It is truly amazing how the years, which seem like nothing, which pass imperceptibly, disfigure reality to a point where there is not a single remnant left of what once was. So close one century to the other, and sometimes so disparate as to be unrecognizable. Anyone who makes a thorough analysis of the customs of past eras will be amazed, to the same extent as if someone from the past could catch a glimpse of the future. In both cases, a mixture of strangeness, repulsion, incomprehension and astonishment. Astonishment because, in theory, the human species has always consisted of men. However, for sociology, it is possible to describe men from different times as distinct species.
Tag: behavior
To Be Normal…
To be normal, absolutely normal, one must first go to a psychologist. Only he is capable of putting a lost soul on the path to normality. Next, one must live in such a way as to spend at least half of one’s useful time working. Every day, one must expose oneself to the salutary radiation of a television. Remedies for anxiety, depression, and cholesterol should complement a diet centered on industrialized products. Social injustices should inspire the deepest indignation, and the State should be obeyed regardless of the circumstances. Next to the pillow, a self-help book. And the mind repeating the mantra: “I can”.
Modern Man Works
Modern man works; when he is not working, he is in his “free time”, in his “leisure time”, when he is distracted and practices hobbies. This is what his philosophy of life boils down to. And that is why, one hour or another, his world collapses. The mediocrity of the life he leads exposes the emptiness of all his actions. It is as if he had accepted to live as a bifunctional machine; there is no sense in the way he lives, there are two buttons: in the first, the “work” mode is turned on; in the second, the “free time” mode is activated. It is ridiculous to think that this procedure is currently called “normality”, whose deviations already produce eccentrics and alienated people. To be normal, today, is to sell or kill the time one has available. “What is your hobby?”—and a man from a distant time would feel insulted.
The Utopian Character of the Unique Possibility of Social Harmony
It is curious to note the utopian character of the unique possibility of social harmony. This would basically imply individual freedom and protection against attempts to violate it. And it is impossible because the same individual who lacks freedom manifests an uncontrollable impulse to violate the freedom of others in order to fulfill his desires. This impulse, of course, is lessened by increasing the distance between individuals, freeing one from the presence of the other—which is not possible in modern overpopulated cities. It is necessary, then, for them to work it out, or for someone to force them to work it out. But an impasse arises: to fully tolerate the other is anarchism and chaos; the opposite path is the suppression of freedoms. From this, it can be observed that living together necessarily creates imbalance, and some social stability can only be achieved by prohibiting, controlling, preventing, which ends up causing the natural reaction of the one whose freedom has been violated, which is the same one who needs to impose himself, invading the freedom of others, and which represents the unquestionable justification for prohibitions and controls. Sociology is the end!