Day 77 - On The Death of Individuality

"Any power must be an enemy of mankind which enslaves the individual by terror and force, whether it arises under the Fascist or the Communist flag. All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded to the individual." - Albert Einstein

Have you noticed that no one is allowed to be different anymore? It's apparently a mortal sin to have your own identity. Everything, and more importantly, every person, has to be the same. Look around you. This disease of blind conformity has infiltrated every level of society. And it makes me sick. Thoughts on this matter were thrust to the forefront of my mind today during the discovery of things we won't discuss in public forum, but here's the basic gist of it: I realized that I've been labeled an outspoken troublemaker at basically every institution of which I've ever been a part. And it's all for one reason: I'm different.

I don't know if y'all realized this, but I say pretty much whatever I want, admittedly often to my own detriment. But ya know, it'd be a shame if a person had an opinion. Truly. It would be an even bigger shame if not everyone did things the exact same way. You can't say what you want. You can't have an opinion that differs from the realm of comfort. Society dictates that everyone must be on an exactly level playing field, lest you offend someone. Even worse than that, people might not think or act exactly the same way, and then where would we be? This madness is the very reason why Mrs. Page can't teach aerospace to second graders anymore. And it's a good thing too, because look what happened to me! That poison that she fed to a seven-year-old turned him into a pilot more than a decade later. Oh, the horror. The same educational greats that quelled her individualism are the same people that brought you school uniforms, and police officers doing duty as bathroom monitors (There are people out there with chainsaws, and you've got a cop checking hall passes in the guys' john). They removed the Pledge of Allegiance, lest you figure out that "with liberty and justice for all" actually means something. The same geniuses say that kids can't pray anymore. They took away Advanced Placement programs and Top 10 student lists, replacing them with graduating high school classes that have 72 valedictorians, because God forbid one person be recognized. Where does it stop?

So why am I ranting about this? Because, my friends, I am evil. Apparently my individualism can be seen as a "contagious negativity." I don't act like other pilots in this program, as I've told you before, and I don't learn like them. I don't fit into the "professionals in a professional environment" philosophy, which is really just a euphemism for "degenerates in a drunken orgy." I don't dress like them. I don't fly like them. I don't act like them. I don't think like them. I don't learn like them. And I don't want to. Naturally, this makes me a threat, which I don't understand at all. I don't bother anyone here, neither do I tolerate abuse or perceived injustice. I don't jeopardize flight safety (In fact, by comparison to many of the others, I do quite the opposite), and I don't shirk my responsibilities. What DOES happen, is that I get sold out by my peers (remember the post about me almost getting kicked out), because it's easier to scapegoat an individual as opposed to taking responsibility for your own actions. Again, dragging another down to your level. Sadly, integrity issues (stemming from a lack of confident identity) run rampant in this arena. Rather than address this issue personally, I'll merely invite you to watch Al Pacino's famous speech from the movie Scent of a Woman. Buy it, rent it, watch it on YouTube. I don't care. Just watch it, cause it's a great speech with which I agree whole-heartedly. Hoo-ahh!!! Anyway, I just want to do this my way, and I don't see why that's such a problem. There's no reason that this can't be fun.

This mindless banter has not been spawned by any new events or stressors, In fact I had a good day with a great flight. Mainly it was just brought about by a reminder that I received today of some past events. These events are indicative of a global trend in society away from individualism, and a gradual embrace of Marxism. I get so sick of people that want to make everything and everyone the same, and sometimes I just need to preach. SO WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE??? The answer is simple: the slugs of the world are the ones doing this. Rather than develop their own identities through reasonable and intelligent self-expression, or rise to meet a level of happiness and success, they just drag everyone else down to their level. Now, please note that I specified intelligent self-expression. By that I mean individualized and lucid thought processes and critical evaluations; not some idiot with three dozen grotesque facial piercings because he wants the world to know his pain. That's just ignorant. Please don't confuse the points I'm making with some of the outright social atrocities that are routinely committed under the guise of individuality. But back to the point, I figured out that I was letting them make me miserable, and that's exactly what they want. They're not happy 'til you're not happy. So everyone gets to be the same, and the minority rules. Outstanding.

Variety is the spice of life. So I say, dare to be different. Excel in whatever you do, and excel in your own way. Be a trailblazer. There's more than one way to skin a cat (Sorry, Chester). I'm a big-picture kind of person. If you can accomplish excellence in a way other than the norm, then so what? Why do people view individuality as such a threat, and why are they trying so hard to kill it? Do they not understand that they're only destroying our future, by suppressing innovation, invention, ingenuity, or in my case, comedy? Is this not still America? Aren't these some of the very ideals that have made this country great, and continue to do so? To quote Bill Murray, "We're all very different people; we're not watoosie, we're not Spartans. We're Americans, with a capital A, huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every out every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We're underdogs, we're mutts!"

Being the proud mutt that I am, I won't tolerate this plague that they call conformity. And I refuse to accept that you can't have fun!!! Maybe that's why I have relished the reputation that I have developed over the years. I like it. I'm proud of it. I say, dare to be different. I'm going to continue to do idiotic things, simply because I can. I'm going to speak my mind. I'm going to wear blue jeans and polo shirts, and look ten times more professional than the idiots that shun me for wearing them. I'm going to keep holding my aerosol can signal horn (those annoying things that people blow at ball games) out the storm window of the aircraft and honk it while we're taxiing. I'm going to wear my hair like a civilized human, not some reject from a modeling contest. I'm not going to fly a base leg. I'm not going to fly a twin-engine propeller aircraft like a Tomcat because I think that I live inside the movie Top Gun. And just like the other night in Augusta, when Danny and I took a wrong turn on a taxiway, I'm going to yell out the cockpit window to the ramp agents, "It's a'ight, we ain't from around here!" Why? Because it's fun.

Be creative. Be original. Have your own identity. Tell the truth. Don't eat the yellow snow. And above all, have fun.

So sayeth the Lloyd.

Joey

Special Feature: By special request of Mr. Page, here she is:

It's a 1967 model Baron 55, and it's a LOT different than a Seminole! It's a lot quicker, as you well know, but I really enjoyed flying it. I wasn't a huge fan of the throwover column, but that didn't bother me nearly as much as the center control lever positioning. They're mounted too far forward and up, making their manipulation somewhat cumbersome in relation to the bulky column. Plus the positioning of the throttle levers in the center of the three sets, as opposed to the far left, is just unnatural.

The biggest issue was right-seat flying. I'm still getting used to that. I'll fly from any seat, don't get me wrong. I'll do so happily. It's just funny how much that slight change in perspective throws you off. In fact, I tend to land an aircraft so far off center on the runway when flying right seat that it's as if there were two lanes of traffic. Slower traffic keep right.