I watched Pluribus
If you’re unfamiliar-
It’s a tv series about the discovery of an MRNA code, transmitted from some star in outer space.
Turns out to be some sort of virus or mutation.
- The majority live, but are linked.
- The minority dies.
- The exceptions survive the transformation but dont join the collective (there ends up being more than one...spoiler alert)
The show explores many cultural, political, ethical and human interest themes-
From the ironic stabs at current affairs, to the obscure themes of inter-connectedness and social structure.
In discussing it with Joe,
He pointed out it’s parallel with communism..
He does that a lot...
Rightfully so, being a Cuban from the Fidel era.
Remnants of revolution is his current reality, he can’t help but breathe communism into all of his perspectives.
They are-
His reality.
Which always leads me down the rabbit hole of Society.
The outcast, --being the main character-- from a story-telling point of view.
There is the “US” and “Them-“
"They" being the "other" to the current accepted norm.
We are society.
But the ideal of communism is that everyone is equal.
Everyone gets the same.
No one is above another, and the freedom is bound to that.
Equal opportunity ...
“Down with freedom”- if freedom is those “other” ways of living or being.
That’s what I find the strangest about actual communism, communism in action: versus the ideal of it.
There can’t be a “leader”- or any “one” above the other.
Then the functioning model of “communism” shifts from the ideal of communal living and equal input and output -
To: one ring to rule them all.
The one who holds the PRECIOUS; holds the power to make all the big decisions.
...that's a Lord of the Rings reference- yet anyone aware of how dictatorships work-
can easily draw the parallel.
Jordan Peterson would say that hierarchy is innate- built into- life and social construct.
The Lobster story changed my life...
Yet his description of hierarchy is lost to communism or communal living.
It forces the reader to admit that everyone has a boss.
We all have a genetic disposition to know our rank and stay in it.
In Pluribus-
The exploration of extreme “connectedness”.
...Hypocrisy related to the ideal vs. The reality of that collective connection in action.
How it plays out, in real time.
Joe would probably tell you-
Communism: in its purest form... is the farthest thing from freedom and liberty.
Communism done right- is the absolute opposite of communism done on a country scale or any historical application of it.
Those thinking it is some sort of heaven or utopia, are super invited to go to any active communism and live it...
take it on for size, take it out for a ride.
- then return an opinion.
The weather could be great-
The culture might be popping’...
But the ambiance is a little dingy and low on power...
Eat your perishables first.
Which Pluribus also explored-
The idea of “what to eat if you can’t harm anything."..
I’ve wondered that myself.
Do extreme vegans understand what it takes to produce that much soy product?
..cry about the cows and chickens-
But ...
...do they know the absolute desecration of mass fields- and all the wildlife in that area?
"Pregunta" is "question" in spanish.
"tengo una pregunta" is "I have a question"
Along with the other eco-imbalanced things that people have shoved their fingers into.
"Does everything humans mess with become imbalanced?"
The story might have to match the results....
The world has a way of balancing itself out..
One way or the other.
Telling the same story, in 12,000,000,000 variations.
One demographic experiences something that another never has-
Then adopts that issue (Joe would call it politics) in another way with the same outcome.
Different perspective.
We can be as horrified with another country’s history and state:
But don’t swerve out of the lane you were placed in.
One persons privilege or norm, is another persons' fantasy of the perfect world.
A contrast that brings about the question:
If everyone had the same perspective-
Would peace reign supreme?
Yet in a separated "reality", where individuals are not aware of another individuals' perspective:
The left gets more left,
The right gets more right-
And the “exceptions”-
(In Pluribus - it’s the handful of people that were not affected by the virus, and survived the transformation.)
...See it from a completely different perspective.
They have individuality and independent thoughts...though monitored in unfathomable ways.
It's as if the individual does not know why the collective knows what they do...
They feel observed or spied on...
While not knowing what the collective knows.
Each Exception or Individual begins acting out a different role:
The one “fighting the man”
The one “benefitting” from the situation.
The one wanting to fit in with the rest.
Those invested, but pulled into the situation for some reason or another.
While the majority just goes with the flow, and like it or not, they are locked in.
Some ignorant to their roles, and none recognizing that they are controlled by the “whole”.
Or even if they did know that they are being controlled:
Liking the feelings of the results of that.
Lulled into submission.
So I gotta withhold opinion,
But if Pluribus is an expression of what communism would be like..
I think I might be an exception.
Don't we all sort of think that anyway? "Like, I'm the only one who...."
If I were the protagonist,
I might play the role of the one who just wanted to be a part of it-
Gave the required efforts to remain connected.
Because “raging against the man” seems futile.
A quick nod to "Animal Farm" (it's a tragedy that it isn't required reading any more)
George Orwell describes the "donkey" almost verbatim to my relationship with society at large.
I like serving...but I know how we got here and haven't forgotten the writing on the wall.
But definitely not drinking the Kool-Aid.
I’m still hunting for a way to save humanity-
And that feels connected to the idea that there’s something to save.
Purpose-
I have a desperate need to believe we have one...
And lately that’s been the fight to get Diamond Level on Clash Royale.
Take good care.
