Hells Angels

I lied awake in bed last night and some things came to me.

I realized that the professors are worse than the accountants. I realized that they are primarily motivated by ego, and secondarily motivated by the feeling of power.

What they are not doing is making anything better. The clever ones are turned on by those who have an interest in the status quo. The dull ones can quote articles written by academics, but cannot describe what it means in real life.

I came up with this after I read the end of a book written about a journalist's journey into the bowels of the Hells Angel's. The Angels made him feel good or great; he felt more alive and he felt all-knowing and all-powerful. He was aligned with the gang and they had his back.

Until one night at a bar, they just jumped him. Out of nowhere, they kicked his ass bad. One of his homies stopped the Angels from hurting him critically, but the journalist never learned why he was jumped. He never learned why they had turned on him.

To join a club like the Hells Angels or to become a professor, is to lay down your life and donate it to those who run that program, that project. The faceless system that runs for a profit, at a loss, with many minions who cannot do the things they lecture about. At least with the Hells Angels, you get to ride.

I'm glad I checked it out. I'm glad I talked to the mucky mucks and thought through some of the decision. I'm glad I left my job to do it.  If I hadn't at least learned what I've learned, I'd always wonder about it.

This is not a well-written tale. I'm battling a slight cold and I've worked a long day.

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Regarding a series of aphorisms on greatness, I applaud the insight that led to this piece of work. Anti-thetical to freedom: money. I love these aphorisms.

In many ways money is anti-thetical to freedom. Beyond the lack of skill allowed, and beyond the "edge" that dissappears when one has plenty of money, man develops a craving for money. Man measures his skills by how much money they may produce. This measurement will turn out to be wicked ironic. I encourage you, dear reader, to find an alternative way to measure your outputs and relate your needs on a similar basis. If you operate based on the utility of your actions and measure the things you need the same way, you will (i) be better prepared for all eventualities or contingencies, and (ii) need, use, and want less money.

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It is not enough to be "better" than others (in fact this idea is not relevant). One must be better than he thought he could be. One must act in ways that surprise himself. "Better" can not be measured in terms of money, or physical activity, or words written, or pins on a travel map.  Better is when you put yourself in a position to witness the man at the pull up bar and know what you're seeing.