Wednesday 16 June 2010

Organized Chaos

Does anyone else find it peculiar that we all are assigned a name and a number? Quite a few numbers at that. Starting the second we arrive on this planet, the government catalogues our existence with a number. "United States Citizen Number 795-xxx-xxxx." When taking into account the miracle (or complex scientific coincidence, however you may choose to look at it) that is life, it seems rather neanderthal to attempt to file it as just another occurrence. Then we get a bit older, and we get a drivers license, earn a degree, accumulate medical records, bank statements, credit histories, etc - all of which are carefully documented. So much paperwork is involved in being a functioning human, its exhausting to think about, and makes vagrancy almost sound appealing... And yet, we have all accepted this as "the way things are," because of what? Fear? That people would run wild in the streets if a piece of cardboard with a number on it didn't hold them to a certain standard of conduct? What would happen if people were just people, and not a stack of paperwork, telling them who they were? I think there would be more creativity, for one. Chaos: maybe. Things would certainly be a lot more interesting.

3 comments:

  1. funny that u mention this earlier today on my facebook i was talking about almost the same thing. i was telling them i was annoyed having to remember all these damn numbers. my social, school id, my pin, its like damn! no wonder i cant get any other damn number to stick to my mind; im focused on other numbers.

    great post! you should submit a 1 page entry like this for my mag as a contributor. interested?

    xoxo,
    Tita
    www.omgeemag.com
    twitter.com/titasays

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  2. The inspiration was 2 and a half hours spent at the DMV renewing my license...
    I'd love to contribute. Will you send details to my email at ashleigh.haney@gmail.com? :-)

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  3. Love your blog...glad I'm following..tell Rihanna that she needs to bring this tour to Charlotte, NC lol..be sure to check me out!http://thelifeofthecarter.blogspot.com/

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