PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

The Hell of Postmodern Living, Part 1
by SAA Monday, Jun. 20, 2005 at 10:59 AM
stackdogg@yahoo.com

Just some psychotic ramblings.

Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? That’s a meaningless cliché that human resource types like to throw at you. But the sentiment behind this rather trite phrase fascinates me. You can read it any way you like, but since I’m such a pragmatist, I read it as such: are you good or evil? Now there’s an interesting question.


Now I know in this day and age it is dangerous to speak of such things. Some members of society believe they hold the key to matters of good and evil. Others find these concepts too vague and favor discussions concerning the varying shades of grey. I happen to believe, based on nature and science, that there are people, substances, circumstances, etc. that can fall into either category. Although there may be no such thing as inherent evil, you can attach the term as a value. Basically, it becomes either a positive or a negative.


Back to my original statement, in the grand scheme of things, do you consider your self good or bad? Do you follow the darkness or light? What are the deciding factors of your virtue? What makes a “good” person? Conversely, what characterizes a person as “bad”?


For instance, take the case of Donald Fell. Fell is accused of murdering one Terry King, as well as Fell’s own mother and friend, in what was described as a “killing spree”. It has come to light that Fell was abandoned by both parents at an early age, was the victim of sexual abuse, and began abusing drugs and alcohol as early as age ten, leading the doctor in charge of Fell’s evaluation to lament that Donald Fell is "the most drug-abusing and chronically intoxicated individual" that he has encountered.


Obviously, Mr. Fell has contributing factors to his behavior. That cannot be denied. What is questionable is how much of the blame should rest upon him. The debate regarding this case is whether or not Fell will receive the death penalty, and although I can’t ignore the hypocrisy of the idea of punishing people who commit murder with the death penalty, I can’t deny that there are some people I believe would be better off dead. And Fell most certainly is one of those people, and not solely because of the crime he committed. I believe someone this abused and neglected is far beyond help and maybe the most humane thing to do for them is to put them out of their misery, so to speak.


My personal opinion notwithstanding, is Donald Fell “evil”? Should he be considered as such? Does he fall into to the “problem” category? And who is qualified to judge? Try to put yourself in Mr. Fell’s position. Although the act he committed is heinous, for lack of a better term, the fact remains that he is a human being. The responsibility of a civilized society is to remain civilized, even in the face of such animalistic aggression as expressed by Mr. Fell. Is it more civilized to imprison Donald Fell for life, or to simply end his life, which many would agree, has been null and void for quite some time already.


Do you contribute more than you than you acquire? The real secret to many things happens to be balance, a simple enough concept. Equal parts darkness and light, good and bad, joy and pain, etc. No one will ever be able to eradicate all evil, or terror, or infidelity, or chaos. Just like in nature, where even the most seemingly abhorrent creature has a purpose, and often helps to sustain the delicate balance of life, so do these concepts ultimately help fulfill a greater purpose.


Society, as we Americans know it, is in a tailspin. The moral majority is not so moral, hypocrisy abounds, lies become truth, truth becomes inconsequential, trivial matters take center stage, and issues of importance, matters dealing with life and death, are put on the back burner in favor of the story of the week® . The current administration has every intention of making a modern dictatorship, one that parades under the guise of democracy. The fundamentalist religious right has taken over the moral landscape of America and made it their own. The people who made this country what it is, those of African descent who’s ancestors surely toiled on plantations many years ago for companies now raking in the billions, the working poor who’ve made up the service industry for generations, the forgotten children whose lives will surely include more pain than joy, all the people that you encounter on a daily basis, are being pushed aside. Their voice is not heard, no matter how elegant or articulate that voice may be it does not count.


I’ve gone a bit off topic. And I’ve also given a bit of myself away. I’m very skilled at naming evil, but for the life of me, I cannot think of one example of anything or anyone good. That may be an issue of my own psychosis, but its also an example of the shape of what’s to come. Sometimes it seems as though there is no more beauty left in the world. And innocence, necessary for adequate development, is a dying animal.


As far as I can tell, there doesn’t seem to be a solution. Like Donald Fell, we are so far gone that it would take drastic measures to bring us back. I’m not sure if such measures actually exist. The only possible hope is for people every where to look inside themselves and determine are you part of the problem or part of the solution? It’s only the beginning.

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