Then Leave
One of the problems with education is that you get sent to school, not to learn how to take care of yourself in nature, or alone in the woods, or in the mountains, but in a city. They teach you how to read and write because these are important in order to get a job, and important in order to pay taxes, and these things are necessary in order to become and remain a citizen. The subjects taught at school are not taught for the right reasons. They should be taught as a medium for the student to express himself/herself, and as a medium for communication between individuals before being a medium for finding a job.
There was a time, when humans lived as tribes, where young boys and girls had to detach from their mothers and fathers in order to become adults - in today's world this is still the case, but it is done quite differently - and to do so, there existed rituals. These rituals served the purpose of freeing the soon-to-be adult from the caring grasp of it’s nurturers, the hands that fed him, the back that ensured there would be a roof over its head and food to eat, the comfort and love that made it happy, in short, security. When becoming an adult, on must not let one’s own security depend on other people, by this I mean not that you should never rely on your neighbor to help you solve a problem, because part of humanity’s strength is interconnectedness through mutual help, but you should know - or be capable of figuring out - how to deal with the problem on your own if the circumstances made it so that no help was around. And by security, I mean mental security as well. Mental security and stability should not depend on someone else. Mental security and stability should depend on you and yourself. You are in control of what you feel, even if your brain acts up without you necessarily choosing. It’s up to you to fix the problem at hand. Find a way. Find your way.
The ritual of passage, which plunged one into an unknown world which one had never before seen, would then often be followed by a short exile of a few days to a month, were the person had to fend entirely for themselves. To learn how to live WITH nature, and one’s surroundings.
In today’s society if I wanted to leave, exile myself because I feel like I can’t become a man unless I alienate myself from it (there is no other way to truly fend for yourself, if you do not momentarily alienate yourself from society) and I say : “This society is preventing me from maturing, I can’t get the bigger picture, it’s preventing me from seeing who I truly am, what I truly want, and expressing myself fully”
People then answer : “but you can’t survive without other humans and other people, and hospitals, and store. Why do you think that we're all living like this now? “
I would then answer “But no one ever taught me the basic skills to survive ! I can’t start a fire, build a shelter, use a knife, make a knife, carve wood, hunt, track, distinguish plants or mushrooms, this isn’t taught in school”
This is when big brother, society’s voice steps in : “Well I’ll start off by saying that all of this stuff, you mentioned above, you can learn it on your own. Why didn’t you do it eh? You’re just lazy admit it. Cut the fairy tale bullshit. All you have to do is learn all of this stuff yourself, and then you can fuck off!! Can’t you just do that ? Oh, but you don’t need to, since I provide you with every THING you could want or need, food, house, money if you work for it, which is why we teach you how to read and write because these are fundamental for the best type of career path. Wheres you can make money for yourself, and your family, and then die. What’s the point of experiencing more of reality when you can just sit on a chair in an office and push the experiencing part back to later while you focus on paying your bills for the month so that society can help you be happy ?”
Me: “ well first of all, I would love to learn more, but I’m already studying, and my head is already quite full (of course there is still space and time) of all the bullshit about economic systems, Israeli-Palestinian never-ending paradoxes, political systems, and a whole other bunch of useless products of consumption you’ve shoved down my throat. And time goes by so fast now as we age on, that you end your day barely having had the time to finish what society has asked of you let alone start something for yourself.”
Society: “okay I’ll give you a point for that, but why can’t you live along happily like all the others? There are plenty of people who seem to be doing just fine ! they work hard, and then get to do what they want on the side.”
Me: “have you really looked at others? How many people genuinely smile, and enjoy their job ? have you even done any studies on that ? and if there were studies, which there probably are, it’s not like you could do anything about it, because humans aren’t biologically evolved enough and ready to cohabit in a small space with over 150 other people. What if I (or any other individual) know that my happiness is being hindered by living with you?”
Society : “no you can’t know, you are wrong, this society is made of other human beings that have gone through the exact same phase as you, and they are fine ! We are doing research on this, this is even what you want to study! We’re developing great treatments! Which help these people if only a little bit. But if you really want to leave, then leave..”
Me : “But are they fine ? they are drug addicts, or addicts of anything that might distract them from the fact that the society they are living is not the way they want to live their life. They just don’t have a choice so they drown the pain. Alcohol works great for that. And how do you reinsert someone with depression back into society ? you put him/her on antidepressants which essentially drain the person of creativity and give him some synthetic joy. How in the world is that supposed to solve the problem ? If the person is at a crossroads with society, and doesn’t realize that to solve her/his depression she/he has to look within her/himself, then giving them antidepressants is the worst option possible, because they will use it as a walking stalk the rest of their life, instead of using it as a crutch, until they realize that the society they live in is what’s toxic.
Not toxic masculinity, not close-mindedness, not conservatism, not communism, not gender issues. It’s you. You are toxic because the human beings you have assimilated and are still trying to assimilate are alienated from themselves and from one another, because we are not evolved enough to uphold stable friendships with more than 150 people : Cities are stupid. Even if they can build a whole bunch of stuff.
Society : “Alright then leave !! Go live in the mountains with your tribe and no medicine, no police, no nothing. You’ll see how much you appreciated it here”
Me: “Yeah sure, you have hospitals, and now that synthetic medication exists we have forgotten the properties of countless healing herbs and fungi. But you made sure all of this stuff was erased from history, it’s not profitable enough if everyone has his own herb garden instead of getting vaccines for the monthly flu. And hospitals are good, but what use is it, maintaining life as long as possible and stop natural selection from doing its job, when you gotta go, you gotta go.
Society : “Yep. You’re right, you’re always right anyway.”
Me : “ Look, I'm sorry if I just don’t want to be a part of this, I want to experience more of reality, not virtual reality behind obscure concepts and screens and definitions, and bills, and tuitions, and fees, and finance, and economy, and retirement, and everything being predefined and predetermined. Nothing is new anymore, all has been recycled twenty time because the only thing that matters is growth and consumption. STOP. What really matters is: This. Here. Now.
The reason you have failed in my upbringing is because you have not given me enough space to formulate my own desires, preferences and wishes. Television, commerce, and celebrities set in sand what is supposed to be “the way to do and like things”, even preference in music is forced upon me, and unless curiosity takes the lead it is impossible to listen to anything else than your suggestions. You have failed in my upbringing because you have not satisfied my curiosity as much as you should, and could have, because you fear that if I learn too much, I will want to sever my bond with you. You fear that, in the same sense as the forbidden fruit, I might uncover some underlying truth in which I come to the realization that I have to let go, and you too, for the better well being of both of us.”
And this is exactly why people who receive the best form of education and upbringing may still feel alienated from society, and even more so from people who don’t feel alienated from it. We end up feeling lonely and we just can’t seem to understand why.