Absolutely Society
A bridge, as high as the mountain in the harbor above my cell. There is no way to reach the pavement beneath the feet of society when I hide below the concrete behemoth. Not when the porous white walls painted so patiently demand so much. Not when the height I must reach is further than my fingers can grasp. I prefer it this way, away from those who sit on their white horses and pedestals. I prefer it this way, with nature about me and my habitat uncorrupted by ideals unsavory. But the balance has tilted, and the feeling of social integrity has shattered silently. The sleeping hunger of division reins down from on high, forcing the choice to stay or join…either by completely forgoing the perspective here or denying entirely the perspective there. Those dealing in absolutes demand absolutely all to be absolved of “sin”. The world isn’t black and white, or gray, or anything but every ray of color in the spectrum light has to offer. I prefer it this way, where the beauty is evident and the peace is greater than the duty. I prefer it this way, where I am allowed a modicum of freedom, freewill, self…individualism. To break trends, crack societal norms, to bring wholesome caring to all regardless of any differences there might be… that is my goal. And with the powers and their absolute “wisdoms” and “realities” are either clueless to their derision and divisions or too dumb to care of the outcomes, so long as they remain in complete control until they are no more.
What are your thoughts on this poem?
My Thoughts & Takeaway
“Absolutely Society” is a scathing but honest take of what I thought of the world I lived in when I wrote it. I started with the imagery of concrete and drab white walls that make up the urban landscapes of the world. I would guess my trip to downtown Seattle played a role in this imagery. When one looks at the buildings and the names, companies, and bustle of the world around them, one might find themselves to be drowning in a sea, with no obvious ability to reach up and stand out.
From here, I pull back to what I prefer, and describe what that entails. Being away from it all, with nature. Yet the balance is off, and urban areas, suburban by proxy, have seen massive growth, killing nature to exist. That’s what humans have always done, destroy in order to build what we imagine is ideal. Even through this innate and central demand of humanity, we cannot agree on how to destroy, how much to destroy, and how to build or how much to build. We are divided along every decision. We often reject what we do not want to see and fail to see the hypocrisy when we do the same thing we rage against.
Being absolute is living without hypocrisy, without sin, and yet we claim to be this perfection, this absolute. One can blame the individual, but the root cause here is systemic, it is our way of life. It is absolutely society, modern western society that has led to the issues. We fail to realize that the world is more complex than we could possibly imagine, it isn’t black or white, right or wrong, left or right, yes or no. Everything is as entangled in every shade of color and hue that is visible and then some. That is not how we view things, it is impossible for humanity to look at all the options and choose; we become paralyzed with indecision. That is why we narrow the perspective, win others to that view, and reject all other options. I say we deny this as a society, and I say we are to focused on our own perspectives as people and groups to realize that there are other options at all, options that may be better than our own. Rejecting all ideas and options is as foolish as withholding a decision until all ideas and options have been heard and understood.
I prefer to have more options, and while I suffer from indecision, I can at least say I explored all options known to me. I believe it is my right as an individual with the freedom and ability to do so. If I were alive 300 years ago, I would probably hold a narrower view of things in society, but in this century, we have the luxury to view and analyze much more data quicker than ever before.
The issue I take with today’s society, according to this poem, is that we refuse to accept there are more ideas worth looking into when approaching a topic than our own. It has made us intolerant over time, and it is our duty to recognize that intolerance. Sometimes that requires going against the grain, cracking social norms, saying “no.” Sometimes it is recognizing that the people that built those giant concrete behemoths, cities, buildings, companies, whatever…sometimes all they want is to limit the choices so that it benefits their goals. Being fixated on one’s goal without care for anything else can be dangerous when the goal is narrow while impacting others. I say people who fixate on their aims and harm others are dumb in the poem, but I have come to realize they are morally wrong, or worse.
I hear another poem is coming every Saturday!