For you, the “too long don’t care”:
The digital me will now exist @ leetwest.com
If I’ve interacted with you, no action is needed, your email subscription will port automatically, separated from the Substack app.
See you there.
Consciousness is : Being is
you are neither : passenger : pilot : vehicle
All : simultaneous
Choice : logic under order : construction over chaos : freedom against dictate
guard their Prisons : safe indecisions
We can have it all when We become willing to truly have all : consequence
I was once convinced that I have a unique perspective during ordinary experiences. I was convinced that was the universal human condition. I can’t be the only one who feels the strain of living on a screen, who experiences visceral disease from clicking a time-card, sacrificing life’s clock by extending my consciousness here. Existential conflict isn’t new. The manifestation seems more complex. We are still human, for now.
I am not yet convinced that ubiquitous access to abstracted connection is a boon for humanity. The homogenization of opinion seems destructive, or at the very least: suppressive. I don’t believe we are as divided as popular media claims. To me, our differences are simply nuance: we are fighting each other towards the same goal. That may not be new either—rather, more obvious.
We cannot go back to old lifestyles to solve the complexity of now, no matter how comfortable nostalgia feels. Screened escapism is on the rise. I am tempted to run, too. If I’m being completely honest, internal squeaks constantly beg me to hide; but I know I’d have to run first. Maybe that’s what I’m doing. I make all available efforts to avoid rationalizing every action, and work to spend my energy reconciling mistakes to move forward.
No matter how far or how hidden we become, however, our karma—creation—is inescapable.
Nearly one year has passed since I detached from Substack. That isn’t particularly ‘important’ to most. What is important are the fallacies which made the attachment:
The sell: trade authenticity for success
We have all bought into the commoditization of our ‘self.’ The trade is simple: time + talent, mind, body, or emotions. Choose the best, or a distribution available, of yourself in sacrifice for compensation. Success is subjective, the trade inescapable. Authenticity, a way of being, cannot be sold.
Exposure = connection = value
In a world built by numbers and held together by the relationship between those numbers, the user is deceived into placing value in that foundation. The representations—distractions—consume attention, becoming value to the machine. Whoever controls the machine, controls value.
Individuals have autonomy
Participation is support. Once the agreement to participate is made, the algorithm retains control. Actions within the disease are unable to cure the dysfunction. Humans do not have the option to operate in isolation.
What I aimed to learn from attachment:
Can sharing vulnerability support my lifestyle whilst also promoting rigorous honesty? What will I lose in the pursuit? Do I find joy in sharing?
Do my thoughts and feelings have a positive impact? Will that bring us closer: to understanding, accepting, believing in each other? Are my expressions needed—helpful to others?
Is this system problematic? Are these systems inescapable? Can they be fixed within the system, or must they be voted on by participation alone? What is available for me to promote change: politics, promotion, pacifism, activism, something not yet revealed?
I don’t have an answer to these questions. I don’t feel any closer to answering them. I do feel more free to follow the next breadcrumb. Those explorations will be hosted elsewhere. The previous, I suspect, will remain here—if you feel inclined to browse my past. I will continue to write letters, as promised, to those who haven’t yet received one. As always… enjoy the ride.