Context
Typed this text only to realize parent deleted comment before I finished. Replying to you here but this original comment was threaded below. Since I spent too much of my life typing this already, figured it would be a waste to discard my original intention of sharing.
Wrong place for this comment, a novel, and an analytical argument I typed below, perhaps, but oh well.
That is not Matt. This is Matt: http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/.
-- Dvorac
I hate when people try to rip ideas from other people like this
-- [deleted]
I'm not sure we can call this ripping ideas...
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness
Oscar Wilde
Compliments aside, those who imitated the original video did not do so in an attempt to cheapen the inspiration. Neither did those individuals attempt a direct copy or to imitate particular choices such as exact dance maneuvers, destinations traveled, etc.
Instead consider a reaction verbalized as "wow that was cool. Other people seemed to love that to and I like bringing joy to others too. You know that video was awesome and I have an idea for another version. Shoot, my favorite parts could probably be recreated and re-imagined as..." (You get the point obviously)
So after:
Admiration
Inspiration
Work required in the similar creation
Publication
...I'd wager these individuals are much different than the content stealing YouTubers, individuals freeloading on other's reputations, or those greedy for a quick fame/money grab. There are always going to be shitty people and the world is certainly not to be viewed through some rose tinted glasses, but sometimes (too often myself included) we let ourselves generalize from other valid situations that arose under bad intentions.
It took me most of my life as an individual who values mathematics, logic, and other methodologies built around cause and effect to learn that art can exist for the sake of art, desire as simply a product of passion, and even our decisions as best guesses.
Life's too short to spend angry looking for and seeking out those wishing to con the innocent; but this does not mean we are to feign optimism while witnessing wrong. Rather we live blinded to the good nature and innocence we so blindly refused to see.
If one is to call themselves a realist, that individual must first seek to know reality itself. The plight of lazy blame each of us falls prey to at some level is a disease of oneself, logic, and our individual lives. A life filled with blame and anger is a life not fulfilled. Over time we all witness those terrified souls who scream the loudest to blame all still convinced of universal strife. Recently Reddit has been witness to the ramblings of Bill O'Reilly again; after one painfully puts aside anger for the man and attempts to find reason beyond malice for his actions, all that remains is a mind in terror and rage at a world not understood.
I apologize for this long comment here as this is not a proportional response no matter now obscure or relevant my point. To the end of my own introspection and as a long overdue response to the increased uninformed extremism we all have witnessed over the past several years I write this.
By seeking out and dwelling on humanity's worst, we transform that focus into reality. This mentality is why a dystopian future becomes a real threat. To assume the worst of society is to damn oneself to the consequences of those assumptions regardless of the validity or applicability.
Governing bodies today seem hell bent on implementing a police state, squandering fiat currencies in a political quagmire, and avoiding any intellectual rhetoric lest the future's nightmare step out of its ethereal form. To what end does the madness arise? Can greed and power alone explain such poor decisions? The answer is a resounding no for these vices are easily sated and equally exploitable to many other decisions which might better preserve a status quo. Perhaps...
a war on drugs
economic and cultural wars on terrorism
social justice war[riors] stemming too often from a misplaced victimized mantra
confirmation bias and extremism found on the Internet
(and) woefully terrible incarceration rates
...are self preserving in cause in effect. The famous phrase from Field of Dreams is often quoted as "If you build it, he will come." That movie is a romanticized view of reality to be any direct parable beyond a red herring as any stretched analogy might be. However, the plot does speak to an underlying idea that sacrifices in life as unavoidable reality. Likewise, many actions and decisions made towards the fulfillment of one dream consequently deny the other. If our governing bodies whom ultimately are a reflection of society's actions/inactions, build instead on a dream of dystopia, our metaphorical heaven becomes a hell - a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It is of my opinion that neither optimism nor pessimism procure progress; progress is not a fulfillment of what is understood but what is. A realist's approach ideally seeks to discover areas unknown while checking to ensure necessary conditions exist before action. Yeah, quite the fanciful pie-in-the-sky personalized definition I know...
There are innocent, naive, scarred yet of good intentions, apathetic, cruel, evil, and whatever I am in society. Sometimes a hatred towards what is perceived but not what actually is causes a greater reciprocated divide, and sometimes that hatred might be frustration at another party's lack of engagement. But in many cases those so adamantly defending a belief such as the anti vaccination hysteria are as guilty at sowing distrust as those who with evidence who initially shot them down.
Just under two months ago I discovered a coworker in her late fifties, of whom I had happily talked with before, an avid anti vaccination advocate and it floored me. I had a subtle snide remark immediately upon discovering this in conversation. Only last Friday did I mostly undo my fuck-up. To keep a novel of a post in a single volume here, the actual convincing of non association when she wanted to listen was incredibly easy. Understanding and listening to her experiences that led her to accept such a belief is something I'm still not convinced I even fully can appreciate. After mostly listening, and then briefly presenting the plain argument, she said (paraphrased):
You know [masterwit], thank goodness you came around to help me realize this rather silly belief. If you hadn't, I might never had understood and been resentful to those [doctors] helping us heal.
Many before myself probably ridiculed her stance and didn't understand her history. Her arguments might have been imperfect as mine can be leading to that belief, but to someone who wishes to actually engage others to her belief, these are just as important as my peer-reviewed citations, and journal clipping. Refusing to listen to her facts however unrelated meant she was happy to return the favor. I was actually the asshole for blowing off her argument even if it was particularly terrible.
I obviously have a lot of work to do even though I consider myself more technically aware than the average Joe. The dystopia does not have to be humanity's future, don't attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity ignorance, and a better future will only exist if we pursue that end.
[tldr/wtfisthis] : Mechanical keyboards, a 55-hour week converting a 130k employee company's IT for Unicode, a few beers, and my recent [re-]experience unshared until now resulted in this fucking novel of a post. Those who read the whole thing and understood it not to be an arrogant meandering but rather a hopefully semi legible analytical reaction, hopefully my post was at least enjoyable and perhaps thought provoking whether or not you shared the aforementioned conclusions and beliefs. (I stand by my argument above - I am not trying to discount 25 minutes of typing) TLDR: I'm a grown man that needs a diary, a relevant subreddit, or something...