I’ve surprised myself today, but I’m becoming used to that by now. I have, for some time, been turning conservative. I don’t know if this is due to my ripe old age of 24, but I’ve become more convinced that we’re becoming fucked as a functional society (rather than just as a bunch of people), and that personal responsibility and self restraint are the only things that’ll get us back on track. That is, of course if we ever were on track, which I am still capable of seeing as being doubtful
The strange aspect to all this is the fact that I’m becoming socially conservative, not economically. I’ve been vaguely for free-market economics for some time. I say vaguely, since I really can’t bring myself to give a shit about that stuff. Start mentioning interest rates or taxes or whatever, and my eyes begin to glaze over, as if I’m under some economically inspired voodoo.
I used to be a lefty, as should all youngsters. But, my God, I was wet about it too. None of your radical left unionist type, but rather a whiner. I’m not saying that all people on the left whine, but man, I was one of those that did. Constantly. My basic problem was that of all young idealists. I could see that the world just wasn’t fair. I failed to realise that people did have a dark side to them - everyone has - and that the cold light of reason would not be able to illuminate all the corners of people’s psyche. As us Buddhists point out - people are poisoned by hatred, greed and delusion. That’s another thing. I’m religious! I used to be a die-hard, Dawkins wielding atheist. Now, although I’m not one, I don’t mind that people believe in God. In fact, I think I might even understand them.
One of the oddest things I have come across in examining my newly crystalizing thoughts is that I may be - and I am being very candid with you here - I might be a monarchist! WTF!?! Me? A monarchist? I used to be an anarchist, for crying out loud (although I hid that behind a respectable veneer of liberalism and vague socialism).
I believe this has come about by realising that the ideas of myths and Jung-style archetypes still make themselves known in the modern world. We think we’re so rational and modern, as if our minds are in some way fundamentally different to those of humans thousands of years ago, but that’s actually one of the myths. The idea of progress is one of the biggest of the modern age. Why do the works of the Greeks and Romans still affect us? Because, although we’re not wearing togas anymore, what it means to be a human is the same now as it was then. Cold rationality, the preserve of the Left (allegedly, anyway) isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
The notion I held dear of absolute individualism. Although I essentially see people as being good, some people just don’t seem to be able to behave themselves if left to their own devices. With their button stuck on ‘hedonism’, they well and truly spazz it up for the rest of us, usually resulting in such delights as pavement pizza, fights at closing time and 14 year old mums. Cheers guys.
There’s so many other things I’ve changed my mind about, and I believe it’s by becoming more realistically informed about things and less of an idealist, but I won’t go into that. I see I’m becoming a bit of a tedious old man, and to be totally honest with you noders, I’d be in danger of political incorrectness.
Hey, how about that? I had to end on a cliche, and I did. This right wing lark is fun! I won’t, however, be reading the Daily Mail. That’s still a complete rag of a ‘news’ paper.