The Meaning of Meaninglessness

The Meaning of Meaninglessness

          I've been thinking a lot lately, and looking around the world (At least as far as one can from a small apartment with internet access), and I see people asking the question, "What does it mean?" a lot. Will this election bring about the end of american government? Will this schism between Monetary and Fiscal policy be solved, or is the EU going to bust? People have questions, and some questions are bigger than others. However, i can't help but notice the majority of our population on this earth grasping at straws in pursuit of an answer, any answer. Hey, I get it, uncertainty is scary. I can't help to feel, however, this behavior of grasping around at random data is a step backwards in our evolution.

          Let's start with that first question, will this american election cycle spell the end of American Government? Well, it's true our choices are pretty much down to a blithering, racist, sexist idiot and a conniving, compulsive liar. It's also true with the advent of media and the internet, it's far easier for the powers that be to influence more laymen to vote in their interest. In essence, we've never had an election like this before. That scares people. You have independent media like youtubers and bloggers shouting out about the end of civil liberties, how the American dream is dead, and how we're all screwed. All based on a couple crappy candidates.

          Allow me to take you back to the early mid-1890s. This was the beginning of America's industrial age. Still strong with Imperialism and the vast financial empires of J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie building this nation from the ground up after the Civil War left the land soaked with blood and the government spent. What I want to focus on here is the election of 1896 between William Jennings Brian and William McKinley (Weird the both have the same first name, right?). Now, for those who don't remember their American History/Don't live here and aren't too concerned with a country under 300 years old, this was the age of the robber barons. The people I mentioned earlier put the 'mono' in monopoly. Rockefeller literally controlled the oil market, J.P. used litigation and threats of legal action to monopolize the electric sector with a little company called General Electric, or GE for short. Meanwhile, Carnegie Steel was literally the skeleton of New York City. These men had a problem though, William Jennings Brian was convinced these robber barons were hurting the american people, and he'd convinced the rest of the Democratic party as well. He was all but guaranteed the presidency, and these massive companies would be broken up into smaller businesses to promote competition.

          In response, these men weren't going to take it standing down. This is where McKinley came in. At the time, McKinley was the Governor of Ohio when these three men basically came knocking on his door. "Hey, you." they said, "Me?" He responded. "Yeah, you. Do you want to be president?" and of course McKinley agreed and took the spot of the Republican nominee. In essence, to prevent Brian from getting in their way, these men were going to pool their resources and outright buy a president. Political Corruption at it's finest. the barons then ran a smear campaign against Brian, calling him a religious zealot who would go around pressing his Presbyterianism down the American people's throats if he were elected. And it worked. McKinley was sworn into office in 1897 and ran a full term before being re-elected, only to be assassinated in 1901. After which he was succeed by a guy you might have heard of, Theodore Roosevelt, or Teddy for short (Yes, as in the bear). Famous for his motto, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." He made short work of the robber barons and their empires. Soon to follow were worker's rights, workplace regulations, and a pesky thing called minimum wage.

          My point here is this election cycle we're going through, political corruption and smear campaigns to the max, is not anything new, and hardly original. Yes, this election is crap, and the next president may do more harm than good, whoever it may be. But looking back at history, there's always been the story of the rich verses the poor, the corrupt few versus the rebellious masses. and it will continue on into the future. But in the end, I doubt this election is so unique or meaningful that the entire country's existence hinges on it. But hey, we're only human. It was only a thousand years ago that we were attributing weather to the gods and goddesses, and a few thousand years before that we were looking at fossils and thinking they were the remains of a long lost race of monsters. and before that we were nomadic societies that were lost, hungry, and scared by everything around us until we tied a sharp rock to a stick and used it to slice open a lioness in Africa. We need meaning, and so we invent purpose and agency where randomness exists, and attribute meaning and significance to mere coincidence and historical repetition. and while even I'm guilty of this from time to time, the trick is to stop yourself and really look, and ask yourself. "Am I seeing something new and meaningful? or is this more of the same random data."

Just grin and bear this election cycle guys, and vote your hearts out in 2020!