Does Dudeism win?
Alienation in literature.
Imagine that Gregor Samsa had just sparked fatty a and hit the lanes when he was feeling down.
Maybe he wouldn't have ended up a cockroach.
Or even better imagine Holden Caulfield had just drove around and had the occasional acid flashback whenever he started to bum about the phonies. I'm betting he wouldn't have gone off the rails. Somebody should have said "Take her easy".
If modern society has the tendency to produce alienation in people, might Dudeism be the tonic?
It sort of sounds like that is the promise.
This is cure for Cancer type chit mang!!!
There is no win or lose in Dudeism...only abiding.
Are we talking the film, or the TV series?
Oh, wait, alienation...
Well, I'm not sure who those people you've mentioned are... possibly an American cultural reference I'm'a gonna miss, but i think I get your message.
Yeah, I mean, Dudeism should be a cure for that sort of thing. Bringing people together under that single banner of "abiding" as Lao puts it. It's a matter of tolerance and understanding that I think we do pretty well at here. It's not perfect, but, y'know, we're all human.
Dudeism is all about the levelling and bringing people together in harmony and sorting through some of those above described problems by taking a spiritual load off.
So, yeah, I agree, the universal message of abiding would bind together those who felt they were on the outside, and not draw in people whole like being there, like dudely old hermits and mountainmen :)
Lost sages and shaman will find their way here, and they will fit right in.
What I dig is the worldliness of it all, there is no nation that claims Dudeism, it's genesis is not a national identity thing, it's an attitude thing. So no nation is alien to Dudeism. I would say yes, Dudeism is the alienation tonic, it removes the uptight thinking about where others may think you are supposed to fit in. And cures baldness.
Abiding is what the whole rest of the known universe does, not taken'er easy is the unnatural state of being.
Quote from: revgms on May 17, 2011, 03:39:32 PM
And cures baldness.
You wouldn't say that if you'd have ever met Rev. Meekon :)
*sits and waits patiently for the inevitable cutting quippy retort*
ROLF
Quote from: Rev. Ed C on May 17, 2011, 03:45:32 PM
Quote from: revgms on May 17, 2011, 03:39:32 PM
And cures baldness.
You wouldn't say that if you'd have ever met Rev. Meekon :)
*sits and waits patiently for the inevitable cutting quippy retort*
there are a few strands..and only a few strands to keep on the old Duder's head...a drug regimen of Rogaine does not keep my follicles limber.
The dudeist way includes Bowling as a central theme ,where one abides , one watches Jesus dance ,but the dude waits for the next frame , and does not follow Jesus.The Dude abides with his team ,loyal but not inclusive and yet not exclusive.A Dude abides and joins but does not follow. The dude's rug ties the room together . Be the rug .And woe to those who might piss upon the rug .for they will be in a world of pain .
Quote from: BikerDude on May 12, 2011, 03:39:43 PM
Imagine that Gregor Samsa had just sparked fatty a and hit the lanes when he was feeling down.
Maybe he wouldn't have ended up a cockroach.
Or maybe, just maybe, he would have become a duderoach :
'When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin & thought "
Uh ... what day is this?" & went back to sleep dreaming of engaging in a natural zesty enterprise with a very fine roachess.
Isn't it possible to say that the dudeist way of life is a result of alienation?
If we take the Dude himself and his way of life as an example?
It was a while ago since i read Peter Berger's "The sacred canopy" but he has some intresting thoughts about man's tendency to create worlds. That man is the only creature that is born without one. The tiger is born with all that a tiger is ever gonna need to function in a tigercentric world, same as the sloth and the anteater.
But man has to learn and adapt and create his own world...but i digress...
Berger means that even when a person is alienated he/she never stops with his "worldcreation". Even alienated people create their worlds, worlds that tend to be influenced by their alienation from society as a whole.
Isn't it possible to say that the dude's way of life is a result of his withdrawl from what some people might call "normal society"? That his dudely ways comes from his knowledge of his status as a deadbeat in the eyes of the square community?
Actually, I saw a production of The Metamorphosis on the stage a few weeks ago, so I'm a bit more in-tune with the Kafka reference now.
I have to say, I don't think drugs were the quickfix answer to Gregor's problem. Gregor only had one problem, and that was his family. It didn't matter if he'd turned into a cockroach, lost the use of his legs or suffered a breakdown of somesort, his family just weren't there for him. They took until he was dry and when he needed them they ran dry pretty quick until they resented him becoming the burdon they never realised they were themselves.
Of course, the way to stop any kind of alienation is for everyone to be the same, be it the Dudeist model or any other that might form into a singular society. Difference is just a part of being human, and alienation is purely about difference.
My own brand of dudeism has often steered me away from alienating myself or others... But ManRalf is right, the Lebowski brand of Dudeism is one of hermitage, on a certain level, giving the finger to those who don't agree and shutting the door.
I think the difference between a dude and a nihlist is that while they both say "fuck it", the dude adds, "lets go bowling". Takin it easy is more than just a negation, its an affirmation of life's zesty enterprises, like throwing ricks and enjoying an oat soda Just my opinion man.