114 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
114 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
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Underground eXperts United
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Presents...
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[ States Of Confusion: Reply To Critics ] [ By The GNN ]
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____________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________
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STATES OF CONFUSION: REPLY TO CRITICS
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by THE GNN/DCS/uXu
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A number of people have criticised me for the text "States of
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Confusion" (UXU-406). All of them have virtually said the same
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thing: "How dare you insinuate that doing drugs is better than
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having a family? Are you insane?" I understand the critics; the
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text is pretty unclear. Let me explain my intentions. (You need
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not have read the original text for understanding this reply.)
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"States of Confusion" is not about drug rehabilitation in general. It is
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about ways of conceiving "the good life"; yet it does of course not - which
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some people have thought - aim to put forward the assumption that my
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distinct way of life is the only acceptable one. I do not blame the critics
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for careless reading on this matter; it is very easy to misunderstand me,
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which is embarrassing as I actually aim to say the direct opposite: Just
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what content, pattern, and subjective form the good life has will, no doubt,
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vary considerably from person to person. To find the answer one must, to a
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large extent, depend on one's own experience and reflection, perhaps aided
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by that of others with experience and wisdom. No fixed order or pattern can
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be laid down for everyone. Human nature may be much the same everywhere, and
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I believe it is, otherwise psychology would be a chimera. However, human
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nature seems to vary too much for any fixed conception of it to be drawn up
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in detail.
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So far, so good. Most people agree on this. But then a peculiar thing
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happens: the same people who agreed that conceptions of the good life varies
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from person to person suddenly turn the tables and claim that there is in
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fact one way of living that is superior to all other ways. And that is the
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classical: education, work, family - until death, "the common life". The
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claims are explicit in their statements, and also implicit in the
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statistical fact that 99% of all people live their lives that way. Need this
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tell us that the good life by necessity is that one, for all? I doubt that.
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I think that what is often missing is not one's own or other's experiences,
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but, most importantly - conscious reflection of what one (and other people)
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actually have experienced.
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To abuse drugs is certainly not a fast lane to the good life. Because, as
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said, it requires that one consciously reflects on what one wants to do. One
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cannot deny that the vast majority of drug abusers have not considered any
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such reflection; their life has become the way it is out of very different
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reasons. Nevertheless, my point is that many of those who live their lives
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in accordance with the standard pattern have not properly reflected either.
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They work, get a family, and so on - but not necessarily after any kind of
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deep reflection of what they are really doing. (The mere fact that that kind
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of life is not built around illegal substances is no automatic criterion of
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a good life.)
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Do not get me wrong here. I do not claim that it is impossible to have a
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good life with the help of family or drugs. It would be ridiculous to say
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that 99% of all people are alienated from their true desires. But I will
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never accept that any of those two roads in life automatically makes one
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happy. To repeat, the good life is partially reflections on what one really
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wants to do. Too many never actually reflect, and their lives turns out
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neither happy nor painful - merely satisfying, at its best.
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Now, how do I know that this is the case? Well, for one thing, it shows
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when one asks a certain, uncontroversial question: "Do you really do what
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you want to do?" If the answer is "yes" and backed up with arguments, fine.
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If it is "no", with arguments, fine. "Don't know" will do fine too. But it
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is very seldom those answers are given.
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Instead, the answer is "of course!" without arguments. And when I humbly
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wish to know why that is so, the person become mad and - instead of trying
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to answer me - wonders what kind of imbecile I am. This kind of manoeuvre is
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familiar; when the arguments are non-existent or have dried out, some people
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immediately direct the discussion in argumentum ad hominem. The question
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"Do you really do what you want to do?" is not regarded as uncontroversial,
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but as a provocation, an insult.
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Why? I guess it is because the person in some way actually knows that he
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or she have not reflected properly. Their life is not fully coherent (not
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even close), and they dislike this. But at the same time, they do not want
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to reflect, as that could perhaps lead to a personal crisis, if the
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deliberation reveals uncomfortable truths about their actual situation. To
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go with the flow is easy, to have to change things is hard, tiresome and
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messy business.
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And this is what "States of Confusion" is really about: that drug abuse
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indicates a lack of reflection, a willingness to not reflect, to protect
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oneself against uncomfortable conclusions; but at the same time that "the
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common life" might very well just be another side of an alike predicament.
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Whether I am right or not, must be left to the consideration of the
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thoughtful reader.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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uXu #493 Underground eXperts United 1999 uXu #493
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Call KASTLEROCK -> +1-724-527-3749
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