Philosophy Now Forum

Too Big To Fly
Daniel J. Lavender

Flags. People fly them. People fight for them. People die for them.

I don't fly a flag. I probably wouldn't if I had to. But if I were to fly a flag it certainly wouldn't be of the state. It wouldn't be of the country, either. Or even of the planet or the galaxy. My preferred flag couldn't fly because it would represent all of existence which is infinite. My preferred flag would simply be too big.

See, I don't really believe in representing a single isolated area. The concept acts to exalt one area or people above another. Is one really better than another? Isn't the idea subjective? Or is the idea just arrogant?

The fact of the matter is everything is connected. Connected infinitely as existence is infinite. There is no real separation, anywhere. To assert separation is futile as that between connects that separated.

I am connected to my village which is connected to my town which is connected to my county which is connected to my state which is connected to my country which is connected to the planet which is connected to the solar system which is connected to the galaxy which is connected to the universe and so forth. Everything is connected. The boundaries are illusions. Accordingly I represent the Infinite as I am part of the Infinite. I do not represent one isolated area because the next is just as much a part of me, a part of existence.

Existence has no real boundary. Boundaries are things imposed to control resources, minds and people. Divide and conquer stratagem comes to mind. Divide the people, break up the community, break up relations, divide the land and isolate resources and soon enough conflict will arise. Soon thereafter comes State solutions. Solutions which consist of controlling, of dominating the populace while enriching and consolidating State power even more. Boundaries, governing bodies serve to divide the planet only to exploit it after the results of division.

Naturally existence has no real boundary but artificially it does. Artifice, artificiality has its limits. Artificiality is limited by what nature subjects it to. Artificiality is limited by nature. Artificiality requires nature but nature does not require artificiality. The land couldn't be artificially developed, it couldn't be artificially divided if the land didn't naturally exist. Indeed, I am implying this modern industrialized global arrangement is artificial, but that artificiality is transcended by nature as nature exceeds our tiny planet and technological schemes.

I don't fly a flag. My flag is too big, others are too small and a medium flag just wouldn't suffice. It would still represent division and isolation, division and isolation which is superseded in the greater scheme of things. Existence has no real boundary. It isn't limited by division. But that is what flags represent, and that is why I don't fly one.

That doesn't really seem like how flags work. Like the flag for the USA isn't always 10 times as big as the one for Britain. So my hypothesis re: flags is that their size might be related to that of the pole they are on rather than the thing they depict.

FlashDangerpants wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 2:16 pm That doesn't really seem like how flags work. Like the flag for the USA isn't always 10 times as big as the one for Britain. So my hypothesis re: flags is that their size might be related to that of the pole they are on rather than the thing they depict.

Maybe by "big" he's referring to the number of adherents a flag represents? Or how inclusive a flag is? For example, the state of Florida has a flag and the United States has a flag and the UN has a flag. I can fly the Florida flag and get all proud of being a "Floridian", however, a person from the US state of Virginia maybe won't feel the same way. In that case, the Virginian and I could both take pride in the US flag. However, what the author seems to be saying is that he is cosmopolitan and therefore his flag represents all of everything, or something like that. I think that's admirable.

Carnation USA flies the biggest USA flags over car stores. They're huge, you can spot them from a mile away on a clear day.

Fundamental change of the USA means to fundamentally change transportation. No longer will oil and coal be used for direct horsepower and British Thermal Units. Now oil and coal will be used to charge batteries which will become increasingly scarce, thus eliminating private transportation for all but Party apparatchiks.

No more freedom of the open road for the greedy American middle class that needs blood diamonds and now, blood cobalt.

Walker wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 3:41 pm Carnation USA flies the biggest USA flags over car stores. They're huge, you can spot them from a mile away on a clear day.

Fundamental change of the USA means to fundamentally change transportation. No longer will oil and coal be used for direct horsepower and British Thermal Units. Now oil and coal will be used to charge batteries which will become increasingly scarce, thus eliminating private transportation for all but Party apparatchiks.

No more freedom of the open road for the greedy American middle class that needs blood diamonds and now, blood cobalt.

Freedom of the open road (like it or not) is indeed an unsustainable luxury. The better answer is investing more in some form of public transportation system--especially as the Earth's population grows. If God wanted people to drive themselves, then he would have created unlimited fuel and an atmosphere impervious to its emissions.

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 4:19 pm Freedom of the open road (like it or not) is indeed an unsustainable luxury. The better answer is investing more in some form of public transportation system--especially as the Earth's population grows. If God wanted people to drive themselves, then he would have created unlimited fuel and an atmosphere impervious to its emissions.

Gary, Gary, my goodness. The premise of your first sentence is supported only by your imaginings and what you know of reality, as are the reasonings that follow.

Such a world would be a cutthroat competition for Party Status and a high social credit score, which would control the economics of transportation.

daniel j lavender wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 2:10 pm Existence has no real boundary. It isn't limited by division. But that is what flags represent, and that is why I don't fly one.

YES!!! I'm with ya, daniel! People can assign whatever lofty ideas they want to a flag, but it still represents and sows division.

Lacewing wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 4:35 pm

daniel j lavender wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 2:10 pm Existence has no real boundary. It isn't limited by division. But that is what flags represent, and that is why I don't fly one.

YES!!! I'm with ya, daniel! People can assign whatever lofty ideas they want to a flag, but it still represents and sows division.

The fentnyl flag certainly does.

Walker wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 4:33 pm

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 4:19 pm Freedom of the open road (like it or not) is indeed an unsustainable luxury. The better answer is investing more in some form of public transportation system--especially as the Earth's population grows. If God wanted people to drive themselves, then he would have created unlimited fuel and an atmosphere impervious to its emissions.

Gary, Gary, my goodness. The premise of your first sentence is supported only by your imaginings and what you know of reality, as are the reasonings that follow.

Such a world would be a cutthroat competition for Party Status and a high social credit score, which would control the economics of transportation.

OK. If you don't think investing more in public transportation is a better answer than everyone having their own personal means of transport, then please supply a viable alternative.

-Imp

https://youtu.be/8XKH-GChHlI

Once we have a flag we have ...

What are flags anyway? Are there flags for everything? Daniel Dennett may have some interesting things to say about flags.

Try to say Daniel Dennett's Dentist ten times real fast.

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 5:08 pm OK. If you don't think investing more in public transportation is a better answer than everyone having their own personal means of transport, then please supply a viable alternative.

The whole electric car fiasco is what you call, churning. Unnecessary activity. The horseless carriage has been doing quite nicely. Don't forget about the blood cobalt. Ain't no little chillen pumping or refining oil.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 27, 2023 4:55 am Try to say Daniel Dennett's Dentist ten times real fast.

Daniel Dennett's an intellectual giant of our times. He's actually a mystic in certain respects just as Sam Harris, another megamimd, is too.