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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Addressing Political Apathy (ie. Irvine sucks)
posted by PizzaB0ii

So I've noticed something semi-consistent about my short time on this earth thus far. That every now and then (and especially since high school) I have sat down and seriously questioned the meaning of life. If you think there is something wrong with thinking about life, the future, our existence, or that this impression of self-inquisitive philosophical thought presents itself as "emo," then by all means, go screw yourself.

By the way, I'm speaking for myself (not for VAC), and since they have equipped me this forum as a means to propagate my political agenda, you are stuck with the random musings of one helluva intelligent "emo" student.

I guess this occurs semi-randomly because I try very, very hard to avoid shallow people. But since we live in IRVINE, home of fake intellectuals, Berkeley rejects, "admire me because I look pretty," and "look how macho I am because I take steroids and drive a car worth my entire 4-year tuition" people, this event is all but inevitable.

In short: Irvine sucks. The environment sucks. The people (while I admit, there are occasional rarities) suck. No, this is not coming from some forced social outcast who lives in contempt of an unfair, unbalanced, and overly superficial society--this is coming from a voluntary social outcast who lives in contempt of an unfair, unbalanced, and overly superficial society.

I have seen the edges of human selfishness existent only in the eyes of the inhumane. I have witnessed the blatant disregard of other human beings for the sole purpose of personal advancement. I have analyzed the inner workings of the human mind, came up with the conclusion that there are a whole lot of extremely messed up people in the world, and continue to offer the benefit of the doubt.

And continually, I am disappointed.

We live in this bubble where any semblance of true independent thought is marginalized and ridiculed. Conformity, with all its negative intonations, is exemplified by our perfect, perfect school. A perfect circle with a pretty park that no one uses. Our perfectly paved streets turns walking to class into a workout. Our perfectly fake people with their social networks of outwardly eccentric impressionism.

In short, we live in this world dominated by such immature attitudes towards life. "Fun" dominates. It matters not the ends of such careless action, it only matters in the means and production of "fun." Pretty things, with pretty colors, especially on pretty looking people, are just oh-so attractive. And the dominance of grown men to ignore the responsibilities of maturity to chase such pretty looking, and oh-so attractive people, is primarily the reason this campus is just so damn apathetic.

UCI is one of those social experiments you wish was just bad T.V. The Real World, where real people live... keeping it real...yo.

Interrupt the above commercial with random clips of pretty looking, and oh-so attractive people, screaming and yelling "wooooooo!...!!!" and you get an idea of what I'm talking about.

This is COLLEGE. And it's great that many more people are going. But sometimes, I really wish there weren't. Because in the process, a lot of really, really stupid people make it through the gaps. The "oh noes! my grandmother died!" sob storied idiots who by resume manipu--I mean, resume enhancement, make it through the loopholes. This is no longer about the elite students learning, understanding, and questioning at an elite level. This is about blatant self-conscious fulfillment of desires.

Freud would have a field day. So would Kinsey.

Alas, I admit the world, as do many of you (i hope, at least secretly anyways) that our community is something hard-pressed to change. And regarding society as a whole (not just Irvine), there are very obvious and very relevant trends in the works.

Intelligence is no longer admired. Social discourse is frowned upon. Activism, hardcore beliefs held and upheld in face of tremendous adversity, is substituted for a pacifist "well...I don't want to because we can't do anything about it" attitude that reflects upon the mores of our time. For certain situations, that may be true. But when it comes to personal identity, that type of mentality becomes a fast track to mediocrity.

Seriously, what kind of crap is this? People shaped by their environment are the worst kind of conformists available. That, my friend, is the textbook definition of "tool."

I can go on and on and on. I can spiel about how American individualism (what a farce) has been taken over by commercialism. I can spiel about how I, too, have been swept up by this wave of inherent apathy to a point of cognitive dissonance. And yet, I can also spiel about human progress in the face of adversity--all kinds.

Life ain't simple. Life ain't fun. And life is diverse, not just the "diversity" crap the UC is trying to sell us--but TRUE diversity that crosses class, gender, and racial boundaries. These are things I have witnessed, experienced, and taken to heart. Because we only have one shot at life. Why waste it trying to be one of those bland, but oh-so attractive, people? (I'm speaking, I hope you understand, about the superficiality of Irvine).

I understand that fun is necessary to maintain sanity (especially here, if not anywhere else). But it should not take priority over life and meaning. I borrow from the philosophy of many different people, namely Nietzsche, Vonnegut, and Hume. If that makes me "emo," then screw it, I am emo. Becuase sometimes, it's a perfectly natural human response to environmental stress.

Screw it. It's late. Tomorrow I will wake up, and it'll be just like it says on the shampoo bottle: lather, rinse, repeat.

Labels: apathy, irvine, political, sucks