13 February 2007

Ought-to-matic

For six years, we're made to understand the different parts of speech. But among them -- literacy and technical know-what aside -- adjective and adverbs are the most annoying.

The modifiers. Because of them, we became selfish brats. They turned us into greedy and insatiably expectant creatures and they forever blocked contentment's way to our doorsteps. Because of them, we can't anymore shut our traps because after six freaking years we now always know better. We learned to never settle. We learned to define.

Which is very... irritating. They sucked us into through this blackhole and now we're living in an ought-to-matic world.
You should go out because they might think you're a loser if you just stay in.
Why aren't you joining us? Don't you like us?
Why aren't you wearing red today? It's World Blood Day!
You know, you didn't have to be upset, even though your friend used your money and lost 60-grand in the casino without telling you. You're friends, anyway!
Don't go for take-outs. You're not a yaya!
Buy a couple more of these icky but fragrant lotion -- celebrities do!
You ought to live according to these gaddamned rules because everyone does and if you don't you're a pathetic excuse for a human being!

See? Everyone expects one another to live according to these "natural" guidelines. Because everyone now knows better. You shouldn't have done that because... because... because you shouldn't have! There goes free will. Today, we can no longer stroll alone or we'll be labeled lepers. We can no longer have simple pleasures because everyone else is living in extravagance and we'll be decapitated if we don't follow. And we can no longer keep quiet for its simplest sake -- we need to at least make a sound so as not to appear autistic.

I'm not shunning our freedom of expression a.k.a. "right to comment". Nor am I rallying for to tolerate baseless, noisy merrymaking that is staging a show for selfish attention. Just that, sometimes neurosis/cynicism/paranoia gets the best of us and drives us to worry/doubt/break down when we absolutely need not to just because someone does something out of the ordinary (i.e. the expected behavior).

Be grateful technology has offered us convenience our circa-Ice Age ancestors could even pronounce. But leave it to the machines to be automatic. Because it's what they do.
QWERTY-ed by Paoper at 16:50 |  
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