On the Wagon for Good

... continued from Falling Off the Humble Wagon (tvfs)

On the Wagon for Good

The Sword: Sometimes I hate you -

The Pen: Me too -

The Sword: But - ever since we fell off the humble wagon - I've been miserable -

The Pen: Me too -

The Sword: Let's build a new wagon - A wagon we won't fall off of - A wagon we'll stay on -

The Pen: For good -

~ * ~

The Sword: It suddenly strikes me -

The Sword: - that we've already built this wagon -

The Pen: Indeed -

The Sword: More than one -

The Pen: A lot more than one -

The Sword: More than once -

The Pen: A lot more than once -

~ * ~

The Sword: Then this wagon will be the best wagon yet -

The Pen: As was the last - and the one before that - and the one before that - and -

The Sword: Seriously -

The Pen: Every wagon - is the best wagon yet -

The Pen: Every era of every wagon - is the best era yet -

The Sword: Ah - it's not the wagon -

The Pen: Therein lies the truth -

~ * ~

The Sword: Well -

The Sword: It isn't us -

The Sword: Is it?

The Sword: How do we build - us - better?

The Pen: We certainly try -

The Pen: Isn't that the point of self improvement -

The Pen: - to strive towards and actualize a present and future self that is - us - better?

~ * ~

The Sword: Let's face it -

The Sword: - how 'improving' is self improving - if 'self improving' isn't keeping us on the wagon?

The Pen: I concur -

The Sword: Moreover - if 'self improvement' doesn't need us to be on the wagon -

The Sword: That is - if being on the wagon is not a necessary condition of 'self improvement' -

The Sword: At best - 'self improvement' - permits thriving within the me me me universe - off the wagon -

The Pen: At worst - 'self improvement' - tacitly condones and implicitly endorses thriving within the me me me universe - off the wagon -

~ * ~

The Sword: If it's not the wagon -

The Sword: Because we're bettering wagons -

The Sword: And - if it's not us -

The Sword: Because we're improving us -

The Sword: How do we fix this?

The Pen: Fix what - exactly?

The Sword: This falling off the humble wagon -

~ * ~

The Pen: If it's not the wagon - and - improving us is obviously not keeping us on the wagon -

The Pen: It stands to reason - that - we're falling off the humble wagon - or - leaving the humble wagon -

The Pen: - by choice -

The Pen: - by intention - by purpose -

The Pen: - by wherewithal - by desire -

~ * ~

The Sword: By free will -

The Pen: Indeed -

The Pen: There are as many wagons as there are paths that improve selves -

The Sword: But - for every wagon and every path of self improvement - 

The Sword: - there is - self will to set self course - off the wagon -

The Pen: Such that -

The Pen: Ambitions off the wagon are far more satisfying than unity -

The Sword: And - aspirations of the self off the wagon are far more gratifying than humility -

~ * ~

The Sword: So -

The Sword: There is no pill - is there?

The Pen: Unfortunately not -

The Sword: There is no book - no dust - no looking glass - no cave - no secret - no power -

The Sword: - that fixes this - is there?

The Pen: No -

The Sword: Rather -

The Sword: - free will is within our possession and free will is within our control -

The Pen: Therefore -

The Pen: Staying on the wagon - is our exercisement of our free will -

The Sword: Likewise - falling off the wagon - is our exercisement of our free will -

~ * ~

The Sword: In fact -

The Sword: The endless quest for magic solutions - like pills, books, dust, looking glasses, caves, secrets, powers - is magic thinking -

The Pen: Endemically absurd thinking, no less - 

The Sword: For magic thinking - is believing - that the answer to why internal conditions exist - 

The Sword: - exists externally -

The Pen: Like the child 'fore the cookie - who blames the cookie for being irresistible - 

The Pen: - instead of free will -

~ * ~

The Sword: So -

The Sword: - fixing this is about accountability -

The Pen: And - holding it fast -

The Pen: So long as - external conditions - beyond our control - are responsible for internal conditions -

The Sword: We are not to blame - for exercising free will per internal conditions -

The Pen: Hence - fault exists without us -

~ * ~

The Sword: Creating vicious circles of blame -

The Sword: Because we are blameless -

The Pen: Creating vicious cycles of injustice -

The Pen: Whereby perceived accountability in courts of public discourse - and - accountability as adjudicated in judicial processes, accountability as legalized in legislative processes, accountability as executed in executive processes -

The Pen: - are not perceived per free will -

The Sword: Because absurd thinking condones and endorses - burdening others with fault and blame and responsibility and accountability -

The Sword: - regardless of free will -

The Pen: Which empowers magic thinking -

The Sword: Which disempowers the truth -

~ * ~

The Pen: Notwithstanding -

The Pen: Magic thinking - is also believing - that the answer to why exercises of free will do not obey norms -

The Pen: - exists internally - beyond our control -

The Sword: Such that -

The Sword: - satisfactions of ambitions and gratifications of aspirations -

The Sword: - are attributed to internal conditions beyond our control -

The Pen: Rather than - free will -

The Sword: Like the child 'fore the cookie - who blames desire for being unresistible -

The Sword: - instead of free will -

~ * ~

The Sword: But -

The Sword: What if - free will is an illusion?

The Pen: That's convenient -

The Pen: - isn't it?

The Pen: If free will is an illusion - no one is accountable for nor responsible for - satisfactions of ambitions and gratifications of aspirations - off the wagon -

The Pen: - including - self interests - per me me me universes off the wagon -

The Sword: That permit abuses towards others and excuse harm towards others -

~ * ~

The Pen: It stands to reason that - insofar as self interests are inherently self preservative and self protective - per me me me universes off the wagon -

The Pen: - any premise that perpetuates self interest -

The Pen: - is a premise that appeals to the adherence of self interest -

The Sword: Including - the premise that free will is an illusion -

The Pen: Exactly -

The Sword: And - the premise that - the answer to why exercises of free will do not obey norms - exists internally beyond our control -

The Pen: Exactly -

The Sword: And - the premise that - the answer to why internal conditions exist - exists externally beyond our control -

The Pen: Exactly -

~ * ~

The Sword: So -

The Sword: - fixing this is about - premises - that justify and defend and legitimize and sanctify - self interest - per me me me universes off the wagon -

The Pen: Even when such premises are obviously contradictory and incoherently circuitous - they fulfill the preservation and the protection of self interests, over other interests -

The Pen: Such that - assumptions and conclusions - per self interest - pervade societies -

The Pen: - from norms to policies - to institutions - to agendas of advocacy - to conclusions based on assumptions per self interest -

The Sword: Verily -

The Sword: - me me me from sea to shining sea -

The Pen: Alas -

The Pen: - from time immemorial to time immemorial -

~ * ~

The Sword: So it's me myself and I until the end - then?

The Pen: So it is -

The Sword: Until -

The Pen: Until -

More from The Pen

We are either -

- on the wagon -

Or -

- we are not -

And both states -

- are states of free will -

Such that every choice of self over others -

Such that every choice of self interests over other interests -

- is -

- the purpose full choice - the intent full choice - the will full choice -

- to - permit, excuse, defend, justify, etc. -

- abuse over care -

- harm over nurture -

- lies over truths -

- war over peace.

So it is. So it has always been. So it will always be.

Regardless of facades - masquerades - illusions - pretensions - otherwise.

~ * ~

The Sword: What happened to free will?

The Pen: We removed it from actual discourse about real life -

The Pen: - to theoretical discourses concerning theological contingencies -

The Sword: Like debates about whether or not a Higher Power exists versus whether or not Free Will exists -

The Pen: Exactly -

The Sword: Notwithstanding -

The Sword: We also removed it from actual discourse about real life -

The Sword: - to scaffold theories of blamelessness to propagate facts of blamelessness -

The Pen: Like studies that attempt to establish causal relationships between 'real conditions' and conditions beyond our control - including every internal condition and every external condition - imaginable -

The Pen: Moreover - regardless of the flaw of such studies failing to solve the problem of the chicken and the egg - such studies form the basis of theories of blamelessness that form the basis of facts of blamelessness that form the basis of assumptions of blamelessness and conclusions of blamelessness that form the basis of norms and policies, institutions, agendas of advocacy, etc. -

The Sword: Ad infinitum -

The Pen: Of course -

The Pen: Perhaps - once we actuate free will to leave the wagon - the preservation and the protection of self interest, per me me me universes off the wagon - perpetuate the removal of free will from actual discourse about real life -

The Sword: Or - ambitions per satisfying our self interest and aspirations per gratifying our self interest - lead to self interest motivated departure off the wagon per free will - et cetera -

The Pen: Hence - self interest actuates free will -

The Sword: Or - free will actuates self interest -

The Pen: Verily - a tautological paradox -

The Sword: An enigma for the ages -

~ * ~

More from The Sword

To be a sword of war, is to justify and defend acts of war as pursuits of peace -

- per the will of commandments, issued by commanders, per the will of people.

But -

To commit acts of war, expecting peace, is to justify and defend hypocrisy -

- regardless of identities as swords.

Likewise -

To be a pen of war, is to justify and defend acts of war as pursuits of peace -

- per the will of commandments, issued by commanders, per the will of people.

But -

To commit acts of war, expecting peace, is to justify and defend hypocrisy -

- regardless of identities as pens.

Hence swords engaged in wars of swords and pens engaged in wars of pens -

- are neither exempt from the inherent injustice and indefensibility - of wars for peace.

War perpetuates war. Peace actuates peace.

Thus wars of pens are -

- no less destructive, no less harmful, no less abusive, no less violent -

- no less catastrophic, for peoples and societies, than wars of swords.

In this era that is the best era yet -

- to the left -

- to the right -

- swords and pens -

- stand for war.

Who stands for peace for all?

~ * ~