Process: How We Forgot the 11th Commandment

As a child, I remember hearing this wise saying. For me, it was the single wisest thing which could ever have
been said to anyone and had the power to transform the world for the better. This was the 11th Commandment, a message which those in power have attempted to wash away from the world and keep hidden. It is a secret phrase which, if allowed to exist in the world of men, would restructure the world and
restructure our society as we know it. It has the ability to trump every theory concerning black holes, all of the research concerning the Human Genome Project, and will allow the poorest person on the planet to become the richest and most powerful person the world has ever known.

This is not a polite suggestion, as God does not deal in such matters. No, this is a code of conduct which we
are all to follow. For centuries, entire societies were built around this commandment, and entire empires were forged. However, as the years went on, fewer and fewer were allowed to know this final Commandment, and an aristocracy was developed. It wasn’t until public education was formed that society as a whole made the attempt to right this wrong, reminding students at an extremely early age if they weren’t living up to the 11th commandment through failing grades. Nowadays, most public education systems have eliminated the moral building which comes with teaching the 11th to students, and our society has neglected to imbue the 11th into society at large. Are you ready to know what the 11th Commandment is? Here it goes:

Thou Shalt Not be Stupid.

The only thing that we still have in society that keeps the 11th alive in culture are organizations like colleges, blue collar work, some white collar and various levels of the military. Even still, most of these areas have been
under attack in previous decades, as calling someone out for stupidity is seen as offensive. In most situations, blue collar trades and the military are safe on the lower ends, as one is expected to have thicker skin to be involved in that line of work anyhow. White collar jobs like doctors and lawyers are paramount in following the 11th, as people will either die or lose a lot of money if someone does not know what they are doing. Engineers who are clueless will immediately be pointed out if their building falls down. However, the biggest problem comes from colleges, who either are seen as the bad guys for not following the pauper standards of public education or are babying grown men and women by resuming the process at a higher price tag. This builds the entitlement culture which we see plaguing younger generations today, all built around a society which has done it’s hardest to avoid the 11th at all costs.

How can we fix this? Well, we can start by acknowledging that offensiveness isn’t a bad thing. All offending
someone does is make them uncomfortable. When you are uncomfortable, you learn something new. Even if that is when someone tells you “you’re an idiot,” you’ve uncomfortably learned that someone thought that you’re dumb, and can now adjust accordingly. If enough people make you feel bad about being stupid, that may be God trying to tell you to adjust yourself, that you’re not obeying his commandment in your life. It’ll be impossible to adhere to this commandment, however, if we continue to try to ignore the most powerful law in mankind’s history.

Fireside Chat: On a Monday

Fireside Chat was made for this purpose. It was something for me to do that was a bit informal, for me to be able to use to give an account on what i feel like is a pressing matter in my life. For those who know me, who have followed my journey (first of all, thank you!), you will know that i have had quite the adventure with pain since my injuries from the Army. Nerve damage, degenerating discs, arthritis, brain damage, knee damage, inability to feel hot or cold, and migraines from light and sound. This has limited me to very few activities and has caused a lot of nervousness with my loved ones in me doing simple things like going to the gym or doing household chores. Sometimes, it’s justified. My pride can get in the way and make me go a bit too far and injure myself. Other times, i just feel like nothing more than a checkbook and a warm body for my family.

For the past week, there’s been a new symptom. Everything i touch, everything that touches me, is painful. You know how it feels rubbing your finger across the scratchy side of Velcro? That’s kind of how it feels to me. Even typing this post is painful to me right now. Picking up my drink right now is painful. The water in my mouth sloshing around is painful. Even swallowing it feels like a billow brush. Last night, i ended up drinking too much trying to dull the pain, and went to the hospital. Due to the flu, i was told that i had some spinal cord problems, was given a couple of shots, and was sent home. I’m still in agony, but i don’t want to have a repeat of last night. There is a high bar of diminishing returns when it comes to that particular flavor of medicine!

The good news is that, if i have spinal cord problems, i should be able to get more money for my VA compensation. The bad news is that there’s not a lot they can do to help me. I’m maxed out on my Gabapentin, they won’t give me more opioids. My other half is more hopeful about the idea of something being done, but i can tell that it’s taking it’s toll on her. She can’t touch me without hurting me right now, and i know that is hurtful for her. I’m just accepting the situation for what it is: it will never get better, i will continue to get worse and worse, and i feel terrible for even being here because i just feel like a constant burden to her.

In a rare instance, I’m asking for help. Leave a comment and tell me what i can do (LEGALLY! I’m not going to a drug dealer Josh, so don’t even ask!). Should i keep my thoughts and my pain inside like i have been or should i be more open at a risk to hurting her more? Let me know which one is healthier.

Fireside Chat: How Depression Can Kill You

The last Fireside Chat that I wrote was on the 10th of November, 2019. I hadn’t
written a single thing since then. I finished a draft of the latest book in the
“Ezekiel March” saga that week, but that was it. I went back to school, came
home, ate, studied, and went to bed. This was my life. The only thing about
this is…I don’t remember any of it. I don’t remember what happened that
Christmas. I don’t remember much of anything that happened last quarter in
college. Hell, to be honest, I can barely tell you what happened before I sat
down to write this post. Most of my day-to-day interactions with the world are
lost to me if I don’t write them down, and I have no recollection of people who
I have known for years. All that I had to keep me grounded in my normal
activity was my strict, almost unnecessarily disciplined, daily schedule. It
would look like this:

0300 to 0700 – Rise, prayer, gym,
write, read, shower and shave

0700 to 1200 – Classes

1200 to 1250 – Mass

1300 to 1600 – Study

1600 to 1900 – Family time,
housework

1900 to 2100 – Study,
entertainment, rest

This was pretty much my schedule,
Monday to Friday. It never changed, never moved, never altered. On weekends,
though the scheduling was a tad bit less disciplined, there would still be
requirements to be adhered to:

•          Study – 3 hours

•          Write – 1 hour

•          Read – 2 hours

I was doing quite well and was
feeling fine. I could keep myself grounded in my schedule, finding peace in the
thought that, if I didn’t remember what happened yesterday, at least I knew
that I followed my daily schedule and adhered to my daily requirements. Then,
for reasons that escape me, I stopped, and I felt miserable.

     It started off being a reprieve! I could sleep in; I felt a bit more relaxed and I
felt like I was a tad bit liberated from my rigor. It was only after wasting
time on YouTube and watching television, I began to realize more and more that
I was wasting what little I could remember. I wasn’t nearly as productive. I
failed a class. I began to feel like everything was falling apart, and I began
to think those dark thoughts which most people who live in constant pain and
have brain damage begin to have when they feel this pathetic. After months of
feeling idle, feeling hopeless and feeling like I was never going to amount to
anything more than what I had achieved at this point, I tried to better
understand what was going on with me.

            That was when I was reminded of what made me so productive in the first place:
taking action!

            It was the act of actually doing something, even when I didn’t feel like it that
made me feel better. No matter what was going on, I could at least say that I
had adhered to the schedule and had accomplished something that day. No matter
what was going on in my life, I could say that I had written my requirements
for that day, read a book that day, spent time cleaning the house, kept up with
the requirements I had for myself for that day. This is what kept me from going
to a completely dark and dismal place, one where too many people in my
situation find themselves and make a permanent solution to their temporary
situation.

            Keeping a consistent schedule is the most effective way
to be successful in life. When we are persistent, we are striving towards a
goal every day, always growing and always adhering to a goal. When adhering to
these goals, one will always find success in their physical, mental, social,
and spiritual disciplines. When we will ourselves to strive
towards adhering to this premise, we ensure that there is always a portion of
our day, every day, which is always in our control. What creates unhappiness
and confusion in most of our lives is the feeling of a lack of control. This
comes from adhering to another’s schedule, placing their priorities above our
own, and building towards objectives that we do not deem essential. It is our
responsibility to be the captain of our soul, and our responsibility to ensure
that we are steering the ship ourselves. One does this by striving towards this
by conquering the day, every day, at a time that we can control. Set a time,
set the priority, and work towards them every day.

Fireside Chat: Following Your Passion is Stupid

I was reading an article today on some website that popped up on my phone, one of those blog posts that is all about motivation and inspiration and all that crap. Anyway, the woman was talking about how much she hated working for her law firm, doing the same thing day after day. At some point, she left her firm and began blogging for a living. I suppose she is doing well, considering the fact that there were so many ads on the page, it’ll make your head spin! She closed with the oh-so-simple notion of “follow your passion, and you’ll never work a day in your life”.

            After swallowing down the vomit from reading this article, it made me realize just how stupid this mentality is. What if your passion is waffles? Should you go to business school and go work for Waffle House? Personally, my passion is potatoes. Whether they are fried, baked, or raw, I adore them. By that logic, I should sell my house, buy a farm, and start growing them for a living. My point is that people swallow this garbage like it’s the antidote for their not-so-stellar lives. What they realize once they swallow this pill is that, in reality, its poison. Usually, you will make less money, work harder than you normally would if you just stayed at your job and did what you love on the side. You can get what you need financially, and you get to do what you love.

            Here’s a simpler mentality for you to follow: instead of “following your passion”, ask yourself “what kind of life do I want”? Begin with the end in mind, asking these questions:

1.    What do I want to be at the end of my life?

2.    How much money do I want?

3.    Where will I live when I’m old?

4.    How many kids do I want?

5.    How do I want to be remembered?

To further explain my point, I will give you my own answers to the above:

1.    I want to be a tenured Professor and own a Real Estate company

2.    I want at minimum 7 figures to be placed into a trust, ensuring my financial future when I am old

3.    I want to live in the mountains of northern Georgia

4.    I don’t want to have any children, depending on my uncertainty of my genetics

5.    I want to be remembered by being the strongest, bravest, and wisest man that most people I am around will ever know

Once you have answers to these questions, work from there by making these hopes a reality. I believe that this method is MUCH more obtainable than the previous mentality. Figure out what you want, and then go after it.

Fireside Chat: There's No Excuse for Ignorance

I hear it all the time about how cell phones, social media, and the information age is a disease killing youth. My response has always been the same: DAMN I HATE A STRAWMAN! Never before in the history of mankind has it been easier to learn a language, watch a movie, look up on what your second cousin twice-removed is doing half way across the world. It’s amazing how many people run their own businesses, go to college, or manage fundraisers wherever they are, at the touch of a button. To be honest, I enjoy it quite a lot. Without, I wouldn’t have ever been able to get my books out and afford my fountain pens. Despite some of the shortfalls which come from a connected world, society has benefited greatly from all of the world’s information being held inside of one’s pocket. However, the introduction of information being readily available has called for the death of something else: ignorance.

            I had a conversation the other day, all thanks to social media, about the nauseating Mueller Report and the current Trump Impeachment investigation. Normally I don’t respond to these things, but this guy is someone I usually make an exception about. Even if we get nowhere, I end up at least getting some substance about whatever we are talking about. This time, however, I managed to walk blindly into a dumpster fire! It started with someone posting that Trump is not getting impeached, which caused me to comment that I believe the DNC is so stupid for doing this, considering how well the Mueller probe went for them, and that I believe it will end the same way that all of the other investigations went: with the Blowfish Mentality, nothing but air. Now, I do admit that I believe that this was my first mistake, seeing as the guy who put up the original post did it to be a troll. However, it was then asked why I thought Trump wouldn’t be impeached. This led down a rabbit hole where the other guy argued substance about everything other than the ACTUAL report. References to Nixon to convictions of 34 others in the Trump Campaign to mentioning Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Letter 66, but nothing was mentioned from the ACTUAL report. My reply was thus:

Vol. 1 p.2 speaks about the fact that collusion isn't a specific charge in US code, and states that the investigation is more on a conspiracy. Vol. 1 p.175 states that no one in the Trump campaign participated with the Russian "Active Measures" social media campaigns. Vol. 2 p. 74 outlines the fact that firing Comey was not an obstructive act, since the investigation would have continued without him anyway. p. 75 clarifies why Comey was fired, stating that Comey told the president three separate times he was not under investigation, which would piss me off, so i don't blame him. p. 112 states that Jeff Sessions was not directed to end the investigation, he just wanted to be treated fairly and wanted the same intensity placed on Hillary Clinton's email scandals. p. 157 CLEARLY and DIFINATIVELY states that "the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference". What follows are Mueller's "implications", Mueller's "hints", nothing that states "Yes, President Donald Trump stole the election under the help of Putin”.

I then replied afterwards:

            Would you like the transcript too? I have that as well.

I won’t lie, that last one was kind of petty.

            My point is this: The Mueller Report is available to the public. The minute it was, I bought a copy, but you can read it online here. Before I made an opinion about it, guess what? I read the damn thing! When Mueller spoke before Congress, guess what? I watched the damn thing! When the Ukraine phone call became declassified, you get the picture. As a bonus, you can read that here. The point is that no one has an excuse for not being in the know anymore, and to be honest, I have no patience for ignorant people anymore. It is so rich to hear nothing but talking points from “experts” spewing from the mouths of every polarized idiot who listens. Whether its Right-leaning or Left-leaning, I hate to hear the bile of others come out of the mouths of those who couldn’t be bothered to do their own homework. If someone is ignorant today, then they are willingly ignorant.

            I’m not going to hold my tongue with the uninformed anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I used to chock it up to them not having enough time to do their research. I used to be the polite conservative, nod my head, accept the metaphorical slaps and respond in a professional tone. Indeed, I would innocently accept that this person was just another one of those who were totally okay with not being in the know. The rise of the internet brought the fall of my previous belief in the way that people argue in terms of substance. This willfulness to accept what is said to you about something instead of looking at it for yourself angers me, not only with the Left, but also the Right. The truth of the matter is that no one can be uninformed today unless they choose to be. Much like how a horse can be brought to the water but cannot be made to drink, someone can have Google on their phone but cannot be made to look up a document. It goes to show that it’s not that we don’t have enough time, but rather that we waste much of it. Instead of playing with filters on Instagram, maybe you should educate yourself before making an opinion on a subject that you know nothing about.

Fireside Chat: Does Family Tie or Restrain?

Over the past week, I’ve been noticing just how people tend to bring up their family when it comes to whatever is relevant to what is going on in their lives at the time. Good or bad, many of these instances always seemed like a copout to me. I hear words like “It’s the way I was raised”, or others like “My parents brought me up to be a (insert disappointing trope here)”, refusing to take any responsibility for their actions. Through this world view, these degenerates see the world as nothing more than something beyond their control, and they see themselves as something which is too fragile to cope with their ever-changing surroundings.

            People blame the world and everything in it for their problems. The most convenient scapegoats are always those which are within a close proximity, and no one is closer than family. As is typical, whatever ills that one’s parents, grandparents, siblings or other kin place are seen as too traumatic in order for the “victim” to make something of themselves.

            Honestly, I believe that this is all a bunch of garbage, and I’m not simply talking about the blame sharing. Just as family ties can cause resentment, they can also hold someone back if they are too susceptible to family pressures. There IS such a thing as toxic family relations and they are some of the most damaging relationships out there. The problem with these cases is that there are less resistances towards such antagonists, justified due to the poorly made moralities which state that family ties are stronger than any other.

What makes a sperm or egg donor a parent in this world? How much time they spend around the child? By that logic, would a nanny be more of a parent than the workaholic mother?  Would a stepfather of a child whose dead-beat father spends little to no time around their kid be considered more of a father? Or is it solely based on genetics themselves? This conversation has always confused me, possibly due to my own family confusion. These questions have been asked ever since I was old enough to discover this paradox:

·         Why is it okay for a child to blame his biological parents for his misgivings if they have never been involved in his life?

·         Why do people tend to believe self-fulfilling prophecies about their failures which are connected to the way they are brought up?

·         If you wouldn’t perform some grand act of generosity for a stranger, then why is it okay to abandon those restraints when someone shares DNA or a family name?

My belief on the concept of family ties may be polarizing, but it is one which is a bit fairer than others. Only you are responsible for how you feel, how you act, how you live and how you see the world. If someone who is a part of your family is in a bind, offer moral support, but nothing more. The best thing a family can teach is self-reliance, not self-indulgence.

Fireside Chat: Why is Hitler Everywhere?

I turned on my computer today to see, once again, President Trump being called Hitler…again! Now, say what you want about the guy, but when did the President commit millions of Jews to concentration camps, death camps, bring a world to its knees through war and promote an open racism dedicated to a superior race? Now, before you bring up the idea that “Well, he doesn’t deny racism, look at Charleston”, I will offer three responses:

1.    Look up the full video and stop believing a media that has been against him ever since he was duly elected.

2.    If he was REALLY racist, do you really think he would have ANYONE working closely to him not being a smoking hot, white, blonde, Ukrainian woman?

3.    Having hatred for Trump is not a world view, grow up!

Back to the topic at hand, why has Hitler become the ultimate boogeyman that everyone utilizes to make people think of someone as evil? I’m not that old, but I do remember a time where myself and my classmates wouldn’t like to even say his name, whether we were discussing World War II or not. Now, just as calling someone a White Supremacist, the word Nazi and the label of Hitler has lost any and all meaning. Perhaps I don’t quite understand because I know ACTUAL racists, those who really do look down upon anyone whose color of skin which does not match their own and see these people as even less of a human being. Perhaps it’s because I know people who would want nothing more than to exterminate the “wrong kind of people”, who actually want all Mexicans, Blacks, Jews, Gays, and whoever is deemed as undesirable to be killed. And here’s a little advice to anyone who calls someone a White Supremacist, a Nazi, or even worse, Hitler: ACTUAL racists hold nothing back and will tell you exactly how they feel.

            I’m going to take a dangerous path here by saying I respect these actual racists more than those who pass out the label like party favors. I do so because at least they admit what they are and are not apologizing about it. If I want to know what they think about American and World culture, you damn well better believe that they will tell me. Now, I do not respect their beliefs, but I do respect that there is no question of who they are and how they look at the world. As for those who want to utilize these labels as weapons, they conceal what they truly believe and who they are. By accusing someone else of a greater evil, such muck rakes demonstrate the most poisonous way of life currently known to mankind: being an easily offended, spiteful creature, full of lust, greed, envy and low-cunning; they are so easily manipulated that they are nothing more than marionette’s for tyrannical governments, only moving to the puppet master’s command.

            Using the example of this morning, there are a lot of things you can be angry at Trump about. You can be angry at the fact that he hasn’t stopped operations in Afghanistan for aiding the Kurds. You can have issues with his lack of consistency on the boarder, on the protection of the Second Amendment or his tax bill. You can condemn his carelessness when it comes to baiting the mainstream media for his own amusement. However, until he crafts a Holocaust of Latinos, he’s not Hitler. Until his supporters beat people in the streets with opposing viewpoints, praise him by saying “hail Donald” when answering the phone and create a youth league which trains future psychopathic soldiers, they are not Nazis. When we witness mass executions of minorities with President Trump signing the order, then I will concede my point; until then, stop catastrophizing! You are bastardizing the evilest son of a bitch in the modern era by making such a claim about anyone who you deem unfit to have an opinion. By that logic, who’s the Nazi here?

Fireside Chat: Learning from Hiatus

            The past several weeks, I have been working more on my family and my everyday life, making it difficult to make time for my writing. During this time, however, I have had the time to think about what I want to write about and making the itch to write something nearly unbearable. I am a firm believer in the concept of “absence makes the heart grow fonder”.

            Have you ever had something that you love slowly become a chore? Does it feel like it is regimented, making you lose the love that you originally had? Do you feel like your hobby or outlet has become monotonous, making you morose and sucking the life out of what you originally enjoyed? When we regiment leisure to the point that there is no more enjoyment, you are doing something wrong. So, instead of regiment, ensure that you begin and you start with love and intrigue. Ensure that your love rises above your anger, encouraging you to perform your activity for enjoyment and make the feeling seem less wearisome. The truth of the matter is a simple one: perform your hobby when you feel happiness for it instead of misery. As the farmer only sews a seed which he desires can he manage his property; in the same way, do not push yourself further and further away from that for which you enjoy.  

Never Complain and Never Explain

I’m sorry that I haven’t been doing my fireside chats for a bit. My schedule is hectic, causing me to not have enough time to complete them. My pain has been bugging me, along with my doctor’s appointments and we are busy moving to a new house. Missing my own writing scheme is something that I need to work on and I promise to do better in the future. This would sound like a good excuse, if such a thing exists. Candidly, people sometimes think that, if they make an adequate sob story, if they ensure that they appear sincere and should we enlighten our actions, then we will be in the right and all will be forgiven. By building a foundation of sincerity, we demonstrate one of the greatest fallacies in the modern culture: no matter how sincere we think that we are, no one likes to hear an excuse of any sort. Excuses are tools that build bridges into nothingness; therefore, there is no excuse. At best, your reputation will be one of weakness and those who only hear about your excuses will look down on you. At worst, people will attack you more due to you not apologizing in the correct manner, even if you prostrate yourself at their feet. Therefore, should you be speaking your mind, do not waiver and do not bend to mob rule.

            This week, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had pictures of himself leaked to the public in Black-Face. Let me first say that I do not believe that it was a wise decision on his part. However, I also don’t believe that he should be torched because of something that happened almost two decades ago. The craziest thing about these photos and videos of people doing naughty things in today’s standard, retro-fitting the modern “woke” definition of Social Justice warriors to that time and to that circumstance is not the best way to determine someone’s identity. By that standard, George Washington was a two-faced, slimy, law-breaking, incompetent man. Therefore, his face shouldn’t be on the one-dollar bill and his face should be blown off of Mount Rushmore. Another would be Franklin D. Roosevelt, who looked down on Blacks, Asians and especially Southerners, whose plan to get us out of the Great Depression was to transform America into a welfare state. Or, and this one is my personal favorite, Martin Luthor was a constipated monk who was upset with the church because they wouldn’t elevate his status in the church, would confess sometimes twice daily for things from killing a bug to uprooting potatoes from the ground. It’s a fun game and I firmly believe that anyone who does this with any kind of seriousness should probably seek a therapist.

            Every time crap like this pops up, people immediately ask for an apology and for them to explain themselves. It is always for naught, and the end result is either a permanent smear or they spend the next year or so on an apology tour. Now, I’m not saying that this rule does not have a reversal, it does. These rules tend to be excluded towards personal conversations and among family or acquaintance circles. When you get into anything religious in nature, political or a stance on a particular subject which you are passionate about, then there is absolutely no reason to back down. If you did something in the past that is now being thrown at you as one of the many describers commonly used today, then your best defense is to not give any ground on the topic. Be sincere, but don’t kiss any ass while you do it.

            When I say “Never Explain”, I do mean NEVER. There is no reason to do so in the situations mentioned above. Here’s an example of what I mean:

What NOT to do:

Boss: You’re late, Bobby.

Bobby: Yeah, I’m sorry. My alarm clock didn’t go off, the school busses for the school across the road were running back and forth, my car had a flat tire…

Boss: (aside to himself) I hate this crap. Why can’t he apologize and just say that he won’t ever do this again? That’s all I want!

What TO do:

Boss: You’re late, Bobby.

Bobby: I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.

Boss: Okay

(From then on, Bobby never is late again)

            When I say “Never Complain”, this one is much more universal:

Husband: God, how much did you spend on those damn shoes?

Wife: They weren’t that much.

Husband: What the Hell? I work all day, making money to take care of you, your dog, the kids and whatever freeloader in your family decides to come over and get a free meal. Damn it, most guys would have left by now! You hear me woman, MOST MEN WOULD HAVE LEFT BY NOW!!!

(Continues into the night before one of them is charged with aggravated assault)

What TO do:

Husband: I love your shoes, dear.

Wife: Thanks! I know they were a little pricy, but I love them!

Husband: Okay. Can we just limit the big spending for a bit? The promotion isn’t set in stone as of late.

Wife: Oh, okay. If we are that strapped for cash, I can return them.

Husband: No, it’s fine. You should treat yourself every now and again.

(The night ends with them eating popcorn and watching Netflix)

This is the difference between what complaining and conversation can do. Conversation does one thing that Complaints can never do, and that is offering a solution to the problem. The only thing that Complaints do is address the problem, linger on said problem and rattle whoever you are Complaining to until they are on the same level as you. So, your homework for this week is to make sure that anytime you come across something heavy, offer solutions instead of grievances.

Fireside Chat: Amusing Ourselves to Death

            The 21st Century is awesome! Never before, in the history of the world, has it been easier to connect with others, learn anything that we desire and watch television at any time. We can become celebrities overnight, thanks to YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. In fact, millions of people have found ways to make a living through this connected web of systems of entertainment, whether they are starring, directing or producing such shows or music. Truly, it has never been easier for someone to obtain fortune, fame and notoriety in this day and age. Honestly, one of the few reasons that I have been able to make money through book sales is due to the interconnectedness of this world. Many of my own followers have been found through this method alone. Anywhere, anytime, in any place, a star can be made or destroyed by the courts of public opinion.

            What is even more fascinating is that we have the choice of learning everything that we could ever imagine AND be entertained at any time, but the word boredom still exists. No one goes anywhere without a cell phone, dead zones for reception are becoming more few and far in-between, and we can find events around us with a quick Google search. Entertainment is everywhere and everyone has access to it. But, as fate would have it, we have plenty of people who claim that they have nothing going on in their lives, and they have nothing to do. There are dozens of streaming services, thousands of websites devoted to learning and hundreds of thousands of social media sites dedicated by subject. And this isn’t counting all of the content on Facebook, Instagram and Reddit. With all of these sources, we are still bored?

            In a Polemic, I wrote about Jay B. Nash and his book, “Spectatoritis”, and how he defined the phenomena as a way of engaging in passive amusement in order to eliminate boredom. If he thought this way in the 1930’s, I cannot imagine what he would think about the modern era! Passivity, he claimed, is the death of the soul and I could not agree more. If you don’t believe me, ask someone who works 60 hours a week if they are ever bored. The problem with society is that fewer and fewer people have any kind of purpose in life. Where there is less passion, there is less purpose; wherever there is less purpose, there is a breeding ground for boredom, which leads into a rise for depression. In the modern era, the Western World faces an epidemic of where the well-off are more likely than blue-collar people to commit suicide. I would initially think that the truth would be the reverse, as the lower classes tend to face more problems than the upper class. What is the difference here? What causes them to make decisions about whether or not to take their lives?

            When I was young, I noticed some of the elderly who were in an assistant living facility. Most of them were still happy, though they couldn’t live in their own homes safely. There was a man there who didn’t interact with the other residents in the home, didn’t really come out of his room and would not speak to anyone. Before he had come to the home, he had been a Captain in the Army before working as a Police Officer for thirty-five years, becoming a detective in the process. By his count, he had not stopped working for fifty years of his life. However, when he had turned sixty-eight, he wasn’t able to continue his work anymore and had been forced to retire. A year later, his wife died. A year after this, his sons made him go into an assistant living facility. Not even six months had gone by before he had passed away. Before, when he had a purpose in both his professional and personal life, he was healthy. When he died, he had high blood pressure, anxiety and suffered from early Alzheimer’s.

            Now, I’m not going to say that his loss of purpose caused all of his issues. However, the loss of purpose didn’t help things any. Keep in mind, this was a man who lost his purpose for only a couple of years and he died from the depression caused by it. I wonder what that means for those of us who fill our days with passive amusement. Does this mean that we are just delaying the inevitable? Are we just giving ourselves the illusion of not being depressed? Or, more worrying, are we delaying the gratification of having a purpose due to our actions not aligning with the lives of those who we deem more accomplished in the amusement we consume? It is a dangerous game and one which eventually leads us towards a life destined for depression. The cure? Find something to give your life meaning in four categories:

Number 1: Physical

            Whether you are into cycling, running, swimming, weightlifting, or you just want to knock off some extra pounds through calisthenics, studies have shown that exercise has many positive effects on the human psyche. Our memory tends to clarify, our risk of stroke and heart disease decreases and, most importantly, it aids in the increase of happiness and the decrease of depression. This is common knowledge to most people and yet most ignore it. Therefore, do yourself a favor and get moving!

Number 2: Mental

            Whether you are studying to get a degree, doing a course for a job promotion or simply cracking open and reading a book, your mental exercise is equally as important as your physical one. This part is probably more ignored than the first one, and it’s a shame, seeing that we have more access than ever to learn something. Now, I’m not saying that you should dive into Shakespeare and Vidal, but learning how to change your tire or fix a leaky faucet is a start. Simply put, just continue to learn each and every day. It does not have to be something that can change the world. Just start with something that interests you and then go from there.

Number 3: Social

            Nothing causes depression faster than the feeling of being alone. We usually are alone when WE feel that we are incapable of being loved or cared for, not because others are telling us this. There is always someone that is out there who will love us, who will care for us and who will be there for us. One needs to find friends, loved ones and family. It’s practically in our DNA to be in groups and the most inhuman thing that a person can do is ignore it. By placing less value in others, we place an even lesser value upon ourselves.

Number 4: Spiritual

            Whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Jewish or an Atheist, there is something in our lives which resonates with us in this manner. Whether it is attending church, reading scripture or meditation, there is something that we do which gives us optimism, some kind of ritual which allows our thoughts to transcend our current situation. No matter what is going on in our lives, humans need to have an outlet where they can feel closer to something greater than ourselves, some form of ritual which gives us perspective.

            By having something in our lives that gives us purpose in these four categories, we will be elevating the four most important aspects of our lives, leading to a future that we can be proud to have.