If you are familiar with the film The Matrix (1999), then you probably remember this iconic scene.
THE RED PILL or THE BLUE PILL
- Lately, I have been thinking about the use of - literal and metaphorical - roads, paths, and gates.
You have heard before that "narrow is the gate, but wide is the path to destruction."
It also got me thinking about the nature of how we view and study history, but never have we "studied the future."
I was watching an episode of Batman Beyond, a cartoon television show that premiered on the CW network in the early 2000's. The show follows Bruce Wayne's successor, Terry McGinnis, as the new and improved futuristic batman of gotham. In the episode "Eggbaby," Terry is in a class known as "family studies", and for one of his homework assignments he and another student are required to take care of an egg-shaped baby doll, which simulates reactions of a real infant (crying, laughing, farting, etc.). It got me thinking. How would mandating a "family studies" class in high school affect teenage pregnancy and sexual promiscuity? I bet celibacy would become cool out of fear of unwanted pregnancy or sexually-transmitted diseases. Of course, their could be much more involved in family studies, or in this case, future studies such as balancing a check book, preparing taxes, signing a marriage certificate, filing for divorce, investing in property, bonds, and stock. The list could go on and on, but I hope you get my point.
Back to the MATRIX -
The blue pill represents willful ignorance, blind living, and ultimately, stupidity in the form of a pipe dream. In a lot of ways a blue-pilled person is mechanical, asleep-like, lame, gullible, arrogant and comfortable but worst of all, delusional. The blue-pilled individual lacks vision.
The red pill is reality with all its ugliness and trauma. There is no gray, simply black and white. Good or evil. Light or darkness. By one taking the red pill they are opting to "unplug" from the illusion that the Matrix sets before their eyes. Although this is a symbol used in the film, it has become a monolith for social and political analogies.
"It is a Reality that most do not want to face that comfort, convenience, “safety,” and ease are more often not the pathways that lead you to what you truly want. We know this. But instead we deceive ourselves into thinking that the compromises and the “good enoughs” we settle for are somehow what we actually wanted all along. And then all we end up with is misery and regret." - P.J. Guidera
Many movements have spawned from the red pill such as Men Going Their Own Way (#MGTOW), "Truther" youtube channels, Anonymous, Alt-Right, #BLEXIT, and many other groups and social media personalities continue to shape and push back against mainstream media, liberalism, and the "establishment." Many would consider red-piller's to be "right-wing," anarchists, radical libertarians, and militant conspiracy theorists. Although there is no affiliated religion to the red pill movement, there seems to be a unique bond between social conservatives and atheists. How did this happen? Who knows? But one thing is for sure, the issue at hand has to deal with control both physically and metaphysically.
You often hear people say, especially, on reddit, "O, he's been red-pilled." If a person isn't awake, or as some millennials say "woke," then they are viewed as the sheep being herded around and used as a utility by those in the know.
Ultimately, what we encounter with the red pill is knowledge.
But unlike our ancestors in the Garden of Eden, eating the fruit is not the same as swallowing the red pill. It's freedom, but with a heavy price - the realization that the manufactured life around us is a process of years and years of social engineering by those high up, the elite, or as famous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones would say, the Illuminati.
"Know the truth, and the truth shall set you free..."
"But you can't handle the truth!"
...
I can say with all humility that I have fallen victim to the red pill, and often times I think, "Why didn't I go with the blue pill." It's difficult to know when it actually happened, but in a lot of ways it happens when someone experiences a psychotic break, or trauma. Your world - that for so long you attempted to manipulate - starts to crumble and you realize that you are not in control. You are really not in control of anything. There's even a strong case for biological determinism, but that is a whole different topic that would require pages upon pages of analysis and commentary.
Well, what exactly is the red pill in real life? Unfortunately, no one can tell you what the red pill is because it comes in many different forms:
Intercourse
Drugs
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Combat
Giving birth
Marriage
Divorce
Suicide
This list is not absolute, but they're different pathways in understanding that things are not like they should be. It's a mirror, and when looking closely at our blemishes the image dissolves and we are able to see through the lies. Thus, begins the embrace of truth and our own depravity. It is then that we become awake. It is then that we recognize our fallen state.
Shortly after, you will see patterns. Patterns in speech, behavior and in representation. It's all around us, but you have to have eyes that see and ears that hear. Otherwise, your eyes will be wide shut, and you will be sleepwalking not realizing that you are actually dead.
Dead.
I may be scarred and broken, but the fire has purified me. My soul has been preserved, thanks be to God.
Now I watch and observe in silence. Be still and know.
"It's only after we have lost everything that we are free to do anything."
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I made a new friend. His name is Kevin. He is a Christian who lives with schizophrenia. He is a blogger, and also a poet. If your interested in reading his blog, please visit:
https://diaryofabrokenman.home.blog/
You can also follow him on Twitter: @KevinRiddle947
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Shout-out to my man T.D. hiking his way through Utah and all the way to Arizona! Congratulations on committing to University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). That's amazing! Looking forward to seeing you soon and catching up.
Tyler is a Marine Corps veteran who I grew to knew during our time together with 12th Marines Regiment in Okinawa, Japan. He is currently hiking around the world waiting for school to start in September.
If you are interested in reading his blog you can find him at:
https://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/612351
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Pain-level: 4
Currently listening: Swing Beats [Jazz Hop / Lo Fi/ Chill Mix]
Currently reading: The Book Thief
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Mystery-link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE7PKRjrid4
Mystery-link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRnCuUVKf8Y
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Twitter: @godsplan1989
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