Stress Factor

I think, there comes a point in everyone's life, where they change. That change is inevitable. And ... I'm talking about a very specific kind of change.

The world we live in ... is inherently "logical". And by 'logical' I mean "rooted in words" - and by 'world we live in' I mean ... the imposed environment we consciously (or subconsciously) absorb; Focusing on the mental processes (the world we perceive as rooted in our perception).

This change I'm talking about is a matter of our understanding; The words/terms it uses and how those terms matter in the world around us.
For the longest time this would probably not matter to most people. And in a way it still matters very little - except that the intersection between our simple existences and where it matters has grown dramatically. That is to say, that everyone is nowadays more likely to be exposed to different "bubbles" - and in some places/areas it's pretty much commonplace. To a much greater extent than it "used to be".


This circumstance involves another type of change that has pretty much imposed itself upon us. And ... we weren't asked about it. Nor do we have much of a say in it. You could choose to try and withdraw yourself from its effects - and yea, some - or maybe even a lot, made that choice at least subconsciously.
If you can follow ... 'respect'. If not, let me explain.

This has so far been an ongoing topic. For what matters here - think about it like so: When I, or someone, uses the term 'we' or 'us', it is nowadays much more likely that they mean humankind at large - say, in a globalist sense - than ever before. This corresponds to an I assume growing number of people who see themselves as inhabitants/people 'of the Planet', rather than as citizens of a given nation.
Without a strong "greater Umbrella" however, this understanding is possibly just passive; To say that the term "globalist" is still more of an abstract than a dominant political idea - and so those people, I'd argue, are likely to associate that understanding to a different idea of civilization. Say, a political ideology like "socialism" or "leftism"; But also fascism.


So is there this change where we're much more likely, or able to interact with people from different places - like different nations. They key element hereby are the different cognitive environments that people come from. And on a sidenote we can add that Love and Hate are pretty much universal. So, it isn't actually surprising that people find common grounds around these greater concepts - maybe so in a way that would stand against the initially mentioned type of Change.

To not get things mixed up, the type of change I initially menioned could here be described as 'individual' change. The one so far discussed as 'societal' change.


The important aspect of these cognitive environments we come from is, that they are - I'd say - more homogenous the smaller they are. When we say "beer" for instance, every person is poised to associate that term with their experiences. Like so it does, or can, carry a bit of national pride. We germans for instance love our "Reinheitsgebot" (Commandment of Purity) - and in regards to that, a lot of "beers" aren't actually 'beer' as we'd have it; And so a german may feel free to express as much in more or less polite terms. But yea, we also do that among ourselves just based on the region (of Germany) a beer is from.
Then we may also talk about "Vegan Beer". It's funny, because from what I've seen, people would be instinctively repulsed by it, or even just the thought of it. Proper beer, as brewed in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot is however inherently Vegan. And so the term "Vegan Beer" is ... a funny juxtaposition of terms that don't seem to fit together. Beer is "Manly and Cool", Vegan is "Gay and Yuk".
And I suppose that a statement like "So, Vegan can be Good!" might to a lot of people feel like I just personally pissed into their Beer. If you're even just a little bit like that, think about it and accept that Vegan can be good ... you just changed!

Well, in as far as the topic here is concerned.

Well. Outside of that, there's cultural or societal pressure. In a sad way, I wouldn't be surprised if a campaign to outlaw "Vegan Beer" would accumulate a lot of support. And that's the kind of perspective - or understanding of the world - that a lot of "lefties" have. And it seems that ... it are exactly those types of people that would fall for that shit that would think themselves to be ... "cognitive master chiefs" in a way; With all of their "understanding" of how we are the crazy ones.

So, as for change - let's first of all focus on this understanding of what Vegan is. Vegan at first only means that it is free of animal products. There must however have come a point, where the individual learned that Vegan means something more like "Taking away your meat". Which, yea, is actually a discussion about Climate change - which, if we don't do anything about it, may lead to us actually not having any more meat to go with. The term 'Vegan' is however born from a refusal of animal products; And so, technically woke.
Now, I'm not saying that people's disdain for Wokeness would outrank their appreciation for Beer. So, the change here isn't that a person that attained that understanding of what Vegan is all about would now refuse to drink beer, but ... that this "hypothetical" person did become a little bit less rational.
And yea, there's a bit of a conundrum at play here.

So, on the one side this growth would be entirely consistent with an individual "as is". They don't want to stop consuming animal products. So, they don't like Vegan. The "push to Vegan" is however also based on a rational agenda. Maybe reducing animal farming isn't the top-priority when it comes to fighting climate change, but it is certainly one of the largest contributors. And reasons for why people don't want to have that discussion proper ... are also more varied than it might seem.
Like, say, "why should I stop eating meat while the elites really don't care about meeting the climate goals imposed upon them?". It's like ... I get to pay a price for literally nothing because how am I to feel confident in its effectiveness? Like, I'm told to take responsibility while nothing in the economy suggests that those actually responsible are willing to even consider it. But if we just stopped buying into it, they'd have to.
But ... I don't want to ... stop eating meat. Like, there's also this "fun" development where it seems like for every person that turns vegan - or climate conscious - there's another one that would buy an extra kilo of meat and an extra gallon of gas just to do something climate unfriendly with it. So, what am I really accomplishing if "the "market forces" demand" we keep consuming?

Both sides are right. I, personally, am not a Vegan - so, that's the side I'm on. By the way.


Anyway. That isn't the topic at hand.

What I'm saying is, that in a way of staying true to ourselves and such, we refuse to change. Like, we aren't asked to change and so we move on trying to be ourselves. But there comes a point where our mental framework for who we are, what we want, like and such - grows out of sync with the reality that presents itself to us. Like so ... I could just move on and imply that we all agree that Woke is good. I mean, it is - and so is that a logical leap that has to yet be properly consolidated within my framework. As it stands, I treat the term with caution, due to its "controversial nature".
In so doing, the world as it presents itself to you - once involving me - implies that woke is good; While your idea of what woke is could involve a lot of misconceptions that have you think of it as a bad thing. And how you deal with that confrontation ... that's basically the question.

However ... there's also a flipside to this.

Say ... we all settled on woke being good. There would then still be the issue of defining what woke actually means. As per the contemporary socio-political climate ... it's likely that you'll find people defining woke in ways that don't work for you. Like, being Vegan and supporting "DEI". The irony however is that these kinds of people also exist - and their brand is "anti wokeness". In their anti-woke agenda however, the concept of what woke is gets extended onto a lot of other things. And more dominantly so. Like, not being an asshole, taxing the rich ... things like that. And based on that then, there's a new definition of woke that isn't focused on being Vegan and supporting "DEI", but more just ... having comon sense.

But so ... as this point comes where we essentially redefine ourselves based on our perception of the world, there are these stress factors. Like ... we here have two definitions of woke. Say, you're cool with the latter definition but not the initial one. Squaring the two up in your head means stress. So, you'll most likely want to distinguish yourself from "those wokes" - and in so doing become "anti-woke"; Thus becoming a bigger asshole - whether you wanted that or not.


It might take a while for all this to settle. I'm sure there also are better ways to put it, or at least closer to your individual sensitivities. And since I right now don't have the focus to expand on this any further ... I guess I'll just say: The next time you have a drink ... maybe take a moment to think about wokeness ... and maybe cheers to the idea that not everything is black and white!