The Broad and The Narrow

I can never finish my thoughts properly. Also, I'm deluding myself by pretending there are people reading this. I don't even read my own blog, because I can't, but even if I could I probably wouldn't.

Anyway to complete my thoughts: I was only suggesting in general that sociopaths and misguided homicidal maniacs be given some direction. They want to do something that'll etch their name in history, or barring that, a week's worth of coverage on Fox news and CNN and the whole cabal; and they're willing to shed blood to do it. So what seems to be ludicrous and cruel in other circumstances may not be so when it comes to these folks. They want some glorious cause and they don't possess the imagination or discipline to think of something on their own;as a result they copy what other sociopaths do after they see all the media coverage and exposure. They think they've arrived upon the early days of the Klondike goldrush.

What the government, or the media if they want to do something to help, is to show the potential killers alternative causes that could meaningful; hopefully without the bloodshed. So if they can be procured the Sudanese militias in Darfur, or something more realistic like working at the local food bank, that'd be swell. But I'm trying to be more realistic, and no ones is going to want to say the government should send them on some death mission; and as for the food bank or volunteering, if they wanted to do that they would do it on their own.

Then I remembered Battle Royale. Everyone loved that movie albeit just for the gore and hyperbolic premise. But this could work. The sociopaths want fame and attention so what better way than to get them to volunteer to be on a Battle Royale program. People objected to the idea of the movie because they were a random class of misfits in school, but in my scenario they'd all be potential killers. Would they really commit themselves to Battle Royale? If MTV covered it I'm sure they'd even wake up early and lineup to tryout for the program. It's fame and fortune - I meant to say there'd be a million dollars for the winner so that'd he or she wouldn't feel like a burden to the family if they survived but instead HEROES or at least quasi celebrities with a few bucks to their name - who could resist? (This is also like that Sliders episode where the lottery winner got money but then had to die after a week or so of living the high life.)

Positives would be that they want to kill and this would satisfy that urge. To clarify, I don't think that they actually have an urge to kill like Dexter Morgan, rather it's just ennui and aimlessness leading to unrest. But I'm not a professional pschiatrist or anything, in fact, full disclosure-wise all my knowlede on psychiatry is from wikipedia and the links from there. So, that's that.

So gather them up, no entry fee, and ship them to an island like Survivors and give them random weapons and provisions before starting the melee. This sounds like it'll costs alot of money but if you can imagine the ratings then you should see the next step: let the coverage go to the highest bidder! How much did NBC pay for the Olympics"? And CBS for March Madness? Battle Royale would outdraw those things combined. People would condemn it in public and secretly watch it, just like Baywatch. Of course there'd be massive protests against such perceived cruelty but note that: a) they would all be volunteers, nobody will be forced to join, not even serial killers in prison. b) they should also go through psychiatric tests just to make sure they are not just depressed and lethargic but genuinely pose a threat to society at large. c) a million other reasons.

Okay, enough craziness. The broad and the narrow is something I figured out at 26.5. I think most people figure this out when they're in high school. Also it's not profound in any real sense. It is just a simple way to explain the Holden Caulfield Syndrome of living in a trance and feeling everything is phony and meaningless. For myself, I call it the Claire Fisher Syndrome named for the Six Feet Under character because it's where I got the idea. And I realize this is slightly narcississtic and self-righteous and pretentious. At the same time though, I think it's great and clarifies all the instances where some confused teenagers tells their family that they just don't undertand what they're going through. It's like this gifted kids I saw on tv, a successful kid who graduated with honours but decided to work work public authorities on social reform rather than get some high paying job with great perks. Anyway, he coyingly said something about how none of his classmates could understand his decision, at which point I spoke to the tv set as I often do and said, "What's so difficult to understand? You want to work for something that you think is meaning and will boost your ego in a way which money couldn't."

The point is not that he was a jerk (he wasn't). The point is that people have a broad or narrow perspective on what gives life meaning. It depends on your experiences. You know how the well off parents force their kids into drama club and piano lessons and social functions? They might think it's for networking or better communication skills, and it might be true. But I think a benefit that they don't see is that exposure to a variety of what life has to offer broadens a person's sense of the meaning of life. If a father stuck his son with a golf club when he's three and took him to the links everyday and didn't give him any other choices then it's likely the kid will grow up thinking that the meaning of his life could only be to succeed at golf; that'd be the narrow. If the kid succeeds then it's no problem (see Tiger Woods or "The Wolf Man" Mozart) but if not then it might lead to trouble (hopefully for her sake not Michelle Wie), an example would Todd Marinovich.

The broad definition will allow one to seek out other avenues (or settle if viewed negatively) like if they wanted to be a writer but were perfectly satisfied being a chemist. It's a way of ensuring that you don't get stuck in a rut for too long of think that you have to have this one career or none at all. Of course, deriving meaning from family and friends and spouses is also part of it; but let me be the devil's advocate and say that without a job that you respect yourself, those other elements are likely to be less fulfilling. Question: how many marriages, looking to the future, will not end in divorce where there are money troubles? They say that the most likely thing to lead to depression is having a job that does not fulfill your expectations (so disappointment in career beats love-family-friends coalition); in other words, as many will tell you, aim low - at least you'll be happy.

I would like to further my blogger-pedant fetish and use some Plato. I think this is from Meno, where Socrates asks Meno to define colour. Meno states blue, red, etc. to which Socrates responds that those are examples and not the definition. And then Socrates gives his answer (one of the rare occasions) and I think it has something to do with pigments. I guess today the scientist would say something about light and pigments and the light spectrum. Anyway, I'm doing a poor job of showing off wikipedia knowledge, the gist is to define colour is much like defining the meaning of life; you ask people and they'll give you their opinion and it'll be like Meno's answer. They'll all be examples of how life can be meaningful without having an overarching concept to draw out the complete defintion. I guess I'm just trying to say that life has the meaning that you seek to give it. If you like blabbing your opinions to the world when nobody asked you - you blog. You make your judgements all everything and make your choices - that is essential to the nature of man as the existentialists say (I think). My final random statement is this: don't spend time worrying about some grand concept of the meaning of life, as long as you know what it means for yourself (no small feat) then just go with it. I mean, nobody thinks about what colour is, right? When somebody asks you about colour you just blurt out your favourite: Blue! (What? No way! That's my favourite too! Ughh... Time to throw up again.)

Wow, I completed a thought. I think.