Well, hello there, dear reader. Thanks for checking in. It's good to be in touch with you again.
So, what should we discuss and go on about today? War, politics, presidential assination attempts, elections and associated current events; these are all such dark societal depressors which are constantly heaped upon us by our media. I'm sure you're receiving more than your fair share of all this already.
Well, here's a topic we could look at. How about personal identification? It's a subject which our government, law enforcement and our surveillance state goes to great lengths to increase, control and monitor.
I can't remember, back when I was a kid, of anyone being bothered or concerned about carrying ID. Most people knew who you were and if they didn't then you told them your name and they accepted it without question.
I suppose that people who drove possessed driver's licenses but there were no credit cards at that time and our economy ran on cash. That was a different time when personal privacy was a given norm.
But today, especially here in America, there's an ongoing ID gathering craze. At school, work and especially so in the military you are tagged, labeled, numbered, recorded, fingerprinted and surveilled. And it's all for your own protection, they tell you. You are no longer looked at as a sovereign free citizen but as more of a unit of production and consumption easily managed and digitally governed by the State!
So, who are you then? Fill in the correct answers in black ink on each category — Human, animal, vegetable, mineral, male, female, race, age, religion, nationality, ideology, eye color, blood type, ect. ect.
Enquiring corporate and government minds want to know!
Well just imagine having multiple personality problems or schizophrenia and trying to fill out all these forms!
You could say that personal identity was defined quite simply by Popeye the Sailor as: "I am what I am and that's all that I am".
Sorry about this silliness but I very much consider the entire preoccupying frenzy to label and ID everyone as being quite a silly waste of time and taxpayer money as well as a flagrant invasion of privacy.
Well, the first two words of Popey's self-identification, I would say, are the key to it all: "I am".
The "I" is the individual self alone. You are you, as they say. And sorry to have to tell you this but you are not the image you see in your mirror. That's just a reflection of your human body. And you very much identify with this form.
The "am", as I see it, is the condition of being, of actually existing in this physical universe. And most scientists will tell you that matter and energy are the basic building blocks of everything. While everything to them, of course, means the material universe. So solid stuff to them proves existence.
Also, our society sees symbols attached to the "I" as further proof of existence — tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, PHD, ect.
Many people get very attached to their treasured symbols such a sergeant to his stripes, a general to his stars or a judge to his robe. "It's who I really am", they may declare.
We can see then that we have been going to great lengths to nail down the validity of our existence so as to verify our "am" and to attach it to our name, rank, serial number, station in life, social security number, ect., ect.
But who can properly and correctly nail down and label the "I”?
Scholars, sages and philosophers have attempted to do so all down through history. They knew that you are not really your name. You are not your occupation, possessions and all associated symbols.
So, if Popeye was not really his name, Popeye, nor his occupation, sailor, well then who was he?
And this brings up our most important question, which would be: who dear reader are you?
And don't you think it might be very beneficial to find out?
Therefore, the question of the ages, as it appears to me, is that of one's true identity and once this is known and realized then it may greatly help us to bring some order into all this chaos.
It seems that the closest those scholars, mentioned above, came to identifying the "I" was with the words spirit or soul.
Well to conclude then, couldn't you suppose that one of the basic purposes of our religion might be the search and discovery for our spiritual identity, its awareness and the resulting enlightenment?
Well, it's something worth considering. Don't you think?
Dan is at danhughoconnor@gmail.com