The New Normal

I am not sure why people are saying this. The past never returns. This is a feel-good belief, a nostalgia that is not only not true post-pandemic but before it.  It's a position that will never meet expectation and causes reaction and a fraction that can lead to violence.

Since the pandemic of 2020-2022 and the possibility of a global war (between military powers even though it has been running rampant for years between economic ones), I realized that ALL human experience is a delusion, some more effective for survival than others.  

I present my argument against the weaponization of the meaning of 'normal' and how language as a technology can do violence in the following posts.  First:

(THIS PAGE IS HEAVILY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.  USING A METHOD AKIN TO WITTGENSTEIN'S WAY OF WORKING, HERE, ASSEMBLED, IS A SERIES OF APHORISMS THAT WILL BE ADJUSTED AND RE-ARRANGED WHILE WORKING OUT THE PROBLEM OF MY "acquiescing to the adaptive function of delusion, the need to mythologize and invent" (from St Celfer's old bio).

When and Why Is This Suddenly Admired?

An ecstatically celebrated release of a custom LEGO set promoting the use of molotov cocktails. 
(I mean, it's great that Ukrainians are defending themselves and I would, too,
but kids pretending to throw molotov cocktails?)
And this in the name of saving the kids (of Ukraine)???

And death threats are OK, now?

  

We are blood thirsty now... ...and ready for war.

Contradicting Without Blinking

The same news outlet making light of the Lego set also published this article (among similar others) one year ago: 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/13/ukraine-far-right-national-militia-takes-law-into-own-hands-neo-nazi-links

And warned of a far right phenomena in Ukraine:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/13/ukraine-far-right-national-militia-takes-law-into-own-hands-neo-nazi-links

Making two contradictory judgements about the same news item is OK depending on the historical AND social context.  The bottom line is just that: for papers that want to make money they have to make as many consumers as possible both interested and supportive of their current viewpoint.  (This author is making no judgement of the current or past news, but merely making light of the contradictory content that was provided.)

Now turning to one of the most popular books over the past more than a century...

THE WAR AGAINST NATURE BEGINS:

Isaiah 66:4 

Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 
For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 
He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. 
I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. 
Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. 
A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies. 
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.

This gets weird.  Now the war against nature literally means that the world is not round, because the book said so...

WHAT IS DELUSION?

"A delusion is a false belief that is based on an incorrect interpretation of reality."

--Harvard Health Publishing

WHAT IS REALITY?

The access to personal information, the monetization of general knowledge, and the designation of experts (gods) vs the rest of us -- through brainwashing techniques. 

Who would not want to get healthier?

OMG! It's free!!

ONE OF THE TOP HITS ON GOOGLE FOR "DELUSION" IS A DELUSION ITSELF, ALSO MONETIZED:

Irrefutable Scientific Proof ISS Footage is Fraudulent

Sep 17, 2020 · Among my favorite hoax topics is the fraudulence of the International Space Station. Videos purporting to be from the International Space Station are absolutely not taken from orbit. This has been demonstrated without the slightest shadow of a doubt in many different ways. Delusion, Reality, Or Truth (Part 1) Fantasy is a form of delusion. Most fantasies (this includes illusions) are designed to give people feelings of happiness or utopia. This form of delusion is a product of vain imaginations that is able to create a perfect world that is solely based on the person’s personal concepts, desires, and needs.
Copyright © sandra-cires-art.chu 2020

The text used to attract visitors to Sandra Cires YouTube page was actually stolen from this site. This is probably some kind of 'buy followers' scheme that re-routes searches.

WHEN DID A FOLLOWER OR A 'LIKE' START HAVING TANGIBLE VALUE? 

The number one search, this erect purple penis, will tell us after the ad:
https://hbr.org/2017/03/whats-the-value-of-a-like

 SOMEDAY THE SUN WILL GET BIGGER AND ENGULF THE EARTH:

Not a popular discussion topic, that human life is finite. We survive at the whim of nature despite attempts, like tantrums, (or this penis) to jump away from Earth. Always destined to return, like a child to its mother, we are inextricably tied to nature. We are just one small part of it despite our self-aggrandizement. Furthermore, it's doubtful that human life can sustain itself until the growing sun becomes a problem. This is the source of the ultimate delusion, because of its absolute certitude.

No, I meant this one:

Proof that man can and will live in the sky either as protector or provider.

GOD IS A PROJECTION, A RELEASE FROM RESPONSIBILITY. THE GENIUS OF RELIGION WAS TO MOVE 'EVIL' FROM HUMAN ACTS, FROM THE WILL, TO AN ENTITY OF AND IN ITSELF. 

IS ALL PERCEPTION DELUSION?

When delusion is so pervasive in the normal assumptions of the majority why not assume all perception is a level of delusion.  As a dog sees a great place to pee, a well positioned place to mark its territory, we see a fire hydrant, a well placed safety apparatus to protect man-made shelters.

NORMAL IS SIMPLY WHAT WORKS FOR THE SYSTEM IN POWER

So talking to yourself walking down the street is now OK.

GEOMETRY IS A LANGUAGE AS SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE INFLUENCE OF POWER AS THE DYNAMICS OF DISCOURSE

WE ONLY KNOW A SHARED DELUSION.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CREATED THIS COMBINATION AT A POPULAR E-COMMERCE SITE

INTERESTINGLY SEARCHING FOR AN ARTIST ARTIST AND A BOOK I WAS PURCHASING CREATED THE ITEM TO THE RIGHT (MIDDLE) WITH A FURTHER REACTION ON THE FAR RIGHT AS THINGS I SHOULD BE INTERESTED IN.

 

IN THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE MCDONALD'S HAD THE LARGEST LINE OF ANY PLACE INSIDE SECURITY.

AN OVERLOOKED ASPECT OF DEMOCRACY, PART OF THE DELUSION, IS THAT IT IS MOB RULE.

AND POWER CORRUPTS HOW WE PERCEIVE

TIME FIXES US TO THIS DIMENSION. DISTANCE FIXES US TO OUR WORLD. SCALE IS THE MEANS TO MOVE THROUGH DIMENSION AND BEYOND OUR WORLD. IF YOU MAKE YOURSELF SMALL ENOUGH YOU CAN PASS THROUGH A WALL. 

TIME IS A HUMAN CONSTRUCTION TO GIVE MEANING TO DEATH. 

HISTORY DOES NOT REPEAT ITSELF. THIS IS A SLOGAN USED BY FRAMEWORKS OF POWER. 

TIME IS A MAN MADE IDEA. WE PERCEIVE AN ORDER OF EVENTS. WE CAN NEVER REPEAT AN EVENT THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED. THIS CREATES A PERMANENT FEELING OF REGRET WHICH WE TRY TO CONTROL. WE CAN REPEAT OR NOT REPEAT A SIMILAR ACTION TO AN EVENT. TIME IS THE EXPLANATION OF THE SPACE BETWEEN MOMENTS.

PROGRESS IS A FICTION CREATED BY POWER STRUCTURES. BEAUTY IS A BELIEF PREMISED ON DELUSION. LANGUAGE THROUGH LABELING IS THE LOGIC TO JUSTIFY BOTH. 

LANGUAGE CAN ONLY SAY WHAT WE UNDERSTAND IN COMMON.

DELUSION IS PRESENT IN MANY WAYS FROM A VIDEO OF A PRESIDENT TALKING TO HIS DEVOTED FOLLOWERS. HE SERVED IN THE ARMY AS A PARACHUTER.  OVER HIS LIFETIME HE HAS JUMPED 48 TIMES. (THE EQUIVALENT OF ONE A YEAR DURING HIS ADULTHOOD.) 

DURING AN UNREMARKABLE CAREER, HE WAS MOST KNOWN AS BEING REPRIMANDED FOR SOMEHOW OBTAINING (ALTHOUGH MOST LIKELY BY PURCHASING AS SURPLUS) OLD PARACHUTES AND MAKING THEM INTO TRENDY BACKPACKS THEN SELLING THEM FOR HIS OWN PROFIT.  AFTER GETTING CAUGHT HE TURNED THIS INTO A POLITICAL PROTEST AGAINST THE POOR WAGES OF OFFICERS IN THE ARMED FORCES, A SKILL FOR SPIN THAT WOULD PROPEL HIM TO THE PRESIDENCY MANY YEARS LATER (DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE NEVER PASSED A MEANINGFUL LEGISLATION DURING HIS CAREER AS A STATESMAN).

THIS APPARENTLY IMPROVISED AND CASUAL YOUTUBE VIDEO IS HEAVILY STAGED FROM THE PAINTING ON THE WALL TO THE DOLLS ON THE DESK.

(even his trademark finger pose could be interpreted as more homoeroticity)

LANGUAGE IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE IMPOSITION OF POWER.

THERE IS A REASON WE CAN'T ACCESS 90% OF OUR BRAIN. IT'S A PROTECTION. THERE IS ALSO A REASON SOCIETY PUTS AWAY THOSE WHO EXPOSE DELUSION IN THE NAME OF REALITY AND TRUTH - FRAMEWORKS OF POWER. 

FATE EXISTS IN THAT ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS THAT WAS WITHIN YOUR CONTROL COULD BE SOMETHING YOU ASKED FOR, A VARIATION OF 'AMOR FATI', LIKE CAUSING A CONFLICT TO ELICIT DESIRED REACTIONS. THE WILL FOLLOWS DELUSION BY JUSTIFYING THE ACTIVITY OF FOLLOWING BELIEF. 

EVERYTHING IS IN BALANCE. TAKE THE GOOD WITH THE BAD. THE GOOD NEEDS THE BAD. NO ABSOLUTES. PERFECTION IS IMPERFECTION. NO ZEROS. NO INFINITIES. NO GOD. NO TRUTH. NO FORMULAS FOR LIVING. NO NO. 

WE LIVE AN EXISTENCE WHICH CAN ONLY MAKE SENSE IN THE FRAME OF DELUSION. THE TRUTH OF DELUSION IS A BELIEF IN NO TRUTH. 

A SPECTRUM OF DELUSION EXISTS THAT IS EITHER CLOSER OR FURTHER FROM NATURE. REALITY IS A REFERENCE TO A PARTICULAR NAMEABLE AND ACCEPTABLY SHARED DELUSION. 

IN GENERAL, THINGS ARE MORE REAL AS THEY GET CLOSER TO NATURE.