Middlemen are Minutemen

 

By: Jonathan Seidel

Lacanian symbolism and collectivist sounds

The internal matrix fondles human progress via individualism. Seeking post-facto to reimposed man through his reserved pacifism. If every individual were to reflect and recover, the world would be a better place. While the monks and mystics may present an invested challenge most wish to void, the subtle progression of the prince and the pauper may be more appealing, The most important and least important both play chess thereby chess must be a game to play. Though it may just be for the extremes and not for the balanced middle. Most aren’t caught up in the issues of the extremes but the tumultuous middle. The individualised relic fails to appease the centre. 

Even in the classist past, the middle group could fly or fall. There was elasticity even if certain layers were off limits. In their section they could mobilise. The aristocrats nor the slaves had anything to worry about. Their births destined their futures. There was no worry. Either spoiled in riches or spoiled in lashes. There was no escape from destiny (though the slave could be freed, this was his owner’s choice with little freedom on his part). The middle ground had the ability to enrich or enslave. It was a matter of choice and fate. Putting in the work would graciously endow the hard worker with success and greater freedoms. Wealth still provided access and knowledge. Class did not mean money was irrelevant. If anything money was everything. There was no treasured legacy to rely on. Commoners were estranged random folk. Their work testified to their namesake even if it was never acknowledged. A day to day job hoping to excel. 

An ironic level of capitalism swiftly prompted economic latitude throughout nations. Middlers were average folk who paid their debt to society by the laymen’s efforts. It is therefore unsurprising that Marx’s critique levels against the fated supreme who do not meddle in the market shares. Who do not oscillate to the economic buckling the same way the commoner does. Whether he be prince or pauper, his policing of economic security diminishes the uncontrollable machine. Even for the commoner’s hardworking efforts limits gave him grief. Given the classist system and hierarchal insecurity as there are today. The political landscape coupled with the economic strata ideally enables ambition to befall him but it is not as simple. A commoner hoping to make a name for himself is cut off by a wretched aristocrat’s son. Using his wealth and connections to beat out the commoner. Laughing at the lowly spirit, mocking his mother’s honour. He sits there quiet, fury pounding in his fists.

Commoners find themselves in a worthy disaster. They can climb but not too high. There is an unfortunate ceiling but an eternal hole in the floor. Internal reflection is of little assistance to those who live and die by engagement. They cannot rejoice in hospitality. Forced to focus on the next day’s work. No rest just stress. Self growth is time consuming. Those focused on ensuring family is fed are not meditating. They are scared that with one mistake all is nought. A fearful future that is quite easily possible. There is no padding to save the landing. Jumping off a burning building straight splat on the concrete. Nothing to catch them. From home to homeless. All is riding on persistent engagement. Time is not on the side of the protecter and provider. Resting is for the cared and secured. The commoner does not relish in such delicacies. Haunted by the potential demise with little to aid his loved ones. Working tirelessly for their sake as best he could. 

Ascetic life does not mean barring necessities. Many commoners do not possess materials becoming of an aristocrat. There is a difference between a house and a new iPhone. Between food and jewellery. While there is a debate of looking rich for popularity and prestige, this is more a psychological trope than an aesthetic pleasantry. The state does not provide access of homeostatic arrangements. The commoner must work to live. His ascetic ideal is life. If he purchases a new item once in a while to keep up with the times does not inquire some materialistic personality. A nice dollhouse or sparkling necklace may be expenses but at the same time consuming and dire investments. These investments are teleological. While they may be nice they also have purpose beyond the joy of presents. To buy is to feel good about oneself, that there is sufficient extra cash allocated. A calming feeling in the straits of unknown employment. 

To which introspection is a necessary art. Self-growth has its purpose but it also has its boundaries. The commoner can never become the aristocrat. Two different worlds. The enlightened commoner transitioning to an aristocrat is no longer an enlightened commoner. Many a time, he is no longer enlightened. The spheres are different. The focus has shifted. Once in the sphere of the higher ups the common life is no longer relevant. Away from the triviality welcomed to tranquillity. The elevated scenery and varied approach to life differentiate the elite from the average. Introspection is finally possible. Once the achieved elitism is finalised he can sit and relax. The working wealthy succumb to the manner of its esoteric violations. Scorning the average for not working hard enough. Shovelling charity like a rock bastard on vacation. 

Self-help option to attain wealth is a myth. It does help to read McRaven’s insights to make your bed. Habits are necessary for ambitious stardom. Yet the idea that riches will spawn due to the stoic ethic is mindlessly stubborn. It may help those disorderly into order but that is for the irresponsible with potential. The average working dad will not necessarily inflate his salary by meditation. His consultation is not mirrored in the sage advice. Advice best suited for those with spare time to wrestle with the idea not nine to five office workers. Cemented in a profession that provides is normative even if boring and wasteful. It is a means to an end. Pondering the cosmos for greater purpose is significantly undermined by the social order. Such stoicism endures the painful routine. The commoner’s consistent charge to the workplace is an unconscious expression of stoic energy. No plight or refuge until after the day is done. Commitment for the sake of others is powerfully stoic. 

Individualistic assault has little bearing on actual change. Systems are set and the classist society embedded. There are available routes to ascend and descend but they are not inevitable. Hard work may not pay off for all sorts of reasons. Beyond discriminatory ploys, the axis of unavailable work and restricted possibilities dissuade the excellence promised by the educational system. The faults of a troublesome imperfection haunt the risky urge to leap bounds to paradise. Why desire the riches when the market bets against. The investment is a risk but for some it is a deathly plunge into possible oblivion. The commoner misses the resources necessary to expand his empire with minor infractions awaiting his desired result. Failure can be tolerated for the elite but not the commoner. The commoner is stooped in his victorious asset of familial deliverance over the unqualified treasures. 

Breeching the system inquires incredible skill and resources. For the lucky few granted passage is a fated measure. Their transition was effortless. For others it is a long-awaited aspiration. The system ceases to incentivise such growth. The media may scream it, the rich may preach it but it is a ceremonial trope. The stoic endurance does not lead to the pot of gold at the other end of the rainbow. Fighting and fighting leaves one depressed and restlessness, alone and frustrated. Solo  mentality edges out over time. Making meaning and pushing oneself through the obstacles is painfully exhausting. Life is work and family. A virtuous foundation but not one that readily considered. An automatic expression of will that endures day in and day out of the office. If anything it is the stoic relation that belittles the commoner’s hopes for considerable ascent. Responsibility and integrity are embedded principles in the commoners mind. A subconscious stoic with moot conscious introspection.

Self-help is targeting young men to get their act together. It is a harsher reflective aura for those figuring themselves out. Those collegiate students or post bumming around. The goal is to become that man and endure. Solves little with indifference to much of the world. A machine working to salvage for his family. Slaving away. No change is actually occurring. Reviewing the self attains a stronger personality more mindful or aware but has little influence if not leading anywhere. His ideological movement may garner a following but that merely leads to the tyrannical replacement of the old. The revolutionary strata is better repelled with collective assimilation. A united front against the dire sinister problems. Breaking down the walls of de-emphasised notoriety. Recognising limits and seeking to exploit them and overcome their shadow. 

A single individual cannot usurp the societal symbolism. Symbolic constructs need collective rebellion to establish a new motto. A dignified linguistic and communitarian relationship that upholds the public’s image. Bettering the self is a good start but it does little to change the system. Only if a group steps up can the matrix be unveiled and yielded. A series of strong-willed proactive protesters can compel static institutions to change. It may take time but it will happen. The commoners must seek their congruency amongst one another. Caught up in social instability garnering divided conceptions. The unified mantra speaks the communal lingo for others to feel comforted and cared for. A deathly blow to the alienated individualism. It is not just one family but a community of families. Concern for those in the neighbourhood. Spatial proximity does matter to the indulgence of connective politics. 

Reservations do arise from the collectivist jargon ideologically overpowering single victims in the street. Coercing them to their side with fascistic assault. Such group mindedness is dangerous. The cause is real and the consequence is imminent. To deal with the issue is to discuss as commoners. Recognise the issues from the other side. Steel-manning the other’s position to assess the situation. The commoners are all on the same side. Middlers are not too far from their poor brethren a few acres down the road. The aristocrats look down upon the commoner. Whether they be elected legacies or lucky, their new prestige places them in a cynical downturn against the regular folk. The culture war is a dubious skirmish over values. Debate them not yell past one another. Cease the strawmannirg the media conveys as a grenade to ignite a battle of agendas. 

Most folk are good people. Whatever background, just wish to live happily and peacefully. Their DNA projects intuition and empathy to the ailing public. The stoic mentality is the disease. Things do matter. Fixing instead of enduring is critical. Working together to reshape the limiting systemic constructions. An imperfect possibility but little steps will suffice. The first is less internally reflective and more expressive to potential differences. Tolerance is moulded by respect for other than the self. Society’s growth is emboldened by communitarian engagement. It is no shock that the first responders to natural disasters are religious groups. Community mindedness must transcend negativity for the positive push. Disagreements are inevitable but evidently there is compromise. Commoners are on the same team even if they disagree. Willing to compromise and extending a hand is a first step

In antiquity, commoners were placed in the governmental sphere. With the exception of a few pseudo-populists politicians, most representatives are aristocrats. Populists themselves speak to the people but are not from common backgrounds. Where is the commoner representative. Until there is sufficient representation instead of corporate sellouts, trust must be shaky. This means that commoners need to work together not against each other. Ex-commoners are away from the social hardships and elitists. It is not a matter of identity insofar as social class. Democracy veils the distinction. All are equal and apparently trustworthy. Dubious conclusions only derail the common hope for excellence. Putting differences aside for more representation is the common hope for good. The commoners can rebel if they put their heads together. Their incentive can be much higher. It all comes down to integrity. Disallowing political indecency and hypocrisy. Accountability is the central motif and is the road to salvation.

The ethical impulse is generally weighed on dos and donts. The hope for systemic change and insular relations is through collective virtue across the spectrum. While this may create disgust for the elite, it is a well worthwhile endeavour. The latter hold all the cards static in the conservative restrictions. A communitarian process places the entire county against the leaders. Whether it be colonial defence or Russian revolutionists, the model is to elect representatives but unionise to fulfil a sacred responsibility. Certainly worker unions have radicalised to some degree but the hope for the communitarian process is a more democratic motto that the elite suppress in their premodern feudalistic fantasies. A foundational respect coupled with dignity and debate mixes for a healthy hand. Easier said than done but it is a start. The collectivist debasing requires the affected to band together not to heresy hunt one another like play things in an elitist colosseum.

It does start with the individual to desire the communal relation but it is the hands of the political class to risk not their economic prise but their social pride to seek help. To recognise the inherent inadequacies and work through it. Aspiring for the elitist class should not be downplayed nor betrayed. Wealth is freedom for many. Yet it is the media’s erotic fascination with hypnotic trolling that is behind such wishes. Recognition with little introspective allocated from the constant routine brings the robot to life. Pinocchio is a boy. Awaking from the slumber of destitute machinery. Such prognosis should have been moulded during the lockdowns. So much time to infiltrate and cultivate. A lost opportunity. The daily stress and insistent delusional negativity haunts and brings the mind to reassess. Priorities are straight but something else must happen. The commoner ethic while relativistic and exclusive is necessary to take down the oppressing foreign sovereign. 

4 Step Process

By: Jonathan Seidel

Marcus Aurelius’ stoicism is a gracious attempt to personally achieve excellence against pain. A personal character code to live by. The common stoic theme is the divine destiny. A fate that can only be meddled with will and ambition. To endure beyond all doubt introspecting to grow stronger. Each of the great stoic teachers varied in their approach based on their upbringing: Epictetus a slave, Seneca an advisor and Aurelius an emperor. 

Stoicism relates to a principled endurance. The virtue of life transcended the fated suffering. Satisfaction in emotionless but heartwarming spirit. The goal of consistency and honesty. A growth oriented mindset. Life is a one long roller coaster. One obstacle after another. Each one with a new challenge that causes pain. The pain is overwhelming and destructive. Stoicism seeks to endure. An egocentric yet angelic sensation to the self-centred salvation. The focus on the self is to concentrate on bettering the self. It was not so devilish to the other insofar as the self required introspection to raise ethical standards. The self was responsible for individualistic growth. A model of accountability and insurance of motivation and passion.

Achieving eudaemonia in the self flourishing sense. In their theological motif, they rendered four cardinal virtues to respond to. The ability to reach the eudaemonic state inquired a pathway of constant virtuous expression. Virtue is the centre of their world. Since virtue is quite limited in its own right (prudence, temperance courage and justice). Virtue is the moral framework pertaining to the sole good all else is wrong. The virtuous are qualifiers that benefit the expresser. Virtues that modify behaviour and enlighten the individual. They craft a principled person who seeks brightness and order. Virtues appeal to the natural current and follow the stoic into the bliss of painful tomorrow. The primary natural aspects of knowledge and judgement are manners of personal achievement and regulation. 

There is a list of virtues to follow and vices to avoid. Moulding a certain type of character in line with religious archetypes. Less legalism but still sufficient in organising a model of living. Though not one based in instinct or feeling. Emotions are not on the list of stoic appeasement. Indifference is the motto of an empowered life. Not falling prey to externalities. Not being tied down by the non-virtuous aspects. Important elements to life but instead of seeking unbridled connection, keeping a small distance. Able to maintain individuality. It is not in the so-called psychopathic behaviour. To love another is genuine in the stoic oeuvre. Yet to be so hung up in lovey dovey is to mistaken the true principled mentality. Indifference is the acceptance of personal independence before collateral connections. 

Indifference is central for the uncountable fate. The virtuous elements are the controllable features. Recognising the limits of control and allowing fate to act against the emboldened self. The self can never defeat fate but it can place in a good situation to defend. Natural disasters are imminent. There is no way of stopping their course. Survival is to bravely defend against their destruction. Building a brick house against the big bad wolf will maintain its structure. Precautions taken to maintain the foundation are done to the best of abilities. Sometimes it is not good enough. An unprecedented gust strikes right through the brick house breeching its protective shield. Accepting its providence and rebuilding. The act of destruction or success is a part of life. Externalities come and go, virtues stay to the end. Principles are the core of the self’s being and expressive duty that is transcendent to the temporal aspects surrounding one’s lifestyle. 

What is discernible is the educational guide set out by Aurelius and Epictetus. Both emerged from varied households. One with externalities and one without. Both came to the same conclusion that the externalities were vain to the growth of humanity. The former withdrew to escape his treasure chests and the latter feigned to elude his master’s jewels. The dialectical engagement shows the ironic similarities between the prince and the pauper. Two great men from various fates agreeing on the core nature of human progress. A recognition of one’s place in the world is measured by their self progress in that fate. How the quarterback calls the shots under the coaches’s scheme. The coach presents the situation but the quarterback recognising the defensive shift audibles, sending his tight end in motion drops back and hits his receiver cutting to the sidelines. He could not change the line up nor falsify the defensive plan. The chess board was set up and it was his virtuous response that moved the ball down the field. 

The stoic mentality is thriving within the bounds of the fated existence. Variables have been set and it on the self to navigate those encounters. No one chooses their parents but it is on the self to cultivate a relationship or to walk away. It is not about directing an instruction manual but living according to an honour code. If the parental relationship is toxic find a way to mend that meshes with principles or find a peaceful way out. Endurance is the highlight but is pushing to fix these issues that is elementary. Dealing with the problem is not passivity but action. Though stoicism does not say deal with the problem but accepting the devil if it can be usurped. Eudaemonia is possible for those whose virtue exceeds their externalities. Reframing the issue to mend it correctly. To an extent there is a limit. In the bad parenting situation, reframing to positively spin the circumstances is not the same as leaving home freely at the chosen destiny. 

  

Epictetus was in a position to seek indifference as a slave. He summoned a logos that formulated along the lines of his position. His virtuous life was focused on the slavish possible. Yet this applies to the master too. The relic is not of some metaphysical layout but selfhood. What is true to you, the materialistic excess or the inbred principles. What drives the notion of self determination and ambition. Accepting fate is a step in the correct direction. The metaphysical layout seeks to overcome the improper inequality to rise up instead of accepting the detriment of this reality. A proper stance is to live according to the reality at large. Some are born rich and some poor but drive cannot be measured. Heart cannot be taught only earned. Many things are given in life but for those unfortunate the self preservation is in the strong-willed perseverance. Working hard and pushing forward despite the challenges ahead.

Nietzsche’s stoic relationship does accord with this wilful behaviour. The power of the self to determine the next course of action. No deity nor feeble urge will undermine the self’s quest for serenity. Aurelius’ message is parentally educational. Even as an emperor he resisted dotting on the people. He was a man of integrity. He did not let his riches fool him. Solomonic wisdom intact certified his spiritual virtues. Demonstrating a lineage to preserve the continuity of human development. The self’s desire for moral attainment. Indifferent to material but preoccupied with education. Principle hailed as the facet of his strong critique of symbolic finitude. With all the riches and power, they were nothing to the principled life. Caught up in the social media frenzy and fancy cars with girls flocking to take videos undermines the self’s introspective task. Focused instead on what others think instead of what you think of yourself. A desire to please instead of achieve. 

Stoicism does find some escapism present its philosophy, a cowardly vice but the slightly adverted matrix is the reflective aura of personal growth. While the classist society is mitigated there is still a symbolic motif that is greatly denied in the democratic world. Freedom is the illusory symptom of a constitutional enterprise. Markets cultivate winners and losers but many losers were losers to begin with. Stoic principles arguably further the deterministic enterprise not the apparent self-help billionaire 101 tactics but in the recognition that systems are bred and fate is determined even if the societal picture is a two hundred year social construct. Racism in America is a byproduct of slavery a recent longstanding event in history immortalised in one race unlike other national diversified serfs. Can virtues overcome the systemic obstacles suspending and suppressing any innovation? Can the individual excellence bring change to the world? 

A classist society had no hope. Freedom was not an illusion. It was not a possibility. The social construct was held firm by legal avenues. Dogmas hurled themselves into the wedges of the steel gates. The current social order is held together by ignorance and static. Freedom is the hallmark of the constitutional effort. While it has not stood up absolutely for all and many attempt to reduce its prowess, strides have been implemented. Freedom becomes implemented adequately when activists inherit that spark that leads the legal voices. Holding the institutional words accountable. If all men are created equal then they better be treated equal. The stoic imbibes virtue but others must also comply. The virtuous society already condemned to the social frame may not overturn the deeply flawed model. A possible retribution but not entirely damning in its innovative clause. 

The veil of freedom in the deterministic picture does not mean that change cannot occur. Paupers can become princes but not everyone can. There is not a simple way to graph this oscillation. Some are lucky but the pathway is existent. Traffic has cleared but many are still trying to get their cars straight. The paradoxical nature confuses the citizenry. Especially the better off who struggle to understand the difficulty of achievement. They see a pathway but they do not see the barricades a mile behind them. Yet at the same time the efforts to liberalise do come at a price of excessive autonomy. No rules or regulations. A jargonist scheme of idiotic self imprisonment. Freedom to choose is an escape to liberate from the formally binary dogma. A new social age that liquidates the rigidity of old.

The stoic mentality does not care for such chaotic belligerence. it may take determinism a little too far. Synchronising a genuine coping mechanism with the drought of innovation. Yet the virtuous in numbers are a powerful adversary. This is not an issue by issue basis. Instead it is a principled model of doing what is right and genuine reflection. Not playing along with social cues because that is what is demanded. While the effort to cope does little to actually fix the issue, the lessons attained are to express not harbour ill. Virtues are the base for proper expression. Enduring is a basis for the difficult trials lying ahead. Indifference to the dubious elements finds serenity in the heart. Cowardice is frowned upon. To make a difference is to be indifferent to the nagging disgust. Live by one’s own terms to reach the eudaemonic sensation deconstructing one symbolic order for a substitute with new rules. 

The social construct is control of change, as is much of life. Change is evolutionary and will eventually lead to a form of change till perfectionism. Such perfection is implausible in the ultimate historicism. It is a crashing wave waiting to happen. The wave will splash recede and then return as a new problem. Principles will not change though. Reflection will forever be an undeniable necessity for human progress. It is not a shot at the ailing mismeasures in society. There are a great deal of troubles but these are all temporal. They will move on and something devious will replace. It comes down to the principles that mark a difference. Instilling them will benefit and potentially provide potent education to alter a generational mentality. Focusing on being is necessary to the thriving nature that focuses on character. Concentrating on essentials rather than assets.