The Meaning of Life and the purpose of the Human Species

By

Ian Tripp

10/29/2019

            What is our purpose on Earth? Is it simply to perpetuate the species? To what end? Is it to advance in such a way as to alleviate as much suffering as possible, for as many people as possible? Suffering from physical affliction (hunger, abuse, disease, oppression, etc…) is something that, ideally, would not exist. In Western nations, most people are, by in large, not afflicted with physical suffering. Yes, people get diseases, become homeless, are murdered, etc. but these Western nations have the means to either prevent or alleviate these physical sufferings for the most part (whether they do it or not, is indicative of the benevolence or callousness of the voting population, who chooses their representatives, who then reflects the voters sentiment by passing budgets and laws to either meet the people’s needs or become complacent in their sufferings).

           

 Beyond physical sufferings (survival), when physical needs are met, the only source of suffering comes from within the mind. People in wealthy, safe nations anguish over income, family dynamics, marriages, body image, life after death, etc. People living in impoverished, corrupt nations do not have the luxury for such things, most people in these conditions are just trying to survive (not that they can’t think about such things, it’s just not that important when you don’t have food or are worried for the lives of family members). But when survival needs are met, we are free to indulge in things like art and entertainment, we have extra time to contemplate, and we have time to be bored. We, in the Western nations, are easily depressed because the threshold for fulfilling survival needs are easily met. This is not to say we would be happy if we were just surviving; we, as a species, evolved to best survive. We are cut off from our primordial nature, again this is not a bad thing, it’s just that we are not evolved enough to really know what to do beyond survival; we are left with a feeling like there is a hole in our soul, an inexplicable void, which is why drug addiction, overeating, binge-watching entertainment, is ubiquitous in Western nations. When we are surviving, we are present day-to-day. It is this day-to-day presence that is missing when we dwell on the past and future. Meditation can bring us back to the present moment…

           

 So we have our needs met, and now we are bored… So what’s next? Since time immemorial people have lived in hierarchal societies with distinct leaders above the general population. Leaders guided their people how to best survive (get food, weather the elements, defend against other tribes, etc). In modern times, with so many groups of people cooperating and mutually achieving all survival perquisites; the question is what’s next? World leaders are no longer the primary source for ensuring the survival of the group. Instead, we have a set of codified laws that transcends the temporal nature of a mortal leader. These laws are created by many people allowing all people to have their needs met, not just those at the top (some countries are more effective than others in this regard). With a leader and a group of lawmakers, we have accomplished the basic tasks of survival: food, shelter, medicine, etc (again, some countries are more competent in fulfilling these needs than others)… What is our purpose beyond surviving? This is the fundamental question that modern nations have been unable to answer.

            

World leaders are by definition the most powerful people, yet they are human. We humans have fragile egos and need to display our independently accumulated prowess and gains like a bird that collects shiny objects in its nest to attract a mate. So we accumulate gold, a house, cars, boats, etc. World leaders are in the best position to accrue such things. We will collect things insatiably. Even billionaires that give away their fortunes are still amassing like that bird; they collect good favor and praise, receive adulations and get books written about them. They accrue praise because they want to be remembered because after we triumph over day-to-day survival, we are left with time to contemplate our inevitable death and what will happen to humanity in the future. So we worry about our legacy and become motivated to do things that will transcend our mortality.

            

We worry about the future and act accordingly to mitigate unseen hardships. We are driven to accumulate money to survive today, tomorrow, and acquire things that we hope will be the remedy to our boredom and resolve the void in our lives (the post-survival anguishes). Is survival (food, shelter, procreation) and acquiring things (material, knowledge, legacy) the purpose of the human species? There is no objective purpose of life, so yes, for many people life is all about survival and acquiring things. This is where our leaders rise to the occasion and inspire us to reach for the stars. And yet, this is where they fail us. Beyond survival and acquiring things, our leaders have proven themselves to be utterly useless in this regard. Meditation can ground us to be present and mindful of day-to-day existence and can alleviate the pain of post-survival sufferings (this is what we can do as individuals). As a species, we must foster our scientific learnings and aim for the stars to become a spacefaring civilization, this what we must demand from our leaders; if they will not take charge and guide us forward in these efforts, then they are of no use to us and must be removed from power. Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life sums it up best: “life is what you make of it.”

Why Donald Trump will win in 2020. (Unfortunately)

By

Ian Tripp

04/14/2019

The Democrats just don’t get it. They run their party on generic platitudes and tepid rebukes to Trump’s moral bankruptcy. This method will not win. The Democratic plans for a way future are laudable. Their criticisms on Trump’s bigotry and mania are valid and accurate. This will not win. Trump and right-wing politicians throughout the world are addressing issues that left-leaning politicians do not, or will not, or cannot, address. The Democrats call this “people that feel like they are being left behind.” This line of reasoning is dismissive and condescending sentiment and proves that Democrats do not have their finger on the pulse of public sentiments like Trump and right-wingers do. The Democrats are focused on potential and future quixotic dreams without acknowledging the elephant in the room: legislation does not work. Congress has failed time and time again, mired in their own bureaucratic muck, to prove anything but utter incompetence. Trump uses plain language: “I’m going to drain the Swamp.” People are tired of status-quo politics, people are sick of political correctness. Most people don’t want a 2,000-mile wall built, but most want illegal immigration to stop and be acknowledged as an issue. When one political group is willing to address all political issues, no matter how foolhardy, while the other groups try to tip-toe around and make everyone happy, the former group is going to win every time in this current political climate.

The 2020 Election: Donald Trump VS the Status Quo VS Bernie Sanders

By

Ian Tripp

02/20/2019

                It has recently been reported that President Donald Trump intends to arm Saudi Arabia with nuclear weapons technology. The home of 15 out of the 19 hijackers on 9-11 will now also be home to nuclear bombs; now this Wahhabist and anti-democratic monarchy will have the most powerful weapons on Earth. Trump is not only a sycophant to this totalitarian regime, but also to Neo-Tzar Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Dictator Kim Jong Un of North Korea. Our president, whose responsibilities include the defense of the nation, has pulled the United States out of nuclear disarmament treaties and has even said that more nations should be armed with nuclear weapons. The United States greatest existential threat is its own president.

                Most polls indicate that president Trump has a consistent 30%-35% support base or roughly one-third of the total population. Hitler also only ever had about a third of the German people blindly following him. The silent majority will have a chance to get the oldest continuous constitutional democracy back on track in 2020, or, slip further down the path towards totalitarianism.

                Based solely on the polls assessments, Trump winning a second term seems unlikely. However, the silent majority cannot underestimate the unwavering fanaticism of his support base. Donald Trump’s supporters will turn out, en masse, to vote. They will show up to his rallies yell adulations such as “Nobel! Nobel!” Crying out for the man who intends to arm Saudi Arabia with hydrogen bombs, disband nuclear armistice agreements and appease the North Korean dictator, that he, Donald Trump, should receive a Nobel Peace Prize for these efforts. There is no logic, no science, no pleas for the sake of humanity that can convince Trump supporters otherwise. We can only pray for them, and we can only vote for someone else to be our president.

                There is an ever-growing field of Democratic Party contenders. How do we choose? Do we choose someone simply because we feel confident that (s)he can win? Yes and no. If you believe in the merit of democracy, if you value the rule of law, then you inevitably must come to the conclusion that Trump has to go. Who will be the standard bearer to bring this fight for justice to ahead?

                Trump will eventually be out of office in either 2020, or God help us, 2024. A rebuke on Trump and a return to status quo politics isn’t good enough. Don’t forget Hillary Clinton lost, in part, as a rebuke to her moderate status quo politics. The status quo is only working for the well-off, everyone else is still struggling to get into the groove of “the American Dream.” More Americans have two or more jobs and are working harder than ever before in this nation’s history, and the goal posts keep getting pulled further and further away despite these efforts.

                The majority of Americans want free health care. The majority of Americans want free college. There is a sinister manipulation of the English language, an Orwellian “double-speak,” that twist words beyond recognition. People get visceral, knee-jerk reactions to words like progressive, socialism, and liberal, without even understanding the etymological origins of these words. Let’s examine these words succinctly.

Liberal as in liberty. Let’s not forget that the constitution is a liberal document; it codifies our freedoms in a radical way that the King of England vehemently tried to squash because it undermined the rule of the monarch and empowered the people.

Progressive, as in progress. Since when is progress a bad thing? By the vitriol of anti-progressive assertions, trains, cars, airplanes, spaceships, medical advances, and the internet, should all be deemed wrong and repulsive. Progress isn’t just good nor isn’t just necessary. Progress is the American way. Social Security, the National Highway system, and Civil Rights are just some of the progressive endeavors our country can rightly be proud of. Are these bad things?

Socialism, as it pertains to society. We are a society. Are we not? What kind of society has disdain for its own existence? Do anti-socialist hate society? I watched as elected officials stand up and yell “USA! USA!” during president Trump’s State of the Union Address, when he declared “we will never be socialist.” The hypocrisy is beyond sickening. They care enough, allegedly, to chant with jingoist fervor like it’s a call to arms, yet they begrudge their own constituents by undermining any efforts to lift the people out of vicious cycles of crime, poverty-inducing debt, lack of health care, and inaccessibility to higher education. This lack of consideration, lack of respect for the struggling U.S. citizenry, is not just heartbreaking, it is the route to tyranny by oligarchy.

Moderate Democratic Party members have entered the race and have denounced progressive ideals because they think progress can’t be achieved. They anticipate the perfunctory compromising that will take place, and deem the struggle not worthy to bother with. You don’t compromise your integrity, you don’t squash your own dreams because it’s impractical. You shoot for the stars anyway. These politicians, individually, are achieving their dreams by running for president. Why can’t the rest of us achieve a piece of our dreams by having free health care and free higher education? Do you want to live crushed by the weight of people telling you can’t? Or do you want to fight for your ideals not knowing the outcome, but knowing full well you gave it your all and stayed true to your heart and soul?

How will you reflect upon your life in years to come? How will you feel when a moderate is elected and they deliver exactly what they promised? Nothing. Nothing that rocks the boat. Nothing that could possibly offend the Republican Party. Nothing but a rebuke to Donald Trump. Is this the tepid, placating Democratic Party that you want? Or do you want representation to be true to your ideals defiant of all opposition? I believe in liberty. I believe in progress. And, I believe in the greater good of society. I know I’m not alone in these beliefs.

If you believe in these things, as I do, then Bernie Sanders is the only viable choice for us. Politics will give us a rude reality check no matter who gets elected. I’d rather have someone who unapologetically strives for the best possibilities, without any guarantee, than someone who throws their own objectives by the waste side because they view their own principles as impractical. The moderate Democratic Party members will face resistance regardless. Do you want someone who’s already making compromises within their own internal dialogue? These moderates are two years away from the election and already they are backing down and caving in from themselves. How do you expect they will behave when they have actual resistance from Trump in the debates, or in the halls of Congress? They will roll over, just as they have already strongly implied.

Do you want someone who is already compromised and lacks the stomach to fight? Or, do you want someone who will never give up their integrity, defend liberty, push for progress, and strive for society? I know who I’m voting for. Bernie Sanders is more than a politician, he is an ideology and this ideology will never die for those that believe in liberty, progress, and the greater good of society. I wrote in Bernie Sanders for the 2016 election. I’ll do it again if I have to, but hopefully, I will be marking a box next to his name for the Democratic Party presidential nominee.

Bio (quick context)

It has taken a long time to foster my intellectual curiosity and insatiable appetite for reading and learning. In my teens and early-twenties I treated the educational institutions I attended with disdain and resentment. I now regret my flippant and dismissive attitude of the past. However, on my own time, by my own endeavors, I learned a great deal through public libraries, documentaries, and by an unwavering passion to understand my life and the world around me that provides context.

I wanted to understand how the world works, how humans create conditions for themselves and others by intent or negligence. I wanted to understand why my life is the way it is, on a socio-economical-technical level. Why we humans are the way we are: complaining, yet complacent. Loving, yet capable of so much pain. Why society seems to stall out, regress, and even collapse, when the alternative: meaningful progress, is just as viable and is always worth defending and striving for.

Despite my fire of intellectual curiosity being lit, I still struggled with personal issues, mostly stemming from a lack of purpose and direction. In 2013 I found my purpose: to promote Direct Democracy. Though Direct Democracy fires me up, it doesn’t pay for my expenses. After many unsatisfactory jobs, and switching to various colleges, online colleges, and majors, I have finally found my true passion in writing.

I have been writing screenplays for just over a year now, I have completed three thus far (as of Dec. 2018). My second screenplay was, a quarter-finalist in the Low Light Pictures screenplay competition (2018). I know I will be a successful, professional writer. More importantly, it’s something a genuinely love to do.

My past had its ups and had plenty of downs, but I don’t want to get caught up in that here. The important thing is not so much what I overcame, but what I continue to do because overcoming these obstacles made me into the passionate and determined person I am today.

Thank you

-          Ian David Tripp, born Oakland California, 1989

Welcome to the blog. My goal here is to promote both my aspiring writing career, and my passion for direct democracy. If I can sell you a copy of my book(s) (Bloody Flowers) (Capitol Buildings: coffee table book), or convert you into a proponent of direct democracy(Youtube vid), then I will have achieved my goal in reaching you: the reader, the political thinker. I hope to expand minds either through fun entertainment, or deep philosophical inquiries, (ideally, a mix of both). If I can entertain, inform, or inspire just one person, then I will have done my job as a writer. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Warm regards,
- Ian David Tripp