Obscured vision & lost vocation

As alluded to in the earlier entries, personal goals and aspirations do seem to have evolved to become nothing more than products of a socially constructed value system. What is considered to be good, worthwhile, respectable, and noble can hardly escape the distortion and corruption of the dominant culture. It is easy and sometimes comfortable to lose sight of one’s connection with the world and give up one’s calling—something that is quite unique to you—which is a complicated cocktail of your talents, passion, beliefs, vision, and social context.

In our city, vanity, entertainment and materialism is the name of the game and making money is the rule to play by. This is more often than not translated into sacrificing time and talent (and life) for a career that is about nothing but generating more and more profit—not so much for oneself than for those who are already rich, at the expense of the poor. We are fooled to believe that we are doing fine (“hey, how is it not good to be rich?”) and are rewarded with the drug we were made addicted to (“hey, look at my ______ [fill in the blank]”). The biggest tragedy is when those external forces, no matter how deviant from one’s innermost believes and desire and calling, are internalized and eventually believed in and worshiped. Usually the justification goes like this: if you can’t fight the system, be part of it, or, everyone else is doing it, why shouldn’t I?

The primary purpose of staying alive is thus to sustain the system that is, in turn, sustaining you and allowing you to consume more junk and generate more waste. So at the end of the day, we are still alive and are still buying more stuff disguised as happiness. We, the mass, are but a sad, mindless, powerless tool (see Marx, or if time doesn’t permit, watch the Matrix).

Certainly life is bigger than one’s job and we probably shouldn’t judge a person by his/her career. But can we frankly isolate our being and values (or soul, if you will) from something we spend half (if not more) of our time doing? Can we fool ourselves to believe that a job we go to everyday is just a job and what we do in our “leisure” is more defining of our being? Can we devote our weekdays in harming others while spending our weekends saving people? Sure this might sound extreme, but when was the last time you checked where the money you are making for your company or saving to your bank account is going to? We are not that innocent.

True, life is seldom a romantic script with a happy thereafter plot—we all face numerous demands and expectations, both realistic and imagined. Similarly, it is only moral for us to fulfill the duty and obligations of our roles—assumed or imposed. In fact, what roles to attend to is exactly a moral question in itself. For instance, Confucius delineated a system that gave us some clues: as parent/child, as sister/brother, as husband/wife, as boss/subordinate, and as king/subject—he included a moral code that would fit right into the harmonious and functional society he envisioned. The end product is allegedly a good life. Capitalism also has a set of guidelines for us: If we are smart enough, work hard enough, tough enough, and selfish enough, we too can live a good life. What does those two ideas of good life entail is, on the other hand, a different question. So yes, certain people might feel obligated (and rightly so) to sacrifice their hopes and dreams for their families, especially when basic necessities are in question. But once that threshold is passed, we have less excuse to not question our priorities. It is easy to follow the herds and do what seems (again, a function of social pressure and popular opinion) to be right. It is difficult to go against the current and seek out that dream or calling that is greater than you (and those around you), even though doing which will fulfill and actualize you as a being. Happiness might not be guaranteed but meaning is. Well, it is your choice: the red pill or the blue pill?

Perhaps Confucism is archaic, perhaps not; regardless, it serves to give us a starting/reference point. And perhaps more importantly, Confucius, like many respectable thinkers in the past, reminded us that we do not live in a vacuum and the bottom line is that we don’t, can’t, and ought not to live “our” lives for ourselves.

To be or not to be isn’t the question
Most likely there isn’t one right way to live or one right lifestyle to pursue. The question is thus less about what we do than why we do what we do. A person could be doing the right thing for the wrong reason (for personal gain/ego) or do the wrong thing for the right reason (sure, some—and only some—people are meant to be bankers). The moral question is more about our motivation behind our actions. What are you willing to die for, and why?

Great power comes with great responsibility—something Socrates, Confucius, and Spider Man would agree on. With all the wealth and talent we’ve accumulated individually and as a city, and with so many clear and present crises happening as I type and as you read, can we really stay neutral and pretend that our goals, aspirations, and hopes and dreams are truly ours and ours alone?

Christian Chan
June 26, 2007
Storrs, CT, USA