DIDJA' EVER?

      Ever suddenly look around and wonder where the heck you were? How the hell did you get there and where were you going in the first place? Did you even want to go there at all? So why are you there now?! And help! Get me out of here, consumed your emotions? Just there in the corner of your mind was the whisper, "where is everybody else?"

Alone, in the dark or in the light, the feeling of loneliness pervaded all. If there were no one to see you and no one for you to see, then did they really exist? In fact, did you really exist or was this just a dream, a monumentally mean prank of whatever life truly is? You felt just like that toddler reborn who played peek a boo, so excited every time the person reappeared, for he then was real, and so were you.

Well, hate to burst everyone's baby bubble, but that is really a simplified example of a philosophy called solipsism, one where nothing matters other than the self. Hence, one can only be sure of one thing - that your mind exists. Nothing else is sure, so, following the arrows, making decisions that appear to be best for you is the moral thing to do. Anyone not there in your mind is of no consequence, for does he actually exist? If not, then why worry about him or indeed any other person. Directly related is the fact that if you are not in the mind of another, then you do not exist for him, and your importance will have no weight in his decision. Practical? Selfish? Sensible? Go know!!

So now what? Are we back in Philosophy 101? Are we going to have to struggle through the obscure language and quaint structure of these differing thoughts? No, for actually it appears as if this philosophy, this way of thinking, these selfish - or are they merely sensible if this is indeed the case - these decisions are the rules of the day. If we are to understand our environment, then we must understand what drives it if we are to prosper within it, be safe and secure.

Think I am nuts, too little sleep last night? Possibly, but seriously, look around at the behavior of those around you, of our presumed world leaders. How are they making decisions? Yes, there are good people in the world who have evidently accepted you are real and have decided, selfishly or not, that you may be considered as existing, hence the benefit for themselves is to care about others in their circle of reality. So there is pleasantness there, always a good thing.

On the other hand, think of some famous people you might have heard of, or even know. Now c'mon, you know who comes to mind, instantly. Along with a host of other people whom I wish I could just poof! out of my mind. If only that magical thinking of the toddler years were so easily adapted to the adult years or is it that too many adults maintain that magic in their own heads and twisted minds, cleave to solipsism, to the detriment of all else.

When has that man ever made a decision that took other people into consideration? On January 6, 2021 he became the first president of America to commit treason. Why? Because he simply viewed it as the best decision for him. Let others spill blood. Let others be hurt. Let people even be killed for his benefit, for did they really exist in his world of his own greatly deficient mind? Let others pay the bills when they came due, for in his world, no bills ever had to be paid by him. So much for that magical thinking. I look forward to a different reality for him and soon!

Even of more effect, he dragged others into his magical world, for every single one of the GOP members of the House and Senate followed him, a dark and evil Pied Piper who convinced others that morality is of negligible value, of no consequence. Only what is good for oneself. So screw the oaths taken, screw the people, and just hang on to the power one already has. Vote as a matter of conscience? What a sad joke on all of us. The GOP has no conscience left at all, only hypocrisy remaining as they run from their own misdeeds, secure that in their solipsistic word all will be well for them at the end of the road. Not a single one of them stood consistently steady these past five years.

 Now, like the rats they emulate, they try to flee the sinking ship, flee the stink of Trump, as I heard it called. But some stink always remains, like that of skunks and the only thing to do then is to throw away the cause of the remaining stink. Will the electorate have the sense and the courage to do so, or will they continue on in the dangerous and troubling path they are on right now. They either deny their past words, their past inadequate actions, or remain stubbornly solipsistic to their very innermost core. The country appears to be preparing for the second choice. Frightening.

Is there no comfort, no reprieve possible? Is there any hope that these adult infants will ever grow up and adopt honesty, truth and progress as their mantras? Who the hell knows and no one will ever truly know unless we do a deep dive into understanding the truth of ourselves. That will not be pretty, Not by a long shot. However, since we are talking of philosophy, here is a statement by an author and philosopher whose words I do not always agree with, but in this case I do. We need the meaning and the hope of these words. Definitely.

"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." 

Albert Camus.  

Chew on that for a bit. Hope it makes the boo boos we all have just hurt a bit less. Maybe.