Writer's Journal

DESPERATE FOR INSPIRATION

I’ve been really reaching for a reason to work recently. My head simply doesn’t seem in it. I’m keeping myself busy but feel as though I’m falling behind. I recently expended a massive amount of energy trying to get a couple plays completed, and am now reeling. I don’t know—there’s something in the air. It comes and goes. Hopefully soon I can get back on the horse again.

What have I been reading? Nothing really. Some stuff that’s no fun. Except for maybe a book called Myth, Sacred History, and Philosophy about “pre-Christian Religious heritage of the West.” I’ve already read the Grecian portion before, but have been working on the Sumerian/Babylonian section piecemeal. After reading Nietzsche, I can’t help but wonder if the genesis of religion stems entirely from the need to justify mankind’s suffering. Of course, it is also an attempt at answering questions of science, the laws of nature. Why are there seasons? Why is some water potable while some is not? Why are there stars, and the sun, and tides? It’s no wonder religious people are so staunchly opposed to modern science, it undermines the very fabric of their dogma.

Christianity has the benefit of standing atop these especially archaic pre-historical reckonings, and now exercises some power for being an essentially modern revelation that needn’t deal directly with the heavens and the firmament—that work has already been done. It’s difficult navigating life without a belief in God and the afterlife… I should rephrase: It’s difficult to find a reason why I should participate in modern society—as a pawn to the powers that be, keeping my head down in massive institutions, taking whatever bone is thrown my way—without believing there is some greater power directing my course. Religion is so important for capitalism to run smoothly, otherwise people would be too worried about living their lives to head into the office. It’s not a new idea by any means, but it’s remains true so long as nothing really changes.

Wars would become a thing of the past if everyone thought there was only a “here and now.” But, instead we must fight and die for a cause if we want to make it to the pearly gates. Of course, people would fight for freedom if that were being infringed upon—and it is, only, not in the way it used to be infringed upon. The only truly free people are the rich and powerful, those who can do anything and have anything, since money is the only barrier to sustenance and pleasure alike in this day and age.

Politics has become for liberals what religion is for conservatives: a way to express one’s morality, and a way to exert pressure on the general populace. The politician has taken on messianic properties, acting as the shepherd of the people, protecting them from chaos. Chaos is when people strive for their own good at the cost of others. There is a general belief that without religion or politics that everyone would act immorally—something I find intriguing, since no one who argues this point would say that they would act immorally, only that others would. I think that those who blame others—those who see chaos in others—are really seeing it in themselves, and are, in short, afraid.