Not in the Stars
When placing the blame is more important than finding the solution.
Not in the Stars
OK, work with me here. I wrote an essay awhile back, Rusty Bolts, in which I contemplate the nature of people. How resourceful are we when we encounter situations in which ‘normal’ solutions don’t work. Some people accept whatever results they get, so long as they stay in the comfort zone of proper protocol. They justify their existence not in terms of what they have accomplished, but by the degree to which they have properly followed ‘the program.’
But if properly following the program doesn’t loosen the bolt, then the program needs to be revised. Or even abandoned.
I recently read an essay by Sam Alaimo. Sam is very much into appreciating reality for what it is, even when it is unpleasant, even ugly. Involve yourself in that reality, make it part of how you think. That leads to solutions, or at least acceptance.
What about that rusty bolt? It needs to be overcome, regardless of personal philosophy. My point to Sam in both my own essay and in Sam’s is that we have a right to be frustrated, to be human, but at the same time, we must abandon perceptions of how things are supposed to work, and find ways to make them actually work
And then that got me thinking…
I get mad at bolts that won’t loosen, even as I recognize that the bolt is inanimate and is not deliberately trying to frustrate me. But I don’t get mad at a tree that falls on my house during a storm. And I don’t get mad at the storm. But that rusty bolt, that’ another story. I asked myself what makes the difference, and I think I’m on to something…
Yes, that bolt is inanimate and has no will of its own, but it is a manmade object. One way or the other, that makes it man’s fault that the bolt is frozen. But a tree coming down in a storm? No, we don’t blame the tree and we don’t blame the storm. We might blame our neighbor, if it’s his tree and he was warned that it was rotting and weak. Not the tree, not the storm, it’s our neighbor’s fault.
Oh, but wait! We can blame the storm, in a second-hand way. We can say the severity of the storm is the result of climate change, and that climate change is caused by man. That is one l-o-o-o-ng reach toward making the fallen tree man’s fault, but people make that reach on a regular basis these days.
Once upon a time, there were gods. Not God, but gods. There were gods who controlled the oceans, including floods. There were gods who controlled weather, including storms. There were gods for everything. Those gods sometimes punished us for our hubris, and sometimes just messed with us for the hell of it.
Yes of course, those gods are entirely of our imagination. We want to believe, in whatever creative way suits us, that everything ostensibly depends on us. The reason we have dangerous storms is not because of the unthinking physics and chemistry of our world, it is because Man has not behaved properly. We are being punished for our misdeeds. In ancient times the gods, these creatures of our own imaginations, deliberately punished us for our iniquities. Today, it’s the god of climate change. When you get down to it, it’s all the same thing. It’s all superstition.
I blame rusty bolts, not for what they are, but for who I am. I want to be in control, and generally, I am. And then this damned bolt reminds me that I am only a part of the system and not in full control. I hate it when that happens. Somebody needs to be at fault. It can’t be that I am just not up to the task. So, I figure that the guy who tightened that bolt tightened it too tight. It’s his fault, not mine. Or, why didn’t he use stainless steel bolts? He knew it would be outside, subject to rust. Not my fault. Somebody else’s fault.
That hurricane. Somebody else’s fault. Not unpredictable happenstance. Not my fault for failing to build a hurricane proof structure. Not my fault for choosing to live in a hurricane zone. It’s somebody else’s fault that the hurricane even happened. All those fossil fuels, etc. Somebody needs to be held responsible, and it sure ain’t me!
In ancient times, when bad things happened, it was generally believed that Man had pissed off the gods. Or God. In a backhanded way, man found a way to make himself responsible for the weather. According to the Bible, Noah’s flood happened because God was disgusted with man’s wicked ways, and washed all the people away except for Noah, who had built the ark at the instruction of God. Nice, compliant guy, that Noah. So, he gets to live.
Is it different today? No. Now we pray to what I call the carbon gods. We pay tribute to them in carbon credits, desperately needing to believe that, if we do this, the carbon gods will go easy on us in the next storm.
Rusty bolts. Rotten trees. Shit happens. How much do we really control? In this modern age, where our homes are whatever temperature we desire, 24/7/365, we’ve come to believe we are the absolute masters of our destiny. If we wear a mask, we won’t get COVID. It’s all under our control. It’s all up to us.
At least we like to think so. And the ease with which we live our lives reinforces that lie. Centuries ago, people had no such delusion. They died young, of disease, malnourishment, exposure to the elements. But in between times, they enjoyed life as much or more than we do. After all, when they had good times, they had something to compare it to. Good times were not a given, and were to be celebrated in between the bad times. Yes, they had their gods, their attempt to explain why things happen. They liked to believe that if they made their gods happy, the people would be spared hardship. They liked, then as now, to think it was within their means, if they did everything right, to do away with the storms, the starvation, the disease.
Things have improved greatly, thru science and technology. We are more comfortable in body, but are we better in spirit? It seems that we all recognize that it is not the case. As we suffer in spirit, we try to make up for it in increased physical comfort. Many people feel helpless and hopeless. It seems, almost, to be a pandemic. Physically, we are better off than ever. So, what’s up? Maybe it’s the unrealistic expectations. Maybe it’s that we are led to believe that if we support and follow the program du jour, that we will inevitably be happy. I know that’s not the case. I’ve tried it.
Storms happen. Tress fall. Bolts rust. How should we feel about any of that? Should we wallow in angst, and find a proper scapegoat to blame? Can that really make us feel better about ourselves?
A life well lived is not entirely predictable and comfortable. If you can accurately predict where you will be and what you will be doing, ten years from now, chances are you are missing out on much of what your life could be. Storms happen. Tress fall. Bolts rust. It’s not so much that they happen, but how you react. Do you accept it and deal with it? Or do you blame others and expect others to find the solutions. Do you follow the program, even when the program is failing? Is melding into the culture more important than exploring who you are?
I’m pretty damned good at the questions. Perhaps I am no better than anyone else at the answers. Besides, the answers that work for me may not work for you. And vice versa.
Several centuries ago, Shakespeare said, “The fault lies not in the stars, but in ourselves.” Perhaps it’s time to dwell less on the problems, and deal more with our own nature and how we face those obstacles.
Which is why MSM is blaming Trump for New Orleans...