in a capitalistic system everything is fashion. trends. things have to change, to be new and hip so that you'll feel left out and compelled to buy. everything from food to modes of transportation to political candidates to medical coverage, as well as intangibles such as philosophy and belief systems are painstakingly packaged and commodified in our culture. this is because capitalism has so permeated our way of life... success is based upon profit. desirability is based upon perceived unavailability and the hope that this product once attained will bring at long last, happiness.
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mrs. remick told me, "presentation is everything. you can have the best idea in the world and if it doesn't look nice no one will want to look at it." mrs. remick was my 5th grade teacher. i was working on a presentation about ions.
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in a capitalistic system it stands to reason that no one should be completely happy. everyone should remain slightly disgruntled... this fuels the economy. for if appliances never broke, if clothes never went out of style, if politicians really delivered on their promises, money would stop moving, jobs would be lost. huge industries would defeat themselves by producing the perfect product.
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when you get dressed in the morning what do you think about? how are you packaging yourself? are you even aware of who you are trying to please with your appearance? or more importantly who you will alienate? or are you just trying to blend in? the choice of alienation or attraction through your choice of clothing is your personal political statement. how many times have you assumed someone's political/economic standing just by looking at them? "oh, he's a suit or a punk or a hippie or a guido or a biker or a queen..." the list goes on. which of these "looks" are you attracted to? which repulse you? why? what do these "looks" represent, what is the ideology behind them? clothing is ideology commodified. what have you bought?
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i can't spell very well. my father would lecture me on how important it was to spell correctly. "you have to play by the rules of the game in order to be respected when you win...". in 5th grade i supposedly had the vocabulary of a 12th grader...i attribute this to my inability to spell. if i couldn't spell the word i had in mind i would come up with a synonym that was easier to spell out. i would fashion a whole new sentence in order to work in this one word. just a little creative problem solving. so there i was being praised for how smart i was when really i was just dumb.
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reality is the choices we make with the tools we have in order to fashion our reality.
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language is another indicator of our personal politics. the word choices we make and the way in which we say them is a clear outline of the ideology we'd like to be associated with. in much the same way as our clothing, our words are meant to attract and repel certain others...they identify us with a group. did he say nigger? or black person? or african american? does the president of the united states say ladies or women? in what context is it ok is use the word retarded? for instance the whole "politically correct" way of saying things which was so out of hand a few years back, was definitely symptomatic of people in a down-sizing economy battling for economic security. "i respect everybody, so you have to respect me...hire me, i'll fit into the workplace nicely." that way of speaking identified a person as college educated, supposedly intelligent, accepting, and...well...superior. of course it caught on like wild fire and soon began to represent the inverse of what it had hoped to convey. as always, lingo, specific words or jargon of a specific trade or endeavor, easily identify us with our groups. however it is interesting to note the absorption of certain lingo into everyday language. for example, the vernacular of the computer industry. everyone now has a working definition of "bug", "virus", and "mouse", and terms such as "newbie" are starting to catch on outside of the computer world. fashion
blah blaaah blaaa, burp, bla bla bla blah. fuddely duddely naaah naaah ow blah blah blah.
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computers are just like cars.
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in a capitalistic system if you're pissed off then they have you...if you're happy you'll screw everything up. keep smilin'.