I have a confession.

WELCOME CHUM.

I confess I have a huge woman crush on Christina Hendricks.

 

I confess I sometimes purposely do things to myself that I don't like as punishment if I feel guilty about something. :S
I hate not being punished for doing something wrong. Yes, I know that's stupid.

 

That's why we think you need a dominatrix.

 

I confess I want to beat you down with a coathanger.

 

I confess that Suiseiseki's avatar is making me feel all giddy with excitement.

 

I confess i'd love to see someone dominate conran with a whip for fun

 

I confess that I played Totally Spies on the DS, and that I deleted the game because I was stuck

 

I think I can see someone who may want to fill the role of dominatrix. :

Uh, I confess that I used to use large batteries to administer electrical shocks to myself. o_o

 

I confess I was foolish enough to leave a class project right until the day before it's due.....Again.
And it's not a quick project, either. :S

 

I confess that i killed someone... on GTA.

 

I confess I used to lick batteries and my plasma ball thing stho I cuth tok likth dish and lasfh ath myshelf

 

i confess i'm too lazy to work

 

Wat?

I confess I used to keep shocking myself with a prank shock pen (whatever they're actually called) just for fun. o.o

 

I confess I used to poke the middle of my PS2 because it felt like sticking my finger in needles. It was fun in a weird kind of way.
Bzzbbzz.

 

I confess that living my life as a utopian is one of the biggest things to bring me out of my depression. Here's what I believe in:

Spoiler

Last updated on January 2nd, 2011.

The idea of "utopianism" has been through a lot of revision. From when I was in high school, and to this day, the idea has been refined. It has gone from a self-serving "secret club house" to some basic guidelines and standards for life that anyone can meet. I prefer to include utopians in my circle of friends because they tend to be more interesting and respectable. Out from my head and into cyberspace, I bring you the concept of utopianism.
The Model Utopian

The belief, in summary, is that humans have the greatest potential among all species of the Earth. Key traits that make us human are, then, the most important aspects of yourself that you should be developing. The prime example would be intelligence - we are the smartest species on the planet. We've formed multiple, complex languages. We're adaptable, through technological advances, to virtually any environment. The model utopian, due to their persistent learning, holds above-average intelligence for their age. It is apparent that utopianism is not some draconian, exclusive view; anyone born healthy can attain above-average intelligence. With the availability of the Internet came the dissolution of any reason for ignorance. Yet most people still, when holding a belief, only research the side of the issue that they want to believe in. Most people are happy dwindling away their potentially productive hours on social networks, sleeping, or on excessive usage of the practically limitless venues of entertainment available to us today. To tell you the model utopian is a better person, would not be inaccurate. To say they're a better human, would be obvious.

Intelligence is so heavily valued because it's central to everything about being sentient. Were humans not sentient creatures, we'd not have advanced technologically. We'd stay instinctive animals, hardly capable of creating societies. We have great bodies that allow us to become a greater species, and to be able to surpass instinct. Dolphins are also very intelligent creatures, but lack the means necessary to technologically evolve their societies. Thus, the humans reign supreme and build structures, destroy the earth and then rebuild it.

Another sentient trait is one that plays a heavy role in our decision-making process: the conscience. Adhering to your conscience is not so hard; any normally functioning, self-aware creature can do it. Some people's consciences are a bit weaker, however, and that's undoubtedly the result of improper conditioning. When I was a boy, I stole a few things, until my mother found out I stole some kid's toy and hid it in my closet. She made me explain that I was sorry, then give the toy to him as his mother looked absolutely disgusted in me. I don't think they ever visited again. I learned my lesson, but it's unfortunate that people have never had lessons taught to them, or if they had, they were not in condition to really impress values upon. The utopian must always strive to be a positive - not neutral - influence on their surroundings. A villain who has a utopian work ethic, yet commits awful acts with their abilities, is not a candidate for utopianism. In fact, they're worse than a criminal who hasn't a speck of utopianism; at least they'll screw up.

The only requirement for utopianism is that, as a utopian, you are on a constant quest to better yourself, while positively contributing to the global community. If you have a problem, you'll do your best to fix it, not null or ignore it. If there's anyone to blame, it's probably yourself, and if you decide that it justifiably is your fault, you will take responsibility. When the time comes to voice your thoughts, you'll know how to present your idea accurately, concisely, and hopefully well-mannered. This attitude will ensure that you are intelligent and a pleasure to exchange ideas with.
Instinct

Instinct is a tendency to act in a certain way based on the biology of the subject's species. It provides pre-defined protocols that allow the subject to have an intrinsic understanding of the world around it. Animals, being unable to form complex language to reason with, run wholly on instinct. It should stand apparent that self-aware creatures are unlike the other animals on the planet, and thus us humans can disobey our instincts via superior cognitive thought. It would seem, then, that perhaps instinct should be discouraged for the utopian. After all, if we're attempting to be as self-aware as possible, we should strip away anything that makes us like the animals. However, though instinct can at times prove troublesome, it is every part of being sentient as it... isn't!

Instinct only becomes troublesome when people cannot use their sentience to their advantage: the humanity that lets them say no to their instinctive desires. Indeed it is such these days, with the media throwing breasts into every male's face when the chance arises, that the battle vs. succumbing to instinct is not exactly in our favor. However, that is no excuse to succumb. The biggest challenge to our utopianism is hedonism - the love of pleasure. With so many high-quality entities to distract us from productive work, it is not unbelievable to see a generation full of people who are addicted in some way to something. Be it movies, games, sexual habits, recreational drugs, or even other people, these are all distractions that many find themselves succumbing to.

There's nothing wrong with doing what you enjoy, until it becomes a habit. Until you begin to rely on this entity to pass the day. There are some habits that are more detrimental to your health and finances, such as recreational drug use, and those are comparitively much worse than an addiction to television or gaming. I once overheard some teenagers trying to make it through a week without smoking marijuana. This one act is such a chronic habit for some, that they'll declare a whole week off with their friends as a sort of challenge. "Naw, dude, I can't do that!" he smiles and declines the challenge, because he knows it: he couldn't do it. He relies on this herb as anchor to keep him mentally stable.

"Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained." would quip William Blake, and it's quite important to note this. Blake's quote is so interesting because you'd think, for one moment, that perhaps these victims of hedonism were victims due to a third party; something they can't control. Thankfully, there is one organ in our wonderful bodies that can defeat addiction each time it arises: the brain, in partnership with the sentience that makes us human. Human enough to restrain ourselves, because if we don't, our desire will fall into a pattern. Every time we enforce the pattern, it will grow stronger, along with our dependency on it. The more you enforce a pattern, the stronger it will be. Victims of depression will enter a cycle of ruminating upon negativity, to the point where it seems they're stuck in a cycle. I suggest this to anyone curious about their addictions: perform whatever habit you've fallen into, for a reasonable amount of time. Then try to not do it for a week. If you believe you can accomplish this, congratulations: you have retained your humanity even when faced with such odds against you. You have entered a pattern, but you can break free at any time. If you believe you would have serious struggle breaking a pattern or addiction, why don't you try it?

Ideally, you will want to enter a habit of good patterns. Exercise is an example of something everyone should have a habit of, but since it's not considered pleasurable, it isn't easy to fall into the habit. Getting up in the morning and looking at yourself in the mirror, though, should be motivation enough!
Cold Logic vs. Warm Morality

It shouldn't come as a surprise, being so intellectually-based, that utopianism will side with the most logical conclusion whenever possible. This, brings with it criticism on our moral core. You will come to a point in your life (unless you're dreadfully boring) in which you will be presented with multiple choices for a decision, one of which will be the most moral choice, but the other the more logical choice. In robot fiction, the machines will usually talk about how logical they are, while us silly humans are full of impulses and chemical reactions that sway us to make the lesser of decisions. Most people, if they had the choice, would rather make a decision that made them feel better, rather than what would be 'best' for the situation. The Vulcan, a race from the Star Trek universe, have inhibited emotional responses, and throughout the whole universe are considered a "logical" race. They would not, for example, be flustered by an insult, but would instead think of a counter-point to the criticism, and if they could not provide one, would work on developing themselves to correct their perceived faults. Utopians should strive towards being like this. The Vulcan are a great example of a utopian life form, and what's great is that we are not a fictional race, as we are human, and we can actually emulate Vulcan traits while still fully embracing our impulses and chemical reactions.

An example of a mainstream moral choice is as follows: choosing a vegetarian diet. Some of the people that make that decision are not choosing it for the most logical (or mature) reasons. It is not uncommon to engage a vegetarian in discussion about their decision, only to find that they are not doing it for holistic purposes, but instead cite their reason as "protecting the animals". They are limiting their diet, and the reason they will first bring up is because they feel bad for eating animals. In lieu of mentioning potential health risks of meat products, they'll talk about the worst slaughterhouse video they could find on YouTube. Utopians do not base their decisions on such emotional responses: if you like meat, and find its properties to be relevant to your health, continue eating it. The animal is dead already, it would understand. This all being said, part of being sentient is that we are actually even capable of making these decisions; I do not expect every utopian to be consistently denying their conscience, nor would I even suggest it. The ability to make logical decisions when necessary, however, is a trait all utopians require.

A while ago, the United States was dealing with the "issue" of stem cell research. It was the latest debate: god-warriors and feel-goods vs. scientists and progressively-minded people, all over stem cells, which are "master cells" collected from embryos and fetuses that are able to develop into almost any cell in the human body. The general public knew it as this: it could allow the cure for many untreatable ailments, including spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes. Imagine, curing diabetes, it was a completely new thought. However, the media got hold of this process and noted it could make some people uncomfortable, and now America's got an issue. You had people saying it wasn't "God's will" - as if we could speak for God, or as if we knew it even existed - and pamphlets were sent out to Christians saying just how bad destroying life was. Then comes the polling, and most people's source of reference were these pamphlets, what the media said, or fragments of debates they'd happen to catch. Convince a religious person they're going to sin by casting a vote, they will vote for the opposition. You've now got scientists trying to combat people who know little more than what a nucleus is, and it's all got to be a political issue because it makes people feel bad. You know what's worse than feeling bad? Feeling nothing, which is what spinal patients will go through for the rest of their life. It's this inversion of morality that is so anti-utopian, that it is no wonder to me that most utopians do not belong to an organized religion. Under no circumstances should you deny someone a better life because of any moral implications you feel. Nothing more can be said; refusing to eat animals is one thing, claiming others are going to Hell for allowing scientific research to be conducted is another. To try to put a stop to advancement is absolutely unacceptable.
The Best Around

The utopian strives to be the best they can be. We shoot for perfection in the areas we care for. Generally, this is cognitively: it is not unlikely for utopians to strive for extraordinary grades in school, and receive them. Likewise, it's natural for another utopian to have poor grades but excel in whatever they care for. The most important thing, however, is the effort we put forth. It is so common to do only what you have to in today's society. You go to college/university, just pass those fours years. Get your diploma, and get out into the field. Get your 40-hour job and whew - you've done it! You're a success! Indeed, you are a success, but most stop there. Out of the 6-7 hours you're given on a week day, and 14-16 hours on weekend, most cannot manage to find anything productive to preoccupy their time. Some will the cite the stressfulness of their job, or their children, which are decent enough excuses, but they provide no excuse for wittling away all your time without a form of even productive entertainment, or learning.

No one wants to work their whole life. Not everyone wants to even be known for the work they do. Bettering yourself can be as simple as learning something new. Being productive doesn't always equate to fame, or wanting fame. Some methods of production do tend to draw attention: if you get better at art, you'll probably want to post the art not only for criticism, but because it's nice to show what you've done. This way, you could gain a moderate fan base. Participating in sports teaches teamwork skills, muscle memory and proper hand-eye coordination. Sports and art are two great examples of productive entertainment because they both are enjoyable to take up. Sports are also great exercise.

The operative in the equation for model utopianism is the effort you put forth. Putting effort into learning will boost your intelligence. Having such "boosted" intelligence, along with putting forth effort in all that you do, is a recipe for great things.

It is important to note feelings of superiority. While a utopian may, justifiably, feel superior to someone who does not try to better themselves, educate themselves, or is genuinely a bane on society, when it comes in regards to utopians as a whole: we are all equal. We are tied together by a single belief, which is to be the best you can be. Whether or not a utopian is more experienced, wealthy, or successful than another, does not give license to the presumably-greater utopian to assume superiority. Everyone has different gifts, knowledges, talents, connections, and experiences; it is this which makes unity key to the belief system of utopianism.

A final word is on blame. The un-utopians, nicknamed ciphers, love to place the blame on someone else. It is unfortunate in most cases, that if something goes - or is going - wrong, it is most likely your fault. I failed as a game designer with my first game; I could cite the poor economy, a poor player base, or even the lack of capital invested, but ultimately it all comes back to my lack of insight and proper coding techniques. For me, it feels better to place the blame on myself, than it does another. With the blame on myself, I can be assured that I will not make the same mistakes again. I want you to think about your perceived faults in yourself. Do you blame others when you could be blaming yourself? I'm not perfect, I have things I want to change about myself. It's important to recognize the fault as your own and fix it so you can get better.
A Better World

In its infancy as an idea, utopianism used to be about bettering the world first, and then bettering yourself. It was practically an activist group, talking about picking up trash in public and recruiting members at book stores. Utopianism does not mean to destroy the world, but the belief doesn't require activism. Yes, it is a requirement to be as positive as possible - and through this, you could be even more positive by picking up trash - but an active assertion is not required. A large factor in this is that people have different (undebatable) views on how to "better" the world, and frankly we all can't agree.

Hitler may have thought he was bettering the world by actively clearing out all the "filth", and at the end of his campaign humanity was left with some mad science done on humans, and the deaths of 11,000,000 "filthy" people - Jews, gays, Romanis, gypsies, various others. Hitler may really have believed what he did was good for the world, but most of the world disagrees. It is this fact that discourages utopianism from giving a solid statement on how one could "better" the world. You may want to pick up trash for your community, or volunteer your hours for the meek. That's great, and utopianism definitely encourages you to do so, but it is not a requirement to do so. Ultimately it is up to you to decide whether it's your goal to actively better the world, and how you're going to do it. Regardless, utopians tend to be good people, and will be a positive influence wherever they are.
Where's the utopia?

It's gone. It's gone. Bless our teenage hearts, that spoke of private islands, then Montana, then apartment complexes full of utopians. Utopias are great, they really are, and I'd absolutely love to live in a nice, exclusive city or on a self-sufficient island with high-tech technologies. These things cost money, however, and it's hard to convince 10 people to drop their lives in lieu of peaceful island living. You can't just start a utopia. People want to get married, and visit other countries, and see their relatives. I suggest, instead of a utopia, that you build yourself a sanctuary.

The definitions are clear: a utopia is far away from trouble. It's easy living. It's a remote island, or community, and it's got to be self-sufficient... even a bit xenophobic. A sanctuary, however, is in the middle of the trouble, creating a perimeter of safety. When I'm ready to buy a home, it will be a sanctuary: rural, close enough but far enough from society. Ideally, you would want your fabulous sanctuary to be self-sufficient. Not only does self-sufficiency help defend against the inevitable societal collapse/zombie wars, but it's also quite frugal. Within five years' time you can create a beautiful garden with flora ranging from apple trees to tomatoes. Your energy could be direct from the sun! Just think about the zen as you come home from a hard day's work and decide to sit in the sun upon the piece of land that you yourself (and family?) helped produce. Sanctuary!
Conclusion

The best thing you can do for yourself is to train the traits that make humans sentient, every day. Encourage yourself, and others around you, to challenge themselves and grow as a greater person and human. Do not try to eliminate instinct; rather, control it. Self-control is a very important trait that sentient creatures can master. Make moral choices that are both right, and right. Remember it is the effort put forth that makes you utopian - while it may be true that genetics can favor your development, no one is to be considered a utopian without putting forth the effort to be their best. In this perpetual journey of always being your best, be sure to value other utopians the same as you would yourself; we are part of a classification of people, and that is what makes us strong. We are not better than each other, we are just different. Before casting blame upon others, take note of the relevance of casting blame, and then place it on yourself if logically suited. If you want to actively better the world, then by all means, go for it. It's a great way to give a little extra to the community. The concept of a utopia, while novel, is not as realistic as a sanctuary. Above all: be happy, be productive, be positive, and let others do the same.

With all due respect,
Vael Victus


PS: utopianism does not have an uppercase "u" - that's a bit too much for us.

 

I confess I'd hold them down, just to destroy the device.

Turns out the initial shock has more kick than holding it to your hand/face for hours at a time, it'd just leave that part numb...take it off and poke=SHOCKING results.

 

i confess that I clicked con's spoiler tag, and decided ah fuck it, too much reading.

 

I read Rem's copy/pasta article....
And I confess, according to it, I'm a "Cipher".....I think......

 

I confess i'll never read that. i love reading but my attention span is too small for that

 

I confess that I'm no longer bleeding like the nile.