stand as an MP somewhere. I’m well up for it.
In the meantime, I think I’ve just found my mojo. Time for some serious guitar playing awesomeness.