Bad Education

I am constantly trying to unlearn things that I have been taught all my life. (Let me clarify, right off the bat, that this statement doesn't reflect upon my parents, to whom I genuinely owe a great deal with respect to imparted wisdom.) My desire for anti-education is directed at the society in which I grew up, the society in which we all live - The Society of the Spectacle - which Debord details in the book of that name. (A "capitalist society based on hierarchical power" will do just fine, for these purposes.) A few key concepts: consumption, possession, exchange value. These categories apply to objects, to be sure, but also to human beings, space, and time (consumption of my own "free" time, possession of the time of others, exchange of services)... all ideas that dictate my life in some form or other.

And I could live the rest of my life without forgetting that two slices of pizza equal a four-pack of energy-efficient light bulbs, or that an X-ray and dental consultation costs $50, or that I need to buy a new DVD player to get closer to the experience of going to a movie theatre. But I don't want to think in those terms anymore. It makes life trivial, and more and more, I notice how these concepts affect and direct my everyday life - my relationships with other people, my day-to-day activities, and what goes on inside my head. And I'm really getting tired of being controlled by abstract concepts.

Here's another one: recognition. One could also say "prestige," or even "success." "The injunction, everywhere, to 'be someone' maintains the pathological state that makes this society necessary. The injunction to be strong produces the very weakness by which it maintains itself, so that everything seems to take on a therapeutic character, even working, even love" (The Coming Insurrection by "The Invisible Committee). I just reread a section (First Circle: "I AM WHAT I AM") of this remarkable pamphlet, and something occurred to me that never had before: that the desire to be someone, and to be recognized by others (for accomplishments, for character, for appearance, whatever) can function as a means of separation. Wanting to be someone, and getting noticed by others for "being someone," actually sets one apart, removes one further from a shared connection with his or her fellow beings. Just a thought, and I won't go much further, only to say that, like the other concepts, I am deeply afflicted by this one, as I suspect most of us are, whether we admit it or not. It would be nice to get over that....