Cool Kids Examined
March 31, 2017
G.D.O'Bradovich III
I wish I could be like the cool kids, ‘cause all the cool kids, they seem to get it.
Echosmith
We begin by coveting what we see every day.
Dr. Lecter, personal correspondence
Echosmith
We begin by coveting what we see every day.
Dr. Lecter, personal correspondence
1
The quoted lyrics have the potential of esoteric writing, employing words such as “like” and “seem” that create intentional uncertainty. The socially aware youths appear to belong, while socially awkward youths do not appear to fit in. As appearance tyrannizes over truth and is the lord of happiness, we can only surmise which group seems happier; we cannot know. The Gentle Reader may feel that we are desperate to find esoteric texts in mundane material at the end of our career, and his feeling may be correct.
In our youth, jealously was not unknown to us, yet, we put away foolish ideas- there will always be greater and lesser individuals. Therefore, as adults, we do not envy, or dwell upon, wealth or appearance; in time, these will pass to the West.
We have long noticed the current cohort of HighSchoolers™ and their camaraderie and have reflected at length regarding our observations. In my childhood hometown, there was no public place for high schoolers to socialize and, if there were a place, it was unknown to me. It would have been unlikely for me to join my classmates, as we had little, if anything, in common regarding interests.
The Gentle Reader may imagine the “little professor”, the introverted Capricorn, the philologist, attempting to successfully interact with youths. I have no need to imagine this scenario, as I have repeatedly experienced it with the current high schoolers.
In high school, I was not interested in playing sports, or concerned with watching sporting events. I was not exposed to musical instruments, nor did band instruments hold my attention. In toto, I was not involved in any extracurricular activities, as the explicit goal during high school was academic proficiency, so called. Therefore, when pondering the current high schoolers, our longing is not one of a better upbringing, per se, but different circumstances, of a sense of being part of something.
To actively avoid social encounters in our youth, but to accept, or desire, such encounters now, may indicate that our perception of social groups has changed, as we have been fortunate to observe, and to a lesser extent interact with, a successful and mutually supportive group. Of course, we are aware that tribal instincts always prevail, so we know that we can never be part of their group.
As for our academic career, it is null and void. It is possible we image “what if” scenarios when we watch the interactions of the high schoolers. Obsessing upon decisions long past and accompanied by different, and supposedly better, outcomes is neither productive nor healthy; as our academic scenarios are limited to individuals with certain scores above 121.
In our youth, jealously was not unknown to us, yet, we put away foolish ideas- there will always be greater and lesser individuals. Therefore, as adults, we do not envy, or dwell upon, wealth or appearance; in time, these will pass to the West.
We have long noticed the current cohort of HighSchoolers™ and their camaraderie and have reflected at length regarding our observations. In my childhood hometown, there was no public place for high schoolers to socialize and, if there were a place, it was unknown to me. It would have been unlikely for me to join my classmates, as we had little, if anything, in common regarding interests.
The Gentle Reader may imagine the “little professor”, the introverted Capricorn, the philologist, attempting to successfully interact with youths. I have no need to imagine this scenario, as I have repeatedly experienced it with the current high schoolers.
In high school, I was not interested in playing sports, or concerned with watching sporting events. I was not exposed to musical instruments, nor did band instruments hold my attention. In toto, I was not involved in any extracurricular activities, as the explicit goal during high school was academic proficiency, so called. Therefore, when pondering the current high schoolers, our longing is not one of a better upbringing, per se, but different circumstances, of a sense of being part of something.
To actively avoid social encounters in our youth, but to accept, or desire, such encounters now, may indicate that our perception of social groups has changed, as we have been fortunate to observe, and to a lesser extent interact with, a successful and mutually supportive group. Of course, we are aware that tribal instincts always prevail, so we know that we can never be part of their group.
As for our academic career, it is null and void. It is possible we image “what if” scenarios when we watch the interactions of the high schoolers. Obsessing upon decisions long past and accompanied by different, and supposedly better, outcomes is neither productive nor healthy; as our academic scenarios are limited to individuals with certain scores above 121.
2
INCIPIT EXCURSION
During the editing of this essay, potential Associate Apprentice Adam, Gemini, arrived to “annoy a Great Occultist”, our wording, or “hang out”, his words. While correcting his “wardrobe malfunction” (hint: draw strings cry out to be tied), pAA Adam delivered the wisdom that he presumably found in a fortune cookie: people can change at anytime. His monologue suggested that individuals have both choice and free will. We note that “wretched idiots” do not question that individuals can make choices, while the topic of free will has been debated for centuries. Since Socrates does not know the nature of justice, so we remain ignorant, despite repeated attempts, of determining the nature of free will.
Lesser minds and theologians suggest that free will has its origin in man and the first demonstration of Free Will is found in the Garden of Delights. We are unsure of the former, as it is indistinguishable from choice, however, the later deserves our attention, as it may assist in discovering both the existence and nature of free will. We may say that the wording, “free will”, is enticing to the unsuspecting opinionated reader (“I'm free. I have will. Therefore, I have free will.”).
Eve only knew of the prohibition of eating of the tree from Adam, the Lord God did not relate this restriction to Eve. All the information Eve knew regarding the tree was a secondhand account, or a tradition, of the prohibition. As Leo Strauss observed, knowledge of the past is an inferior type of knowledge. In fact, as the text does not state that Eve knew of the existence of the Lord God, the reader cannot make this presumption.
The text states that Eve gave the fruit to Adam, the implication is that Eve was alive, she did not die. Adam, through a certain human facility, believed, but did not know, that since Eve did not die, neither would he die. Although we admit there is a presumption inherent in Adam’s reasoning, since the prohibition was directed at Adam, not Eve, it was possible she would not die, as the prohibition was not applicable, but Adam would die. Adam’s behavior demonstrates rudimentary reasoning skills, as we do not expect experienced reasoning from youths or newly created beings. From the example in the Garden of Delights, we conclude that free will is synonymous with reasoning. We suggest that man has a predisposition to reason.
As always, the Gentle Reader, if he has no opinions on the text of the second and third chapters of Genesis, will reach many reasoned conclusions, none of which should be the ambiguous concept known as free will.
Lesser minds and theologians suggest that free will has its origin in man and the first demonstration of Free Will is found in the Garden of Delights. We are unsure of the former, as it is indistinguishable from choice, however, the later deserves our attention, as it may assist in discovering both the existence and nature of free will. We may say that the wording, “free will”, is enticing to the unsuspecting opinionated reader (“I'm free. I have will. Therefore, I have free will.”).
Eve only knew of the prohibition of eating of the tree from Adam, the Lord God did not relate this restriction to Eve. All the information Eve knew regarding the tree was a secondhand account, or a tradition, of the prohibition. As Leo Strauss observed, knowledge of the past is an inferior type of knowledge. In fact, as the text does not state that Eve knew of the existence of the Lord God, the reader cannot make this presumption.
The text states that Eve gave the fruit to Adam, the implication is that Eve was alive, she did not die. Adam, through a certain human facility, believed, but did not know, that since Eve did not die, neither would he die. Although we admit there is a presumption inherent in Adam’s reasoning, since the prohibition was directed at Adam, not Eve, it was possible she would not die, as the prohibition was not applicable, but Adam would die. Adam’s behavior demonstrates rudimentary reasoning skills, as we do not expect experienced reasoning from youths or newly created beings. From the example in the Garden of Delights, we conclude that free will is synonymous with reasoning. We suggest that man has a predisposition to reason.
As always, the Gentle Reader, if he has no opinions on the text of the second and third chapters of Genesis, will reach many reasoned conclusions, none of which should be the ambiguous concept known as free will.
EXCIPIT EXCURSION
3
It is possible that the group of high schoolers represents not mutual support we want, but represents what we, due to our personal awareness, did not seek: children. That widely admired quality, when assigned to youths, is frequently misplaced, however, if any of high schoolers were my progeny, I would be satisfied that I was a supportive and successful parent, as it is highly unlikely that the seemingly successful high schoolers have unsupportive parents. However, if, at times, we are not content with our status quo, then we accept the fact that the awful and terrible responsibility of raising and nurturing a child into adulthood is beyond our meagre ability.
We may say that the high school group represents both our longing for camaraderie, for children and our feelings vis a vis the group are ambiguous: we are simultaneously attracted to it and fearful of it.
In our darker imaginings, we may wonder where and when things or events or circumstances irrevocably changed, and as we have adequately covered this material, the involvement of Fortune in her various forms will be omitted.
The majority of the high schoolers, it should be noted, share at least two characteristics. They are in “cross country” and desire to join the military for the express purpose of paying tuition for college and for high school 3.0. We presume that “cross country” is an extracurricular activity that touches upon the flat earth model, although we have our doubts. Therefore, the high schoolers have demonstrated a preference for group activities and this mentality has served them well, and we expect continued success in their respective endeavors as adults. We may say that the “cool kids” fit in because they conform to conventional standards of acceptable behavior. These standards are identical to the opinions that allow the city to come into being and to be sustained. The survival of the city benefits all citizens, especially those nonconforming individuals described by Plato as “bad and worthless”.
By following our analogy, we suggest that the “uncool kids”, such as the geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, and dickheads are, comparatively speaking, free spirits, and although not all of the uncool kids possess noble sentiments, undoubtedly, it is certain that select individuals have virtues.
We conclude that while we wish we were the normal kids, as they fit in, we always knew that we are not normal, we “get it”.
We may say that the high school group represents both our longing for camaraderie, for children and our feelings vis a vis the group are ambiguous: we are simultaneously attracted to it and fearful of it.
In our darker imaginings, we may wonder where and when things or events or circumstances irrevocably changed, and as we have adequately covered this material, the involvement of Fortune in her various forms will be omitted.
The majority of the high schoolers, it should be noted, share at least two characteristics. They are in “cross country” and desire to join the military for the express purpose of paying tuition for college and for high school 3.0. We presume that “cross country” is an extracurricular activity that touches upon the flat earth model, although we have our doubts. Therefore, the high schoolers have demonstrated a preference for group activities and this mentality has served them well, and we expect continued success in their respective endeavors as adults. We may say that the “cool kids” fit in because they conform to conventional standards of acceptable behavior. These standards are identical to the opinions that allow the city to come into being and to be sustained. The survival of the city benefits all citizens, especially those nonconforming individuals described by Plato as “bad and worthless”.
By following our analogy, we suggest that the “uncool kids”, such as the geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, and dickheads are, comparatively speaking, free spirits, and although not all of the uncool kids possess noble sentiments, undoubtedly, it is certain that select individuals have virtues.
We conclude that while we wish we were the normal kids, as they fit in, we always knew that we are not normal, we “get it”.
When I was a very small boy, very small boys talked to me.
Now that we've grown up together, they're afraid of what they see.
New Order
Now that we've grown up together, they're afraid of what they see.
New Order