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Learn From Man But Neither Worship Him Nor Allow Him To Enslave Your Mind – Part 1

Jason Cooper — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:13:56 +0000

Are we all too quick to worship and follow men who we have labeled as great?

Why is it such a big surprise to us when men, who are widely regarded as great, turn out to be a hypocrite, charlatan, or have so many skeletons in the closet you can hear them rattling a mile away? Why are we so shocked? Aren’t they human too despite the flattering opinions we wish to lavish on these godlike figures?

Admittedly, we can all sometimes become mesmerised and then attached to these shining examples of humanity, which can inadvertently make us forget about our own important role to play in life.

These legendary men, who in most cases take the moral high ground, can sometimes be found guilty of not practicing what they preach.

In a series of six posts, I will try to pull down the veil of perfection that protects 6 great thinkers in history, as I reveal their own, and perhaps unflattering, mortal afflictions.

To all Women looking for a Husband: Steer clear of any bald, pug-nosed men who go around speaking in riddles

Let’s now start this roster of knaves with ancient philosopher Socrates, as we take a humorous look at this wise but irresponsible of characters who has played such a pivotal role in encouraging us to embrace philosophy so that we can eventually know ourselves.

#1. Socrates

Who could blame Socrates's wife, Xanthippe, for being so fed up with her good for nothing husband that she poured water on his head? Well...I think it was water

The so-called father of philosophy was too lazy to write anything down and there isn’t too much in the way of information on Socrates’ life other than what we can garner from dodgy eyewitness accounts recorded in the writings of his star, and perhaps biased, disciples Plato and Xenophon.

Looking beneath the surface, however, revealed that old Socrates was somewhat negligent towards family duties. Socrates wasn’t a man you would exactly call a model husband or father, as on most days he left his apparently unfortunate wife Xanthippe to look after family matters on her lonesome.

The reason for Socrates’ apparent Houdini act, was that he was too busy searching for “Truth” on the streets of Athens, whereby he would choose to spend his time interrogating any citizen he thought held false beliefs and attitudes.

Admittedly, it has also been said that Socrates had the most tempestuous of wives and the most ungrateful of sons that would be enough to drive a saint to murder, or even into a gorgeous man’s strong arms (you will no doubt see the relation to Socrates later). So who could blame Socrates for wanting to bolt out of the house every morning to stay out until the late hours gossiping about life’s big questions with his half-naked pals down the local baths.

Socrates once said,

“Nothing can harm a good man, either in life or after death.”

Nothing may harm a good man, but I’m sure most women would cause serious harm to a bad husband by nagging him to death. So maybe Socrates was not as wise as Plato made him out to be – because if he were so wise, I’m sure he would have chosen to avoid much agro at home by pulling his weight from time to time - that’s what I’d have done to keep the missus sweet.

Another controversy that is never discussed was about Socrates’ sexuality – he use to surround himself with many attractive young men who admired and respected him for his wisdom and method of questioning. There are many dialogues in the books of Plato which seem to intimate Socrates having more than a feeling of friendship toward a certain handsome lad called Alcibiades.

So there’s a distinct possibility that Socrates was also in the closet regarding his sexual orientation. Personally, I don’t give a damn who the married Socrates was sleeping with, as long as the person he had eyes for (man or woman) was of consenting age – although, there isn’t any hard evidence (I know what you’re thinking, so get your mind out of the gutter) to suggest he ever acted upon his impulses and desires…yeah, right.

In the coming second post of a 6 part series, it will be the turn of another all-time great, Mahatma Gandhi, to step forward out of the lineup of featured felons.

The 10 Biggest Misconceptions That Prove We Don’t Need No Education

Jason Cooper — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:31:14 +0000

Are kids taught lies just for them to fit into the system?

In writing this post, the Pink Floyd song “Another Brick in the Wall” comes to mind when listening to the lyrics and analysing the meaning behind them in regards what we are taught in school.

Let’s now take a look at some of these lyrics shall we?

We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it’s just another brick in the wall.
All in all you’re just another brick in the wall.

“Wrong, Do it again!”
“If you don’t eat yer meat, you can’t have any pudding. How can you
have any pudding if you don’t eat yer meat?”
“You! Yes, you behind the bike sheds, stand still laddy!”

~ “Another Brick in the Wall” from the 1979 album “The Wall”

The lyrics above should encourage us all to ask the following questions:

Do teachers, and the Educational System in particular, actually teach us any truth, especially in regards history and the so-called facts of life?

Why don’t they have the integrity to teach us truth, critical thinking skills and the art of living wisely, rather than irrelevant information that only serves to dumb us down?

Is there indeed a hidden conspiracy perpetrated by those in power to use the educational system as a tool of propaganda, so to serve their eventual goal of total mind-control over the masses?

Here we go again…not another God Damn Conspiracy Theory!

The pertinent message behind Pink Floyd’s lyrics (well, what I personally seem to perceive) is that there may be a hidden agenda to indoctrinate us with lies by telling us what they want us to believe.

The reason for this apparent deception could be for us to become another mindless but obedient slave that is carefully prepared to fit into a “metaphorical wall” of a society that would love nothing more than for us not to upset the status quo…Phew! That was a mouthful.

See, I said it without having the feeling that the men in white coats will arrive to put me away anytime soon…and no, I’m not re-enacting a scene from out of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four – although, I do sometimes feel like Big Brother is everywhere with his million and one CCTV cameras watching my every move as soon as I step out my front-door.

What I’ve just intimated about the educational system may sound like I’m becoming a borderline “paranoid conspiracy nut” but after reading the following humorous but eye-opening post by Paul Jury, there may be some truth to my observations.

Here is an excerpt of the aforementioned post The 10 Biggest Misconceptions We Learn In School:

I do some teaching, and my kids are constantly turning in essays with tragically inaccurate examples, like “When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb…” or “Even Einstein got bad grades in school…” which society has for some reason decided to convince them are true. Actually, my kids are turning in examples more like “When Edison invented the atomic bomb…” or “When Ben Franklin signed the Magna Carta…” but that’s mostly just a function of my kids being morons.

Anyway, yes, I said inaccurate, because those two statements – and many more like them – are classic instances of egregious common misconceptions. I’ll admit: before I started looking into it, I thought these were true, too. So in an effort to straighten things out – and also get to make fun of history – here comes the truth about 10 of the most widely believed misconceptions out there.

1) Einstein got bad grades in school.

Um… have you heard about this guy Einstein? Famous physicist? Relativity and all that? A genius, even? I’m pretty sure little Albert could handle his business in 4th grade arithmetic. Yes, contrary to popular belief, Einstein was a top student in elementary school, getting mostly “4″s (on the German grading scale of 1-4), which idiot Americans later assumed, backwardly, were “D”s. The idea stuck because everybody loves the idea that their poor student can go on to great things. Sorry, parents, Einstein was teaching himself calculus at age 12. Your little lip-twiddling retard will be working at Hardee’s.

2) Mice like cheese

Why would mice like cheese? Processed cow milk is not exactly available to them in their natural habitat, is it? No, mice MUCH prefer peanut butter, breakfast cereals, and other things similar to the grains and seeds they’ve gotten used to over millions of years of evolution. In fact, some mice are even lactose intolerant and will die if they eat cheese. In short: f–k you, Tom and Jerry.

3) Napoleon was short.

Nope. Napoloean was 5′7″, average height for a Frenchmen of the time. I don’t think he was particularly angry either, though we seem to have no trouble citing him as both the paragon and origin of the “short man’s syndrome” so common at New Jersey nightclubs. The confusion came from the difference between the British inch and the French ‘pouce’, which was longer, and made Brits think Napolean was only around 5′3″, a misconception which British propaganda was only happy to propagate.

4) Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

Edison was a smart mother f–ker, but he didn’t invent the light bulb – somebody else had already done that by the time he started fiddling with the idea. Edison did, however, invent the first light bulb that actually worked well, at the same time as another guy, Joseph Swan. Edison got to be famous for it though, because he beat Swan in ro-sham-bo, and then bitch-slapped him.

5) Lemmings throw themselves over cliffs to commit suicide

What, are lemmings retarded? Yes, mass suicide sounds like a wonderful evolutionary trait to have built into your species to ensure its survival. Lemmings do no such thing, except occasionally when they’re drunk at bachelor parties. This great misconception was perpetrated by none other than Disney, who, in all their evil, decided their early nature film “White Wilderness” would be much more awesome if it showed a bunch of rodents flinging themselves off cliffs. They were correct, of course, but that doesn’t make this “phenomenon” any less B.S…

Please read the rest of this excellent post here…

The lesson here is: Conspiracy or not, there may be some credence to my thoughts regarding the educational system having sinister plans to propagate lies – common sense alone should tell you that.

Despite my mischievous mind, perhaps there is a real case for parents to question what the children are really learning at school, and if needs be, to have the freedom of choice to take them out of state education as soon as possible so to take on the task of educating them at home…that’s if they have the time and patience.

Mind, if you are indeed one of the few parents that home tutor their children, then always remember to teach them nothing but the truth, and to encourage them to think for themselves. Otherwise, you may end up with a kid that is as lifeless and thoughtless as one of Pink Floyd’s bricks.

The Schopenhauer Philosophy: How not to be a Grumpy Old Man Whilst Avoiding Pessimism

Jason Cooper — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:13:50 +0000

Why am I such a Miserable Old Fart?

It’s easy being pessimistic when you are a grumpy old man like me, with nothing but endless conflict, the continuing economic crisis, and Mayan predictions of something terrible to come.

So all I can see in front of me is the impending march of doom. For every minute the clock passes, brings me ever more closer to extinction.

This awareness of my own mortality brings with it cynicism, as I cast envious eyes over the world that I will soon no doubt leave. For vengeance I wish nothing but misery for the rest of you poor souls who will remain in this apparent existence of suffering.

But then again, why would I want to spend anymore time here being tortured by this miserable and superficial planet anyway, with its competitively violent human beings and their ignorant ways – maybe I am the fortunate one.

Schopenhauer Predicted the World Will End in 2012, not the Mayans

Another grumpy old man that agreed with my pessimism of life was German Philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, who had an extremely bleak outlook on existence as a whole.

In short, Arthur’s philosophy of existence was that life itself must have been an accident, a cruel joke played on us unsuspecting victims. As observed by Arthur,

“Human existence must be a kind of error…it may be said of it, ‘it is bad today and every day it will get worse, until the worst of all happen’”

A very depressing and sobering thought indeed from Mr Grumpy himself, but in reality, Arthur wasn’t a bad old fellow and had much wisdom and compassion for humankind’s lot, which ultimately pained him towards a pessimistic view of life.

I still would have to agree (obviously I would, with him being a fellow misery guts) with some of Arthur’s observations on human suffering in general. However, Arthur did have a serious intolerance to noise and almost pushed a woman, who was gossiping outside his door, down a flight of stairs because of it – the reason for his apparent indiscretion is intimated in his following quote,

“Noise is the most impertinent of all forms of interruption. It is not only an interruption, but is also a disruption of thought”

Yes, Arthur had his issues and could be a miserable old beggar at times (aren’t we all? Okay, I’m speaking for myself), but I’m sure all of us have had something to complain and be miserable about in our troublesome lives.

Find a Purpose and Meaning to your Life toward having Optimism For Tomorrow

So what can be done to relieve any pessimistic views that one might have?

Surely there is more to life than just existing, and there must be a chance for a brighter future despite whatever I or my fellow pessimists may think. So if you are a person who suffers from pessimism in life, you must aim to transform your negative viewpoint into optimism by finding something worth living for, and use that something as a motivating factor towards vanquishing any feelings of futility.

It is totally in our power to give our life meaning and to remain optimistic about the future. However, sometimes one cannot help but feel the seemingly pointlessness of life, but there is much we can hope to achieve and look forward to:

what more can you live for if you are a parent who is responsible for nurturing your child
daily self-learning towards self-knowledge, wisdom and continuous spiritual growth
opportunity to remove any ignorance, fear or apathy you may have so you can face life with confident vigour
overcoming present troubles, to instead find joy in life
finding something of interest and of value to learn and use for the benefit of your life
realising your goals towards total fulfillment and happiness
developing closer bonds in all your personal relationships
teaching or guiding another pessimistic human being toward self-fulfillment
living a wise, good and happy life before departing gracefully

Just take a look at that inspirational list above, my friend. It should provide you with many reasons to be optimistic about your existence on this insignificant dot in the universe. All you need do, is to free your mind and give life a chance to teach you a positive and purposeful lesson that you have been sceptical of up to now.

So have no fear of what tomorrow brings, just develop a positive mindset for the present moment, which should give you the impetus to go on to achieve anything of benefit for your mind and spirit.

What else can we hope to achieve in this apparently short life? ‘Marcus Aurelius, would you please?’

“Live each day as if it were your last.”

6 Steps Towards Freedom from Pessimism

Before I go to put my bunion-ridden feet up in front of the telly and complain about the crap that’s being shown, I will leave you with some sound advice on overcoming pessimism, and for you not to become as grumpy as me:

Always live in the present and have no fear with what the future brings. Fear of the unknown can cause anxiety and pessimism of what’s to come
Embracing the hope of a positive future can make you feel at ease with whatever difficulty you may be presently experiencing, not to mention opening avenues for you to find greater meaning and purpose in your own lives
Always keep in mind that you are growing wise, and not old. This will help to remove your self-imposed pessimism (and grumpiness) regarding the detriments of old age, ‘To grow old is no evil, just learn to cultivate your mind into becoming like fine wine’
Remain young at heart and find joy and laughter in everything you do
Have goals in life to give you some purpose to get up for, no matter how small
Create, learn or discover something of positive value and worth living for

Family and Friends are the Best Presents Money Can Never Buy

Jason Cooper — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:43:08 +0000

What heavenly delights awaits us this Christmas? A King’s feast? An abundance of expensive gifts? A chance to drink as much as what’s contained in a brewery? A chance to become the Karaoke King, or Queen, by participating in a good old sing-song despite having a voice like a bullfrog? Or maybe a time for joyful celebration amidst heated arguments over who gets the TV remote?

I say thee nay! Be wise, my friend and see Christmas for what it really is – which should be spent sharing precious time with friends and family.

Christmas should not be spent just on getting stressed and relinquishing the little money we have on meaningless stuff just to satisfy our guilty conscience.

In reality for most people, Christmas has become an expensive, stressful and superficial exercise that contradicts the true meaning of this particular holiday period.

What is most important is spending our limitless love on the human beings who are forever in our minds and who are etched into our hearts. This is what true giving is made of…and is much cheaper too.

If we can somehow emancipate ourselves from the commercial and consumeristic mockery man has created of Xmas, then we can take advantage of this holiday period to replenish our minds and spirits by renewing healthy relations with ourselves, family and friends.

No amount of money can buy us this reinvigorating presence of the people who love and respect us in our lives.

Save a thought for the amount of time we slaved away working or being preoccupied with something trivial throughout the past year rather than being around the human beings who are most important to us – or maybe you are someone who does everything in their power to escape the nagging girlfriend and crying baby – don’t look at me!

But I am the first to admit that it is not always rosy in the garden of close relationships, as in the case of my seemingly reliable friends and beloved family.

As much as I love the few friends that I do have, they always seem harder to get to than Barack Obama, and most of the time they cannot even be bothered to ring me much less pay me a visit – miserable bastards!

And yes, the family can also get on my nerves at the best of times, where there have been moments when I have had to quickly retire to the safe haven of my impregnable fortress of a room just to get some peace away from the screaming demands of the mob.

However, I’m of the opinion that Christmas is a great chance to catch up with the people you haven’t seen for a while and to take the opportunity to be in the company of family who can aid your growth in mind as well as bring happiness to your heart and soul.

This, I feel, is the best present anyone can ask for and is something that everyone should be blessed with this coming Christmas…or then again, maybe not.

What does Christmas mean to you?

What does it mean to me? Priceless relationships.

Happy Christmas, everyone!

No related posts.

The Wise Lessons of Fatherhood: Baby J is 1 Year Old Today!

Jason Cooper — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:40:25 +0000

It’s my baby boy’s first birthday today and it serves to remind me that time does really pass in the blink of an eye.

It’s already been a year since I’ve had to dig deep into the recesses of my mind and soul to drag out something called “Philosophy” to help me through the difficulties of fatherhood.

But to be honest with you, it’s got a bit easier since then – Why, you may well ask? Here’s why:

father and son have at last bonded (so mummy won’t get too much of a look in from now on)
son makes me laugh all the time (there’s nothing better than laughter to ease the stresses of life away)
son has taught me so much wisdom about myself and life (so forget Socrates and the like – they’ve got nothing on my boy)
son has given me the inspiration to write posts (as for the creation of this blog, I blame a man called Mr Blobby)
son has hired me to be his Football Coach for the next 17 years (which I’m happy to do for a small fee from his weekly pocket money)
son will be making his debut for Liverpool Football Club in 17 years (something I was hoping to do myself many moons ago)

So for all you expectant fathers out there who are on the verge of running away to hide with Osama Bin Laden in a cave somewhere in Afghanistan, Just hold still for a minute and think about it – or you will be missing something of great value.

It has been valuable for me so far because Baby J has been a shining example of the wise man with few words to say but plenty of action towards learning about himself and his surroundings.

Believe me, lads, fatherhood will get easier in time, as well as being a great teacher…other than changing the odd smelly nappy and looking like a zombie because of sleepless nights.

However, I do not wish to be an overbearing father who wants to live my dream through my boy, but I’m hoping (through his choice alone…that’s if you believe me) that he will be looking like the following in a few more years from now…

Happy Birthday, Son!

The Nietzsche Philosophy: Become a Superman to Protect yourself Against Swine Flu

Jason Cooper — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 08:33:03 +0000

That Which Does Not Kill us Makes us Stronger

I’m not worried about Swine Flu killing me like the rest of the world. With all the scaremongering from every media source you can think of you’d think I’d be running down to the pharmacy to buy me one of those silly face masks. I’ve already seen a few people in public wearing them and I’ve got to say they look rather bizarre and funny too – it just goes to show what lengths human beings would go to when frightened.

So instead I have chosen to follow the fine example of none other than the iconoclastic Superman, Friedrich Nietzsche and grow a moustache 4 times the size than is usual.

The German philosopher, Nietzsche who was filled with nothing but sarconic wit, subversive ego and tragic wisdom suffered from illness most of his life, but he refused to to be defeated by it.

Instead, Nietzsche thought himself as a Superman who can overcome his illness and overthrow every convention of society that attempted to subjugate his own “Will to Power”. It also seemed to me that Nietzsche’s moustache represented his own philosophy of defiance and overpowering will against all odds.

I too wish to be a Superman and want to use Nietzsche’s moustache as a self-empowering inspiration for me to achieve anything in life as well as protect myself against any nasty viruses.

The many benefits of having a Nietzsche Superman moustache are:

protects against Swine Flu (that’s if you believe all the hype about a disease that came from a pig – I eat bacon for god’s sake!)
cheaper than buying a face mask
can impersonate Tom Selleck
can use it as a homeless shelter for birds
can become the greatest ventriloquist in the world because nobody can see your mouth move
can become a big hit with the girls - because every woman loves a handsome man with a moustache which she can stroke at night

I just need to know what shampoo and conditioner Nietzsche used to keep his moustache in such tip-top condition…one more pic for the ladies!