| |
| META TOPICPARENT | name="SecondPaper" |
|---|
Worker Bees |
| | The worker bee's entire existence revolves around serving the queen bee. So why doesn't the worker bee ever revolt? |
|
<
< | Because she, unlike man, does not possess the capacity to see how else it could be. She can't see life in perspective. |
>
> | Because she does not possess the capacity to see how else it could be. She can't see life in perspective. |
| | She doesn't have the ability to contextualize her life. To the worker bee, her life is simple: collect nectar until her death. She only knows how to make her life as worth while as she can within a closed system in which the rules were already written: To make a life is to collect nectar for the queen. |
| | Ironically, she may realized she died worth absolutely nothing. |
|
<
< | I struggle with escaping the mentality of the worker bee. I, like all of us, am a slave to money. I am well aware that no matter how much money I make, I will want more. That is how the system works; there is no satisfaction. If I were ever to become satisfied, I would be dispensable in our capitalist society. It is my perverted sense of fulfillment via wealth accumulation that makes me useful to the system. |
>
> | I struggle with escaping the mentality of the worker bee and contextualizing life. I, like all of us, am a slave to money. I am well aware that no matter how much money I make, I will want more. That is how the system works; there is no satisfaction. If I were ever to become satisfied, I would be dispensable in our capitalist society. It is my perverted sense of fulfillment via wealth accumulation that makes me useful to the system. |
| | |
|
<
< | It's not that I feel defeatist about the issue. I'm not justifying a life focused on wealth accumulation by framing the issue as some sort of inevitability that just requires coming to terms with. For me, I will always be fighting this urge, particularly when it stands in the way of my ethical beliefs and my public policy ambitions. |
>
> | I'm not justifying a life focused on wealth accumulation by framing the issue as some sort of inevitability that just requires coming to terms with. For me, I will always be fighting this urge, particularly when it stands in the way of my ethical beliefs and my public policy ambitions. |
| | |
|
<
< | And yet, despite my conscious perspectivism, I will continue to seek nectar to a substantial extent. Nectar will always be on my mind in some capacity. |
>
> | I'm only recognizing that despite my conscious perspectivism, I will continue to seek nectar to a substantial extent. Nectar will always be on my mind in some capacity. |
| | |
|
<
< | I often wonder what our lives look like juxtaposed with people living in impoverished conditions. I believe that some of the more desperate people in the world may say their lives are better than ours. But it's hard for us to think otherwise. After all, the hive walls are quite opaque and the flight for nectar requires myopic vision. But the truism remains: No money, no happiness. Right? |
>
> | I often wonder what our lives look like juxtaposed with people living in impoverished conditions. I believe that some of the more desperate people in the world may say their lives are better than ours. But it's hard for us to think otherwise. |
| | |
|
<
< | They may point out the fact that unlike us, they are not enslaved by a system with preconditions; one in which they are constantly pushed to pursue a life of shallow and fruitless purpose. They may mention that the concept of enriching one's life doesn't always need to involve numbers. |
>
> | After all, the hive walls are quite opaque. The flight for nectar requires myopic vision.
The impoverished may point to the fact that unlike us, they are not enslaved by a system with preconditions; one in which they are constantly pushed to pursue a life of shallow and fruitless purpose. They may mention that truly enriching one's life isn't a matter of numbers. They may conclude that despite their hunger, they are much fuller than us. Despite their disease, they are less afflicted. |
| | They can certainly look at their lives as a product of what they accomplished and what they wanted for themselves. Will we say the same about our lives? Can we? |