This is a Terribly-Named Blog

Howdy folks! How are you? I hope you're well.

Of late, I've been listening to the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" soundtrack quite a bit, and I'm really beginning to appreciate how much of a send-off of the glam rock era the film and music are. It has the crunchy guitars, strong bass lines, and gratuitous saxophone that make listening to an old Bowie or T. Rex album great. And the lyrics could have been penned by a (slightly restrained) Lou Reed and relegated to an odds-and-ends b-sides collection (in a positive sense, of course). I suppose even the amphetamines-and-opiates-soaked Seventies were capable of satire.

So, anarchy. What an interesting idea. I've always fancied myself a closeted anarchist, but I'm fairly certain that it is the process, not the goal, that I find so enchanting. Who doesn't want to march in the streets, raise their fists, and take the People's Hammer to the skull of some bloated oligarchy? It's really a very energizing idea.

But what would come of it? The ideas range from a utopian, worldwide commune to the burnt-out carcass of civilization, and most everything in between.

And yet, so many of us are anarchists in our own lives! "How?" you might ask. Why, by way of individualism!

Yes, I've always fancied myself one of those individualists; you know, those old dogs who will have at least one photo taken on a rocky beach so as to evoke this marvelous painting.

Now, before I go any further, I should emphasize what I mean by 'individualism'. I do not mean that reactionary sort anger that many take up in the name of individualism, nor that aloof isolationism. Rather, I mean the philosophy of being truly, utterly singular; of being dynamic, self-refining, contemplative, active, ferocious, conscious, and, most of all, united. If our actions our negative, it is because of a lack of positive morals; I am, at any moment, the actualization of my morality, and so are you. If you are not satisfied with who you are, what you do, and how you perceive the world, then you mustn't console yourself with half-truths about 'being well grounded'.

All of what I just said is meaningless if you are happy with who you are.

Yes, individualism is the philosophy of awaking every day and being willing to say, "I am who I was yesterday; I was no one else, and no one else may be me. If I was wrong, then let me overthrow that part of my personality; if I was right, then let me strengthen that aspect of myself." It is anarchy in the singularity of personhood.

So to you all, I say this: if you wish to change, do it. Quoth Socrates, "The unexamined life is not worth living."