Good Deeds are NOT a Compulsion

The Good books are filled with misguided literature on how Piety and other assorted ills of the human nature are a duty of the soul – After all the Good prevails – and we must do our part in raising the Banner and uplifting the Standard and unfurling the Flag of Heaven as a divine proof of His Mastery Over Satan (or whatever flavor you prefer your boogeymen in). 

But, irl, misguided Good Deeds are the worst problem facing the Universe atm. Even serial murders and Genocide specialists are convinced that they are just doing God’s work, obviously, because God has a secure direct line with them.

I find, the best way to quantify God – A MIRROR REFLECTING THE MOVES OF YOUR LIFE – a dynamic reflection of thine soul. Inference is often the faulty step – but that is a traditionally human problem. If we could infer, we would unlock the Galactic stage already. We have a Specialist emphasizing, fractured Knowledge System and a lot of it – especially in the Theoretical Portions – is what we wish were true – rather than abstract truths that hold about the World. Science ha thus, devolved into a frantic Human race to impose one’s WILL OVER THE UNIVERSE. And the usual rules hold. The Strongest, Cleverest, the est (wo)man wins. 

But, why be Good? Why sacrifice whatever pleasures of the bone and the morrow that could be had in the flesh for some unquantifiable, unspecified thing-in-itself benefit, that no one can really seem to decide if it even exists? Why bet your life on an If?

 The Smart Man follows the Money and Play the Game Shrewdly. The poor stupid sod ends up exploited. And he doesn’t really mind – the Kingdom of Heaven shall be his. After all, Jesus said that the meek SHALL inherit the earth. The exact date of this ascension has conveniently been forgotten by History. How long? How much further should the meek wait? Is it a weakness of his character, that forces him to be satisfied with this conditions? Does he not feel? Does he not have passions? Does his heart not beat? 

The meek man is not good out of a sense of duty or a honor bound compulsion. It is how he is. He is content – he doesn’t mind, that is what he is. It is his nature to be good, to yield his way. He doesn’t because he can, or that he must, but, because he is.

The common riff-raff, has to be good – because they are compensating – as they sin and feel the bucket of their sins get heavier, they feel the noose of death tighten around their necks and they try to heaven the burden of their good deeds – and they choose, what they feel are the sureshots – prayer and charity. Once they were bogged down by one weight, now they are under two. 

The meek, has a certain lightness of character – and feels himself inadequate – but for him the least of transgressions – an erotic thought here, a lustful glance there – constitute what his burdens of grave sins are. And under this non-existent load, he remains perennially buckled. Never retaining the courage to stand with his back erect so he may have the world dance on the palm of his forward facing palm. It is but a Cosmic Joke. 

And so, if there is no Heaven, should we shed our Meekness? Should we become Professors and Lawyers and Doctors and Politicians and Professional Artists? Should we indeed – become Successful? Should we cheapen the Gravity of our Soul?

The answer is laughably simple – We need only Unite. And it is not the fancy unification with BANNERS AND SPEECHES AND DECLARATIONS – that shits for stupid fucks. Only they have the kind of patience. 

Strive for perfection – my counterparts. Strive for perfection, you beautiful pieces of my soul. Together we shall take over the world and they wouldn’t even know what hit ’em. 

Sing the Soulful Strains of the Hurt in Your Soul. Astound with the Searing Brilliance of Your Intellect. Charm the Pants off of them with your Gaze. And most important – HOLD YOUR STANCE! Walk with a Straight Back and a Smile on your Lips. You are the Chosen Child. You are NOT Homo Sapien. You are HOMO FUCKING EMOTICON. YOU ARE THE NEXT STAGE TO THIS EVOLUTION. 

That delightful madness – is after all – an adornment. The Gift of the Memory of the Things to Come. Great things are in the offing. 

 

Nietzsche and the Grad

Nietzsche is most famous for being the philosophy that inspired the Nazi scourge. That, was an unfortunate misinterpretation of him (not the least of Nazi crimes), because Nietzsche has actually given a very accurate description of who his reader – that Hyperborean fellow most suited to understanding him must be like.

The conditions under which any one understand me, and necessarily understands me – I know them only too well. Even to endure my seriousness, my passion, he must carry an intellectual integrity to the verge of hardness. He must be accustomed to living on mountain tops – and to looking upon the wretched gabble of politics and nationalism as beneath him. He must have become indifferent; he must never ask of the truth, whether it brings profit to him or a fatality to him. He must have an inclination, born of strength, for questions that no one has the courage for; the courage for the forbidden; predestination for the labyrinth. The experience of seven solitudes. New ears for new music. New eyes for the most distant. A new conscience for truths that have hitherto remained unheard. And the will to economize in the grand manner – to hold together his strength, his enthusiasm… Reverence for self; love for self; absolute freedom of self…

Very well then! Of that sort only are my readers, my true readers, my readers foreordained; Of what use are the rest? – The rest are merely humanity. One must make one’s self superior to humanity, in power, in loftiness of soul, – in contempt.” – F. W. Nietzsche

Thus, the Nazis were merely – pathetically human.

Nietzsche is also known, mostly for saying “God is Dead” and talking about Übermensch – the Supermen. Thus, his followers are atheists and huge arseholes – you can’t become superman in a day, but you can easily become a giant douche.

Nietzsche claims, that there is a will to power, which he believes is the main driving force in humans : achievement, ambition, the striving to reach the pinnacle in life, these are the various manifestations of the will to power.

The will to power can be called the instinct to power. It can even be construed in evolutionary terms – as the driving force behind the food pyramid. It is what makes the top athletes train for hours, inspires the concert musicians to perfect their craft and forces people to work multiple shifts in a day. Most people will agree. One species won’t!

This very special species is – the Grad Student. Devoid of ambition and infertile, it is a drone most often found doing indentured servitude in forced (mental) labor penal colonies – established and protected by common law – these are called universities in the common vernacular.

These “Grads” as they are often affectionately (or jeeringly, can never tell) called, have an incredible daily hours : pay ratio – such as to make even the burger flippers feel happy.

However, the grad doesn’t mind his shit pay or his long hours, for he has a secret – and a dark one at that. Over a sufficiently long time frame it evolves into a Professor. The jailed become the jailor!

The grad works at this pay in depressing conditions, which will affect his mental health – most (numbers as high as 90% are regularly quoted) suffer from depression, are less likely to be in stable relationships or job satisfaction.

The kicker – Most grads confess not liking their research area, doubting their graduation chances and even job prospects (post graduation), if they even manage to graduate.

What is the angle here? For grads are researchers working on some really cutting edge technologies, they are collectively at the apex of human technological advancement. How can they be so – content? It doesn’t make any sense until you consider a question – who decides to become a grad student and why?

A grad has already completed sufficient education to be employable. Yet, he foregoes that chance at “real” employment instead to slave away at nothing in particular. If you look at Ph.D enrollment figures, they are increasingly all over the world, while Science (and Research) budgets are being cut. What is the play, one has to ask, since this is a crisis just waiting to happen. Or, if you ask the folks working multiple adjunct positions – it has already befallen.

One thing, we can immediately see – is if a person is a rational agent and always seeks to maximize his benefits. For this agent, the opportunity cost of a Ph.D. is gainful  employment. Maybe, that option was simply not there! The grad was Unemployed.

Grads always say that they have a fascination for such and such a field. That they want to advance the state of science and do “Research”. The grad was Naive.

The grad was wholly unprepared and didn’t know what hit him. The grad was Uninformed.

The grad sees a chance of being employed and becoming a professor eventually – the grad is Mistaken.

There are many other factors that I am ignoring here – these seem to be some of the common ones that I have seen. The common strain is that a Grad is somebody who has difficulty making the jump from Student to Employee. Their certain meekness of character is a defining characteristic of the Grad. The Grad is too weak to effect change – remember his dream employment is the Tenure. He is too scared to take a risk, or state his views or even to have a mind of his own. A lot he will advance the State of Science!

The Grads’ will to power is akin to that of a Student (after all, he lugs around books and copies all day). He seeks to please his “Sir” or “Advisor”, and the relation is often more akin to a Feudal Lord and Serf than an Employer and Employee, though they should be seen as coworkers in the project of advancing the State of the Art.

There is a very large homogenizing potential field – building CV’s, citing each others, handing over your research and patents to the Institute (who really doesn’t contribute all that much).

1) ALL ACADEMIC RESEARCH IS DONE BY GRADS.

2) ALL MONEY IS GOBBLED BY THE INSTITUTE.

3) THE GRAD IS ABSOLUTELY FUCKING FINE WITH THE STATUS QUO.

There is a tendency for Grads to realize something is wrong, it happens, very spectacularly is some cases. Grads don’t even know how to write a letter of resignation! It is seen as a mark and symbol of failure and humiliation! You are forever branded a dropout! The grad pats himself on the back – I am strong, I preserved.

But is it really necessary? Can it not be made more streamlined?

1) SHOULDN’T PROFS BE CHECKING COPIES AND QUIZZES? WHAT DO THEY DO ANYWAYS?

2) WHY SHOULD A GRAD HAVE TO DO TA DUTY IN THE FIRST PLACE? IS HIS RESEARCH OF NO CONSEQUENCE/IMPORTANCE?

3) WHY SHOULD A GRAD HAVE TO PAY TUITION, WHEN HE IS NOT TAKING ANY COURSES?

4) WHY IS HIS COMPENSATION SO PATHETIC THAT WORKING IN A BURGER JOINT IS MORE ATTRACTIVE?

5) WHY ISN’T THE GRAD NOT IN POSSESSION OF THE FREEDOM TO DO HIS RESEARCH HIS OWN WAY?

6) WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG TO GRADUATE?

7) WHY ARE THERE NO JOBS NOR EFFORTS TO ENSURE THE PLACEMENT ON GRADS LIKE ALL OTHER STUDENTS?

The usual responses are:

1) This is how things are done.

2) Research is too important to be left to the Grads.

The grads need to realize that nobody gives you anything on a platter. The least likely being Nature divulging her secrets.

Organize and fight! Shed your impotence! Unionize!

DON’T CALL YOURSELF A GRAD STUDENT, YOU ARE A RESEARCH SCHOLAR! DON’T TRIVIALIZE YOURSELF! GROW A FUCKING BACKBONE!

Here is what I am going to do. I am going to take a step – a drastic one at that. I am going to talk to the Director of my institute and ensure that our stipends are released regularly and on time. The thought makes me quiver – what if I am thrown out?

Be like Oliver Twist my friends and ask for the second bowl of soup. For we are sure as hell not going to get it without asking!