Heroism Part 1 - from Freedomain Radio
Uploaded by stefbot on 29.04.2010
Transcript:
imagine this
imagine that the only thing you know
about some thirty year old man
is that he is really 0:00:28.599,0:00:29.519really 0:00:29.519,0:00:31.550REALLY
into comic books.
Now comic books 0:00:36.050,0:00:37.920are all about0:00:37.920,0:00:39.250 courage
and nobility
and fighting and triumphing over evil.0:00:46.560,0:00:47.880 This thirty-year-old man
is constantly immersed
in these the heroic tales... 0:00:53.040,0:00:54.870 What do you picture
when you think 0:00:56.050,0:00:58.860of such a man?
Do you picture 0:01:00.120,0:01:03.820of a hero? 0:01:03.820,0:01:06.940Or - not so much?
Would thischange if instead of being into comic books this man was a fan of Star
Trek or Babylon Five or Battlestar Galactica 0:01:15.750,0:01:17.859or Lord of the Rings or 0:01:17.859,0:01:23.980Dungeons and Dragons or Star Wars?0:01:23.980,0:01:29.530Isn't it odd when you think that those men who are most into heroic fiction
tend to be the least heroic people around? Actually, it isn't that odd
because that is exactly
what comic books
and science fiction
and fantasy are 'designed'
to do .0:01:47.780,0:01:50.100 What is the basic message is say
Star Wars? 0:01:52.710,0:01:57.750Iit's that heroism and courage can exist - 0:01:57.750,0:01:58.750bBut Where? 0:01:58.750,0:02:00.810Why, a long time ago
in a galaxy far
far 0:02:04.029,0:02:0far0 away...
Heroism is never 0:02:08.509,0:02:11.349where you are .0:02:11.349,0:02:12.469 It is never something that
you can achieve
on your own. 0:02:16.529,0:02:18.489See, in these stories you don't 0:02:18.489,0:02:20.260actually have to do anything in your own life 0:02:20.260,0:02:21.979to become a hero - 0:02:21.979,0:02:26.869all you have to do is sit around and whine until some old dude in an old blanket comes
along and whisks you off to a life of adventure - and combat0:02:34.309,0:02:36.189This also works if you have furry feet
It might be an owl, though, if you're forced to live under the stairs 0:02:45.230,0:02:51.189All these mythologies, All these mythologies, which have remained essentially unchanged for thousands of years,
are entirely about enslaving you, and turning you into useful cannon fodder for your 0:02:54.669,0:02:56.859 masters0:02:56.859,0:03:01.580 In all these tales, a depressed life of dumb chores and crushed
opportunities gets magically transformed into heroic 0:03:05.329,0:03:07.149 - and always violent -
adventures
when older man 0:03:09.290,0:03:12.839comes and and takes you away... 0:03:12.839,0:03:15.969All this is just designed to make you want to
go to war when the state
comes to kidnap you. Real heroism ,0:03:25.249,0:03:26.489however, is something very 0:03:26.489,0:03:28.159very different
from what is always portrayed...
Real heroism
is something that you
can achieve
now
in the next hour
if you want
Real heroism0:03:45.239,0:03:50.539 does not require you to be bitten by radioactive spider or
exposed to a gamma ray blast of cosmic radiation
...
or injected with a super soldier serum
or pilot giant god-like robots
or get
a blood transfusion from a demon and bang a succubus 0:04:06.329,0:04:09.459or drink radioactive waste water in your fish bowl
or crash land from the planet Krypton 0:04:12.439,0:04:15.119or be sprayed a chemical that was struck by lightning
or have a magical ring
or be sprayed by more of this omnipresent radioactive stuff
or die and make a deal with a demon to return to the living with superpowers 0:04:25.249,0:04:29.949or have weird DNA mutations or yet another magical sword
or
just at the ability to
talk to squirrels ? 0:04:35.819,0:04:37.229 All these
stories
have exactly the same
mess age: 0:04:41.909,0:04:43.509 Heroism 0:04:43.509,0:04:47.009is not for you 0:04:47.009,0:04:48.120Heroism
is for other times, other places, other worlds , others circumstances which will ever0:04:55.590,0:04:59.919 ever happen to you...
You must wait for someone to come and turn you into a hero
and that man will never 0:05:06.779,0:05:09.800 come 0:05:09.800,0:05:11.329You are allowed
to be heroic
in your imagination because that way
heroism remains an otherworldly fantasy
posing no danger
to the powers that be
You're just not allowed to be heroic in your own life
But the world
will never be saved
without heroes
You are constantly being primed 0:05:37.380,0:05:40.400to be heroic only in the service of your 0:05:40.400,0:05:47.400Masters. Only in slaughter and sacrifice and subjugation
There is no heroism is serving masters 0:05:52.380,0:05:55.410There is only heroism is questioning
why 0:05:58.210,0:06:01.369we have masters at all.
All these
stories, all these
superpowers
are designed to steal 0:06:08.999,0:06:11.409heroism from you, 0:06:11.409,0:06:13.099to make it
impossible and fantastical and remote and unachievable
and make you
you useful to your masters
- as the hit man
if needed
What is the opposite
of this ? 0:06:29.829,0:06:32.219 The opposite of fantasy
is philosophy. 0:06:34.590,0:06:37.240The opposite of mythology 0:06:37.240,0:06:39.229is integrity... 0:06:39.229,0:06:40.599...and integrity
is truth
in action. 0:06:44.599,0:06:45.879Integrity does not
require laser swords, rings of power, magic or starships or mutant genes
you 0:06:54.339,0:06:56.280You can be heroic
and start the process 0:07:13.969,0:07:15.250of truly saving the world
before the sun goes down tonight. 0:07:16.719,0:07:17.069And when the sun rises tomorrow, you will be a different person, and the world will be brighter by one true hero...
imagine that the only thing you know
about some thirty year old man
is that he is really 0:00:28.599,0:00:29.519really 0:00:29.519,0:00:31.550REALLY
into comic books.
Now comic books 0:00:36.050,0:00:37.920are all about0:00:37.920,0:00:39.250 courage
and nobility
and fighting and triumphing over evil.0:00:46.560,0:00:47.880 This thirty-year-old man
is constantly immersed
in these the heroic tales... 0:00:53.040,0:00:54.870 What do you picture
when you think 0:00:56.050,0:00:58.860of such a man?
Do you picture 0:01:00.120,0:01:03.820of a hero? 0:01:03.820,0:01:06.940Or - not so much?
Would thischange if instead of being into comic books this man was a fan of Star
Trek or Babylon Five or Battlestar Galactica 0:01:15.750,0:01:17.859or Lord of the Rings or 0:01:17.859,0:01:23.980Dungeons and Dragons or Star Wars?0:01:23.980,0:01:29.530Isn't it odd when you think that those men who are most into heroic fiction
tend to be the least heroic people around? Actually, it isn't that odd
because that is exactly
what comic books
and science fiction
and fantasy are 'designed'
to do .0:01:47.780,0:01:50.100 What is the basic message is say
Star Wars? 0:01:52.710,0:01:57.750Iit's that heroism and courage can exist - 0:01:57.750,0:01:58.750bBut Where? 0:01:58.750,0:02:00.810Why, a long time ago
in a galaxy far
far 0:02:04.029,0:02:0far0 away...
Heroism is never 0:02:08.509,0:02:11.349where you are .0:02:11.349,0:02:12.469 It is never something that
you can achieve
on your own. 0:02:16.529,0:02:18.489See, in these stories you don't 0:02:18.489,0:02:20.260actually have to do anything in your own life 0:02:20.260,0:02:21.979to become a hero - 0:02:21.979,0:02:26.869all you have to do is sit around and whine until some old dude in an old blanket comes
along and whisks you off to a life of adventure - and combat0:02:34.309,0:02:36.189This also works if you have furry feet
It might be an owl, though, if you're forced to live under the stairs 0:02:45.230,0:02:51.189All these mythologies, All these mythologies, which have remained essentially unchanged for thousands of years,
are entirely about enslaving you, and turning you into useful cannon fodder for your 0:02:54.669,0:02:56.859 masters0:02:56.859,0:03:01.580 In all these tales, a depressed life of dumb chores and crushed
opportunities gets magically transformed into heroic 0:03:05.329,0:03:07.149 - and always violent -
adventures
when older man 0:03:09.290,0:03:12.839comes and and takes you away... 0:03:12.839,0:03:15.969All this is just designed to make you want to
go to war when the state
comes to kidnap you. Real heroism ,0:03:25.249,0:03:26.489however, is something very 0:03:26.489,0:03:28.159very different
from what is always portrayed...
Real heroism
is something that you
can achieve
now
in the next hour
if you want
Real heroism0:03:45.239,0:03:50.539 does not require you to be bitten by radioactive spider or
exposed to a gamma ray blast of cosmic radiation
...
or injected with a super soldier serum
or pilot giant god-like robots
or get
a blood transfusion from a demon and bang a succubus 0:04:06.329,0:04:09.459or drink radioactive waste water in your fish bowl
or crash land from the planet Krypton 0:04:12.439,0:04:15.119or be sprayed a chemical that was struck by lightning
or have a magical ring
or be sprayed by more of this omnipresent radioactive stuff
or die and make a deal with a demon to return to the living with superpowers 0:04:25.249,0:04:29.949or have weird DNA mutations or yet another magical sword
or
just at the ability to
talk to squirrels ? 0:04:35.819,0:04:37.229 All these
stories
have exactly the same
mess age: 0:04:41.909,0:04:43.509 Heroism 0:04:43.509,0:04:47.009is not for you 0:04:47.009,0:04:48.120Heroism
is for other times, other places, other worlds , others circumstances which will ever0:04:55.590,0:04:59.919 ever happen to you...
You must wait for someone to come and turn you into a hero
and that man will never 0:05:06.779,0:05:09.800 come 0:05:09.800,0:05:11.329You are allowed
to be heroic
in your imagination because that way
heroism remains an otherworldly fantasy
posing no danger
to the powers that be
You're just not allowed to be heroic in your own life
But the world
will never be saved
without heroes
You are constantly being primed 0:05:37.380,0:05:40.400to be heroic only in the service of your 0:05:40.400,0:05:47.400Masters. Only in slaughter and sacrifice and subjugation
There is no heroism is serving masters 0:05:52.380,0:05:55.410There is only heroism is questioning
why 0:05:58.210,0:06:01.369we have masters at all.
All these
stories, all these
superpowers
are designed to steal 0:06:08.999,0:06:11.409heroism from you, 0:06:11.409,0:06:13.099to make it
impossible and fantastical and remote and unachievable
and make you
you useful to your masters
- as the hit man
if needed
What is the opposite
of this ? 0:06:29.829,0:06:32.219 The opposite of fantasy
is philosophy. 0:06:34.590,0:06:37.240The opposite of mythology 0:06:37.240,0:06:39.229is integrity... 0:06:39.229,0:06:40.599...and integrity
is truth
in action. 0:06:44.599,0:06:45.879Integrity does not
require laser swords, rings of power, magic or starships or mutant genes
you 0:06:54.339,0:06:56.280You can be heroic
and start the process 0:07:13.969,0:07:15.250of truly saving the world
before the sun goes down tonight. 0:07:16.719,0:07:17.069And when the sun rises tomorrow, you will be a different person, and the world will be brighter by one true hero...