There is only You and Me

I have a firm belief in bullshit. Bullshit can change the world just as surely as non-bullshit. Lies can wield the same force as truth and have equally positive or negative effects, there is no argument that some lies can be sweet, some can be cruel, and the same is valid of truths. A lot of my friends will joke about my ability to bullshit, it’s gotten me through much of college both on verbal and written levels. The reasons for this are numerous, it is likely largely due to the fact that I am relatively talented when it comes to saying what I mean to say, but this really isn’t about my bullshit.

The truth is, bullshit can change minds, bullshit can convince people, bullshit weighs in heavily as a potent force. Some people claim to be able to smell bullshit when people are saying it, but this is untrue, more often people know very particular pieces of bullshit when they are spoken due to their own personal knowledge. But I’m rambling here, so what is my point?

In an ever changing world and as ever changing people, nothing we say is ever the full truth, at least not in any lasting sense, because our minds and opinions can change and with that so can the beliefs which we hold true. It is somewhat scary to think about how much we do change over very short periods of time. I began writing this post because I am currently reading a feminist reaction piece to notions of Cartesian Mathematics and it made me start thinking about the subtle yet overwhelming levels of bullshit which exist all around us and we willingly believe in order to maintain notions of objectivity within the world.

In recent months, in recent years, I have experienced a great lack of confidence in my identity and it has given me great cause for concern. In truth my search for identity has been a futile one because I have been looking for the wrong kinds of answers. Frankly right now I could define myself in a number of ways, by the things I care about, the beliefs I hold true and the powers which I perceive are exercised over me and the powers which I myself exercise over the world. But all of these things can change, and do, quite regularly. The real answer I should accept is simply that I am me. This is the most basic of identification but it is one which holds true for as long as is necessary, do my beliefs really matter? Does it matter what I love, what I hate or what I hold true, or are all those things merely temporary manifestations which pale in comparison to the simple fact that I am here right now?

Descartes posited to civilization that mathematics was the key to solving the entire universe, and that we need this kind of strict system of rules in order to bring order to our lives. Descartes truly lived in a great fear of chaos and his way of dealing with it was to put his faith into God and mathematics. Since the dawn of thought men and women alike have wrestled to control the universe, control each other and control themselves. For the second day in a row I find I shall now quote from Fight Club and say that sometimes it is most important just to...

Let. Go.