synthesis

For any critical thinker, the extraction of ideas to put towards the formulation of personal ideals is the work of one's lifetime. This on-going pursuit is to continue efforts of synchronizing of one's actions with ideals.

Ideology, as I will try to define it in my own way here is, a collection of societal attitudes, beliefs and proclivities that are constructed out of both a genuine attempt at a sustained harmonious existence as well as an illusion-based propagandistic mechanism to rule over people. The "rulers" offer up pre-packaged ideology in where those who would rather continue to take the convenient route take it at face value and as yet another absolute in their mind's eye.

One's actions or behavior, as I see it, are more based on the nature side of nature vs. nurture. Self preservation reigns supreme. Greed, lust, vanity, etc, etc, are mechanisms that stem from self preservation, some manifest from society itself and a general reaction there within. So, the action side of humanity is at odds with the ideological side of humanity. We know that war is bad but we engage in it. We know that money is the most corruptive force on this small planet but we all buy into that idea, have a budget and strive to make more money even if it is for better reasons than exhibiting newer and newer purchases to a shallow society, playing into their game of tit for tat in the class heirarchy. We know that monogamy is a noble gesture towards someone we care about but lust is an erasable element of our make-up, it is the driving force behind the species self-preservation.

Within the context of a constructed and plastic coated society such as the one that Westerners find ourselves in, it is a constant grueling task of trying to navigate through the present world of consumerism, social scrutiny, false positives, all of this while only being equipped with the reasoning that our own experimental rise out from the trees has given us.

The balance between ideals and actions is what shapes the way we look at ourselves, on all levels.