Explications: I Stand Against Nothingness

Sullied Soapbox: Raised middle-class white American Irish Catholic and a once-voracious reader, I have seen a lot of mindless aphorisms and other pointless sayings. This is not me being a Danny Downer; rather, we can do better in eliminating these nuggets of effluence. Let's criticism!

"Everything happens for a reason." Humans try to find logic in chaos. That inquisitiveness nurtures the species in its myriad endeavors to better understand the physical, mental, spiritual, metaphysical, and Super Mario worlds. This is good. Less meaningful is this expression. Often used as a consolation when life's excrement floods a person's life or when conjuring a golden deus ex machina, it utterly has no place in the English language. Yes, everything happens for a reason. Most of it falls beyond the limited cognitive grasp of people's comprehension. None of us mortals have a mastery of chaos; this phrase attempts to reconcile that incalculable concept with its manifestations in reality. "It'll get better." Optimism without evidence is fine. Belief cannot exist without being predicated upon the consideration of something better. This quote wrongs itself and its intention by being a declarative statement. An objective claim with no proof holds as much weight as a feather adrift in deep space.

"If you don't like it, get out." This whopper of antagonistic nonsense runs rampant when people criticize typically-conservative-leaning concepts (and I mean any nation that favors its majority population at the expense of all others), representation, and leadership. No. Complacency with the status quo keeps the hegemony comfortably swaddled and coddled. Absolute trust that one's government does the right thing all of the time keeps peace! Oh, but only those who adhere to how things have been have merit. Progress, change, reevaluation of fluid values, and honest discourse threaten adherents to How Things Have Always Been. Go ahead! Try to engage in intelligent conversation with someone who holds this quote as gospel. "God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers."

So what about suicides? Are they cannon fodder? Are they weak for not winning or overcoming adversity? They fell victim to their battles, so what of them? Blame Satan, I guess. "Somebody has it worse than you." Of course. Somebody has it better, too. This statement offers the most basic placement of situations on the spectrum of existence that the time spent saying it would be better indulging in word salad:

"Every gas bolts lattice sacks au jus."

"Casein paper flakes bother bees."

"Crush! The valiant seaward sand rests."

"I'll pray for you."

This one in isolation is an expression of doing the bare religious minimum and offers solace to those who have no other means of helping. That is harmless but comes across as selfish and self-satisfying. It's an announcement of helplessness while claiming to be doing something fruitful. I am unconvinced of the power of prayer for the most part. When personal requests of God seem to go unanswered, people find reasons ("Everything happens for a reason"); when they seem to be heard, people find reasons ("My prayers have been answered"). Still, I understand putting one's arms up and asking for a higher power to take control. Agency leaves the speaker. Acquiescing to the universe holds a broken nobility. Don't misunderstand me. This statement shares solidarity among the faithful. It also means nothing to the unfaithful and sometimes those of different religions. Please be mindful that not everyone shares the same perspective as to which gestures/actions affect which results across interpersonal expression.

"It is what it is."

5 words. 5 syllables. 0 meaning. Just throw up your hands and/or shrug.

"God is always good."

I don't know. God was unhinged in the Old Testament. This stretches the boundaries and objectivity of the term "good." Also, whose God? And what if the concepts conflict with each other?

"It's all in your head."

Yes. And the brain plays a major part in establishing reality as it filters all experiential data both physical and mental. As such, mental health deserves care just like any of the more physically-bounded bodily capabilities. Noting what helps and hurts the body has grown from experimentation for millennia. Competent studies on the brain have been recent and highly flawed. Some folks can walk in nature, meditate, sit in the rain, and any other holistic recommendations and draw themselves closer to a semblance of inner peace. Some need chemical help with psychiatric drugs that have utterly laughable histories and vastly-individual lists of possible side effects. Have patience and don't speak out of turn.

[crystals/essential oils/astrology/baseless optimism/homeopathy as isolated fonts of health] Bolster these with scientifically-supported means of betterment. I saw someone post on social media that she was going to get a flu shot; one comment faulted her for poisoning herself with a vaccine, telling her instead to "trust your crystals." This is not E.T. Do what you can based on evidence at the very least; beyond that, use whatever safe supplements you want if they put nobody else at risk. "They're in a better place." That place is not here. Besides, that is not a guarantee or at all verifiable. Let people mourn. Offer tangible help before spiritual help. Even listening and talking involve action; pray and offer spiritual support if that is your charge but place relevant physical concerns at the forefront whenever possible. Act thoughtfully and purposefully as much as you can before offering platitudes. I am guilty of a number of these across my 34.5 dumb years, but self-reflection has no expiration date beyond that of our own individual mortality.