Sunday, November 4, 2012

The Origins of the Never Enough More Imperative




The Origins of the Never Enough More Imperative

You are not obligated to complete the work but neither are you free to abandon it
Rabbi Tarfon, Ethics of the Fathers 2:16

            Man, identified with his physical body as ‘being’ himself, fears that physical death is his extinction. Given this fear, and man’s bodily identification of his body as himself, man operates from a state of ‘LACK’ (lacktose intolerance). As a result, man seeks acquisition (Cain in Hebrew) as his principle strategy (be it money, power, prestige, religious obedience brownie points etc.) to secure immortality (continuation, permanence, certainty) now or in the afterlife (physical resurrection) or at a minimum diversionary palliation.  

More, more, more
What the hell are we all morticians
e.e. cummings.

The principle derivative tactic of the LACK Acquisition Strategy is More, More, More for Im-MORE-Tality. Ironically, More, More, More typically results in less, worse, and later). The MORE heuristic itself is sequentially encased in a mutually exclusive duality of shame versus pride. Starting with the utilitarian question of whether one is useful, functional, or service OR not, the MORE-ality© Ladder in one’s valuation ascension becomes

One is Right                                                    OR                  One is Wrong
(& if RIGHT)                                                                          (& if WRONG)

One gets MORE                                                                     One gets LESS
(& if one gets MORE)                                                                        (& if one gets LESS)

One is BETTER                                                                      One is WORSE
(& if one is BETTER)                                                             (& if one is WORSE)

One is a WINNER                                                                  One is a LOSER
(& if one is a WINNER)                                                         (& if one is a LOSER)

One is GOOD                                                                         One is BAD
(& if one is GOOD)                                                                (& if one is BAD)

One is WORTHY(2)                                                               One is WORTHless
(& if one is WORTHY)                                                          (& if one is WORTHless)

One is GODLY                                                                      One is EVIL

            Thus, MOREality for Immortality is the aim (consciously or unconsciously) of MOREons to satisfy or palliate their fear (mortality) of their LACK (immortality).
            An ongoing problem with the MORE from LACK heuristic is: The ‘IF ONLYs.’ The IF ONLY illusory rap (by haves, have nots, and have a little wants some more) goes like this: if only I have this, if only I do that, if only – then I’ll be happy.
Happy, typically cut with impure HOPEium©, is a gateway drug of acquisition’s MORE to satisfy the IF ONLY LACK. The problem with the desired state of Happy being achieved IF ONLY is when IF ONLY #1 is satisfied, IF ONLY #2 is promoted in a never ending cycle.  The MORE – IF ONLY - Happy – sequence to attain permanence, continuation, certainty just recycles for the LACKawannas of the LACKawanna Be Tribe. And ‘more, more, more,’ becomes as Edward Abbey stated, ‘the ideology of the (deadly) cancer cell.’

            Given the LACK, Acquisition, More, IF ONLY, Happily Ever’after model, there is ‘never enough’ and attainment of certainty, continuity, and permanence becomes Sisyphusian -  always just beyond one’s HOPEium© fueled grasp.