I’m currently in the process of writing a few posts but I thought I’d share a few interesting videos with you in the mean time.
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Young Arnolfini 
On the last video, I understand everyone will respond subjectively but I can’t help feeling there’s something harmful about Mr. Cease’s philosophy, and patronising in his delivery. It can be forgiven somewhat if he’s just running things off the top of his head, but he adds insult to the injury by telling us to send the video to someone ‘having a hard time’.
I have little time for people who tell me that the media try and scare us, and what we see on the news isn’t the whole picture. Name someone you know who -doesn’t- think that, and thank goodness -somebody- is finally saying it! Further, I have even less attention to the ‘everything on the news is depressing, or bad, or helpless or hopeless’ which leads to what Adam Curtis wryly called ‘Oh Dearism’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8moePxHpvok). It’s the typical outlook taken by someone who shuts themselves off to a world of or News Corp. So I don’t like the assumption that we all take everything at face value, and that we are all addicted to Facebook, and that caring what our peers think about us is akin to a disorder. Nor do I agree with everything we did in childhood was creating, and that we were all at our maximum creative output. ‘When we were kids we knew how to do everything.’ Well, if you say so…
Plus, Mr. Cease argues you shouldn’t be in a relationship unless you are ‘complete first’. I can’t help but feeling that this is a greater cause of depression and ennui than even contemporary psychologists acknowledge: the -concept- of completism, or fulfillment, or enlightenment – that one can be comfortable in one’s own skin. I prefer Thomas Jefferson’s ambiguous proposition of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness’, in that maybe it’s not attaining happiness, but in the pursuit itself. Isn’t that a less harmful philosophy to propose?
Okay, I’ll just make one more point. Gandhi. Isn’t it a dangerous thing to hold one public figure up in reverence, as if we all -automatically- look up to them and are inspired by certain flawless historical figures? Yes, Gandhi would’ve died for his cause quite gladly because he believed in an afterlife, and that he would live forever. It’s the very reason why he was so obsessed with the next life, and why he advised the Jews to accept the final solution, and Britain to not fight back against the Nazis, and fought against the modernisation of India (‘The railways, telegraphs, hospitals, lawyers, doctors, and such like have all to go.’). I can’t imagine many things the world needs -less- than ’20 Gandhis’. Why not promote the criticism of – or rather an ambivalence to – apparent moral heroes? But what does this even have to do with being creative? And isn’t it the essence of solipsism, and of a damaging self-reverence, to tell people to ‘wake up’, because, of course, he is the only one with his eyes open?
“Nor do I agree with everything we did in childhood was creating, and that we were all at our maximum creative output.” But don’t you agree that as we grow older we are encouraged to be less creative?
I’m not sure what you were saying there but I think that Kyle was focusing more on the fact that you shouldn’t go into a relationship if your sole purpose is to be “complete”. That’s what I took from it anyway. (I do agree with the second bit of what you said there).
To be honest, I completely see where your coming from and have since changed my opinion of the video. It sort of reminds me of the whole “Kony 2012” fiasco. Though I will add that, in the same way you can find bad in Gandhi (or really any highly respected idol; Malcolm X, Ali & Mandela are some more examples), it’s worth checking out some of his other stuff because he does make some good useful points. I actually forgot about the whole Gandhi bit lol.
Sure, I couldn’t agree with that more – especially after watching Michael Gove talk today about the English Baccalaureate, and offending the entire working class. It just felt like such a simple observation, a bit like cold calling. He could’ve equally said ‘everything we do in childhood is destroying, we destroy our toys, we shed our personalities etc’ and, in the speed of the delivery, it would’ve sounded about right.
Ah, yes, that I half agree with. Though it is perhaps one of the better reasons for forming relationships or making friendships whatsoever, it could explain the most dangerous form of love: possessive.
Yeah, you’re right. I really should watch some more because he seems like quite an outspoken guy. And I’d say it’s always best to be at least wary when in the face of any cult of personality…