A modern dialectic of oppression
In our day and age, we have had the pleasure of learning about the mistakes and sins of our forefathers, and have been given the opportunity to redeem ourselves as a global civilization. In many ways, we have, with many free to practice their cultures — however as we advance past industry 5.0 and the 4th scientific paradigm (ever so edging toward stage 1 on the Kardashev scale), it becomes more evident that our technological advances are only a thin veneer hiding away the grotesque reality. Allow me to provide a very personal example, highlighting the dialectic of modern inclusivity. One of my favorite beverages of all time is pilk – Pepsi mixed with milk. (Note, there are many different ways to make this drink, but I prefer a 1:1 ratio of the two constituent ingredients). For those unfamiliar with what pilk tastes like – it would remind one of a sweet, creamy, brown sugar milk tea, and as it is more economically feasible to buy the necessary ingredients (due to economies of scale), this concoction is more than a worthy substitute. Whenever I pull up to a function, and I see that there is Pepsi present, many may recall me boldly inquiring, “where the milk at?”. I am immediately sneered at by all these self proclaimed “righteous” men (cretins, the lot of them)… What happened? What happened to all of the inclusivity talk I have heard from these same individuals? What happened to accepting minorities and other cultures? When I, a member of my own personal culture, attempt to hydrate, I am ridiculed by my peers for it? If this does not embody the legacy of cultural hegemony (something very prevalent in American history), I do not know what does. We cannot claim to be a progressive society if this is how we treat some of our most minute minorities (there is only one of me, and over 8 billion others). After much contemplation and introspection about theories in my mind, I have concluded that there is no such thing as a radical negation of this dialectic specifically, but there are two possible proceedings. We as a society can alter our interpretation of the world and the diversity of human culture in a more post-structuralist manner: viewing the act of drinking pilk through a more quasi-anthropological lens, such that we embrace cultural relativity as a maxim to live by, and entirely reject any notion of objectivity. The other solution to this problem is more trivial. We can urge (or force) our elected officials to throw a dart on a map and kindly deliver a nuclear warhead to the country it lands on. This will hopefully result in a global nuclear war of total destruction — if there are no people left, there will be no living culture, and the oppression I face will no longer be an issue (and no one will be around to care about it either). Really, I am a simple person, and I would only like to better the world in regards to cultural acceptance. As the great philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon once proclaimed, “I dream of a world where I would be executed as a reactionary”, and so on and so forth.