There's a lot of manifestos out there. But this Pillar of the Lush Life is not named after The Futurist Manifesto, The Humanist Manifesto, The Anarchist Manifesto, The October Manifesto, The Regina Manifesto, or even the Cyberfeminist Manifesto. It is named on that most famous of Manifestos...The Communist Manifesto. Calm down Titans of Industry, Ray O'Brien is not about to go out and throw his support behind Communism. I know that Communism has some interesting and well-meaning ideas, but I expect that you know, as I do, that the practicality of Communism is laugh out loud stupid. A manifesto is simply a public declaration of principles and intentions. The Communist Manifesto has it's flaws in my eyes, but if you can get down with it's intentions then it makes sense. However, it flies so violently against the winds of human nature that it creates an impossible paradox for itself. The United States has allegedly been in conflict with Communist nations for decades. However, if a Communist nation is a nation that follows the principles, intentions, and practices of Communism...then there has never been a Communist nation in World history and there probably never will be. I like to think that Communism was invented as a solution to the absurd class system that was developing on the European and Asian continents in the 1800s. And parts of it sound really good: free education for all, an end to child labor practices, equitable population distribution and environmentally-concious land usage. What's not to like? Well, abolition of land property, abolition of inheritance rights, and graduated income taxes seem like a tough pill to swallow for a "Land of Oppurtunity" but if this is truely the way forwad then I'm sure they have a plan to make those work. They do? Oh, good. That plan is equal liability of all labor? HaHaHaHa, good one. And that's where I put the book down and didn't pick it back up. A lot of that also had to do with the fact that they spelled labor with a u (labour), and that pissed me off with it's stupid European pretensions.
Equal liability of labor is not possible and it's not sane. Let's start with an example. Former roommate Nick Rosati and I are working in a quarry. We have to move rocks for eight hours a day from the quarry to a local mill that is being built. Nick weighs approximately 127 pounds. I weigh approximately 227 pounds. I can carry about twice as much rock as Nick and at the end of the eight hours Nick has moved 65 pounds of rock and I have moved 140 pounds of rock. I am not going to view that as equal liability of labor. So let's adjust the system. We each have to move 75 pounds of rock per day. In this scenario, I am done in 4 hours and Nick is done in about 9.25. I have 5.25 hours more to relax, drink beer, and be with my wife and kids than Nick. Therefore, he is not going to view this as equal liability of labor. So the easy answer is move Nick out of the quarry and into a job where his "emaciated Latvian gypsy girl" body isn't going to hold him back and that he can do significantly better than me. So, we make him an actuary. Only there is no need for an actuary in Communist nation so we can't do that. His current job as an energy trader probably doesn't exist also. So we're having a difficult time with equal liability of labor already and we haven't even factored in human laziness, greed, or narcisism yet. But apparently nobody ever told the USSR that in a true Communist country there is no difference in wealth or power equity between Joeph Stalin and some shmuck in a gulag...so Communism wasn't really what they were going for.
But just because something is destined to fail doesn't mean that you shouldn't try. We are learning this lesson from the Tea Party in America. If there is one group of people that I think are more stupidly insane than Commies, it's the Tea Party. The Tea Party in Alice in Wonderful was more rational, coherent, and relatable than America's Tea Party. But they've got some things going for them. They've got a unity of vision that no other political movement since the American Revolution could ever hope to match. They also realize that fighting is just as important as winning...if not more so. The number of political altercations and measures that they go into knowing that they are going to get stomped because of their inability to compromise on even the smallest of their principles is impressive. But people take notice. I think that people want to see politicians who stand for something, even if that something is idiotic. I prefer to see politicians stand for common sense even when it goes against their campaign agenda. I like to see politicians cross the aisle in both directions. The problem is that everything in Washington DC is paper-clipped together. A bill that gives 20 million dollars to needy schools might also give 2 million to gun control programs. Give the schools the money and make it up to the 2nd Ammendment on the next bill. Your opponent might be able to use it against you in the next election, but if re-election is your primary concern then do me a favor and get lost, asswipe. And you can always try explaining the "paper clip" to the voters. We're more understanding than you think.
So, let's get back to this whole Manifesto thing. The Manifesto as a Pillar of The Lush Life is about having a publically held set of principles, beliefs, and intentions that involve bettering yourself, those around you, and the world at large. And I'm not here to tell you how to run your Manifesto, but I find that starting with the latter really helps the former. This might just be me. This has largely to do with the fact that I am incapable of making myself happy. I rely heavily on other people to make me happy. Of the 1000 happiest moments in my life, I think that I can definitively say that none of them have occurred while I was alone. Social interaction and many of the wonderful occurances that come along with it are required to make me happy. Almost everything that I want in life is going to have to be given to me. I expect to work towards these things in an effort to earn them but they'll have to be given to me by somebody else who has them to give all the same. And this simply can't happen in a world where everybody is focused on their own well-being. I'm hoping that people out there will be focused on my happiness and well-being, and since me being focused on it does absolutely no good...I may as well focus my attention on somebody else's. This in and of itself can be self-serving. And there isn't anything wong with that. The quid pro quo, tit-for-tat mentality of social interaction is the essence of human nature. And there isn't really anything tawdry about the concept of "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours". (Jeez, Ray, drop enough cliches for one paragraph.) It's endearing, really. It mimics the wonderful symbiotic relatioships that occur in nature all around us. The unflattering rub on this beautiful symbiose all comes back to equal liability of labor. I knew that I spent two paragraphs explaining the flaws of communism to you for a reason. What turns the mutually-beneficial relationship into a tawdry mess is when one or both parties starts to question the value of the other persons contributions as it compares with their own.
This is why I said that Communism could never work on a large-scale playing field. It's because percieved martyrdom is an ugly, yellow-eyed monster. This is the driving force behind almost every divorce, break up, and falling out in the social universe. We tend to value our own contributions to others far too highly and view relationships as a zero net gain. If people think that a relationship isn't beneficial for them and is "too beneficial" for the other party...they might back out or throttle it down. This is not the way of The Manifesto. The Manifesto is about not counting the cost of a social relationship. It's about eliminating equal liability of labor from the equation. Just be a generous person because. Just because. Don't do it with the hopes that you'll get something out of it. Don't do it to make yourself feel good about your contributions to others and society. Don't even do it because you think it's the right thing to do. Just do it and not know why. That personal confusion feels quite liberating. Eventually kindness, generosity, loyalty, trustworthiness, and compassion all catch up to you and reap benefits. But if you're waiting for these positive traits to pay dividends in the short run and keep looking for the benefits, then you're going to drive yourself mad.
By now you almost have to be asking yourself how I expect you to live The Manifesto while saying at the same time that a society built on The Manifesto is a psychological impossibility. These two things appear to be totally mutually exclusive. Either humans are capable of living The Manifesto or they're not. It can't go both ways. Well, maybe you're right. I can tell you right now that society cannot live The Manifesto. The Manifesto is like a fine Stradivarius violin...it's not for mass production. A large collection of humans could never achieve The Manifesto, but that doesn't mean that an individual can't. Whose to say that you can't? I refuse to believe that I can't. Have I achieved it yet? Hell no! I'm still selfish, small-minded, and shallow...but I like to think that I'm trying. Outreach and hospitality is something that I'm constantly working on. My Bucket List was designed to have 1 out of every 8 items directly benefit a stranger or the world at large. And these are the easiest ones to cross off (donate blood, build a Habitat for Humanity home, Adopt-a-Family for Christmas). The thing about my bucket list items is that almost all of them require the participation of other people to complete them. And other people are far more willing to accept a pint of my blood or let me build them a house than they are to have sex with me on a pool table or fake a marriage proposal at a restaurant with me (though I think that Sarah Beattie may be in for that last one). This is what makes goals aimed at benefiting others so easy to achieve.
And in my haste to help out randos through acts of good will, I've forgotten about you my loyal readers. So as part of my efforts to move closer to The Manifesto, I would like to offer my services to you. If there is anything that I can do to help you, be it a monetary donation, physical effort or time spent supporting your endeavor, passion project, or need, or just my use of this blog or other social network medium to promote your need or agenda...let me know. Just leave your request in the comments below or e-mail me at
raymond.v.obrien@gmail.com with the subject line "Manifesto Request". I won't promise that I'll pull the trigger on your request, but it will certainly be considered and I'll do what I can. And on the flip side of that coin, if you would like to help out other people simply post your name in the comments section. I'll add you to the "Favor Bank" and whenever somebody is asking for assisstance that is outside my sphere of influence, I can feel free to contact you on their behalf. It's a little social experiment in the whole Pay It Forward vein that I'm going to try. And if you're volunteering to be added to the "Favor Bank" in an effort to achieve The Manifesto, please remember: don't do it because you think that you'll get something in return, don't do it because it will make you feel good about yourself, and don't do it because my flowery, optimistic blog words make you think that you should. Just do it because.
