...Money?

I was going to start writing a short story series this week. There has been a declining interest in the blog and I’m looking to go in a different direction with my writing. This past week I’ve been cultivating potential paths to take with regards to my first works of fiction. Something happened recently that distracted me from the brainstorming process. My Facebook news feed was littered with people voicing their protest of the SOPA and PIPA bills being discussed in Washington.

I wasn’t surprised when I heard Wikipedia and Reddit were shutting down for a day. I wasn’t surprised when a few of my politically active friends had posted about it in the last few weeks. I ended a blog post a few weeks ago with links to contact information for our representatives, encouraging you all to make your voice heard over this preposterous bill being jammed through. There was no activity in the comment section. No one spoke up to say their piece on why the government should stay away from the Internet. This lack of response was expected.

This is the same lack of response that occurred every other time I tried to bring attention to various things going on in Washington or around the world. Whether it had been a rant on a Facebook status or outside a restaurant, my friends online and off seemed indifferent.

Imagine my surprise when I couldn’t find a block of my Facebook Wall that wasn’t littered with links, thoughts, and anger about the anti-piracy bills. It was a beautiful thing. It gave me hope. Hope was a feeling that I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Warmth filled my body, from the tips of my fingertips to the end of my toes. One question plagued my mind though: what was different this time?

There is a stigma that goes with protesting something. There is a stigma that goes with listening to someone who tells you things are bad and you need to do something about it. There is a stigma that goes with following someone who says they know what is right. I believe it to be a trust issue, as well as a pride issue. You don’t have to look very hard to find all sorts of people from all walks of life telling you different things that are so very wrong, and that you need to immediately sign up to support the cause. Whether it be a religious group, an Occupy movement, or that crazy hobo on Bardstown Road, people want you to mobilize.

When someone tells you that thousands of people are being murdered for no reason, you lump it into the same category as the person that wants your help to take the devil out of the music industry. Or maybe you hear it out of a hippie’s mouth, instead of the friend who is actually saying it. The human brain categorizes, files, and organizes. It’s not anyone’s fault. It is just the way it happens when you don’t make the intentional effort to treat each situation independently.

Then, there is the pride issue. If you haven’t figured it out on your own, then there isn’t any merit to it. You are a smart person. You pay attention to what is going on. If you don’t have the reaction that this person is telling you that you should, then they are obviously wrong. Not to mention the fact that you have a whole mess of issues in your own life. Who has the to spare for the kids in Africa?

What was different this time? It is obvious isn’t it? When anyone jumped on Wikipedia yesterday to find the answer to whatever was bugging them, The Issue was staring them in the face. When anyone had the desire to browse pictures of cats, The Issue was staring them in the face. A very loud voice was telling people there was something going on that they couldn’t ignore. These people that I know personally, who spend more time in front of a computer than under the sun, were being told that the computer screen might not exist the way that they want it to. They bought it and went straight to Facebook to tell everyone else.

Although that hope had filled me with joy, the brutal reality took it away almost immediately. The grassroots efforts had made a large amount of progress. The companies that make a profit, which had the most at stake with this bill (Wikipedia, Google, Reddit, etc.) had put up a pretty strong front on their own. All of the people who were at risk to lose money were fighting pretty damn hard. They had rallied the philosophers and idealists to their cause, who see every issue in black and white. But the deciding factor, the sheep, were still unshepherded. With a bold move, the Internet got the sheep and won, for now. The sheep don’t seem to realize that all of the battles that go on with the shepherds are merely a struggle to determine who will profit the most from said sheep.

Let me explain what my problem with the situation is. I didn’t see my Facebook friends come out in numbers when the bill was announced, or when it was first voted on. They finally vocalized their “opinions” when a company that they often used the product of, told them to. This is ridiculous. If you are ever going to vocalize your opinion, you should do it because you believe it to be true. If you are going to join a fight, you do it because you feel like your cause is just. Getting political because someone who makes a profit off of you told you so is pretty much the worst thing you can do. Protesting SOPA was the right thing to do. Waiting to do it until Wikipedia told you to do so is dumb.

I have given up my fight to be the change I want to see in the world. I have given up on actively trying to make the world a better place. I have given up on doing what is right. I am a huge fucking hypocrite. Although my actions have changed, I still try to tell people all of the fucked up shit that is going on. I wear shoes made in sweat shops. I don’t pay attention to whether or not I am recycling. I flick my cigarette butts out of my window onto the ground. I buy products from evil corporations. I drive a car. I eat the cheapest most available food. I no longer donate money to anything. I don’t give blood. I don’t volunteer. I am the worthless thing that I was preaching against a few years ago. And you know what? I don’t care.

I want to live in a world that cannot exist. I want to live in a world where productive communication is a priority. I want to live in a world where thoughts come before actions. I want to live in a world where intelligence is the goal everyone seeks. I want to live in a world of intellectual thought. I want to live in a world where the needs of every person are met. I want to live in a world where competition is friendly, and no one loses their life over it. Most importantly though, which consequently is the most unrealistic want, I want to live in a world of truth. I want the truth. It may be hard. It may hurt. It may be unbearable. But I want it.

This world cannot exist. I’ve decided to take the immature stance in my despair. I have given up. I tried. I fought, to no avail. I didn’t fight for very long. I got enough of a taste to decide that it would be a lot easier to just not care. I’ve folded my arms, started pouting, and said fuck it. Because the world I want cannot exist, I no longer care to make the one I am stuck with better.

I thought that maybe a great victory had been won for the future yesterday. I was truly happy. Then I realized that it was a fight over money. One side won. That is what it always is. If you hear about it, it has to do with money. Whatever side wins is making money. Money. Money. Money.