Our Excruciating Modernity

By Thomas Beaudet

Our Modern world is excruciatingly flawed.

In this collection of short essays, you will be confronted with critical views on the features of our present Modernity, ranging from social media’s perverse effect on the self and the importance of nature, to the alarming state of public education, or even death. The author intends to inspire you to develop your own intimate antidote to the many modernity-induced maladies we suffer from collectively and individually.

Ultimately, it is the “how” that you must remember, for this piece outlines ways in which we can all, as contributors to, and members of, our modern society, build a present filled with full and fulfilling lives that transcend the petty and all-too-human things that make up our existences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Beaudet
• Release date: Aug 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005542757

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Our Excruciating Modernity

Thomas Beaudet

Published by Thomas Beaudet at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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To Lucienne, my grandmother

CONTENTS

Preface

On all that is media

On the final distraction

On the concentration of the self

On Nature

On democracy

On Modernity’s public education

On capitalism

On expression

On Death

References

Preface

Just as a well-filled day brings blessed sleep, so a well-employed life brings a blessed death – Leonardo da Vinci

The well-employed life described by da Vinci is what I am striving towards. The well-employed life is dense, dense not with the collection of shallow pleasures that should, by now, be known to be transient and intellectually insipid, but with projects, qualified as enterprises, found to be rewarding to the mind, and, above all, to the soul. What you are presently reading is merely one of my enterprises, my contribution, the abrupt yet all too stimulating ambition whose coming into existence can be attributed to four elements. The first is my search for psychological and spiritual stimulation which I have come to find in Art, which under a certain form, is what this text is. The second is my desire to eliminate the stagnation of life I have sporadically experienced and come to despise after discovering that it turns life dry and monochrome, and leads Man into passive inexistence, in an instant. The third is my desire to ignite reflection in all those who might come across this text. Whether the reflection is pragmatic, organised or touches upon even the most preposterous and inconsequential aspects of society is negligible as any reflection, particularly when directed towards the Self, is better than none. The fourth is my seek for exchange, may it involve ideas, concepts or opinions, so long as it is constructive and hopefully stems from the thoughts I have poured into this project. Ultimately, Man is self-determining, and this essay seeks to show him that he can decide what his existence is, will be and should be. Regardless of my intentions, I do not wish to appear as a prophet, for my voice is but one voice, my experience a mere drop in the sea, my knowledge no greater than an atom, and my ideas a subjective confession.¹

On all that is media

1. The first form of media I shall discuss consists of the public broadcast and televised communication of information. I denounce the current state of this form of media for in its delivery of pseudo-knowledge it has adopted an attention-craving approach that rests upon rampant pessimism, aggressivity and bias.

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²

The first of the traits of said media, pessimism, is found in its portrayal of the world. This depiction has typically and stubbornly attended to the least admirable sides of Man’s nature and, therefore, poses a threat to humanity, its sanity and the various movements occurring within it. This media, rather than sharing images that inspire and strengthen Man, and could, by placing a meaningful emphasis on achievement, advancement, progress or even balance, allow Man to breathe freely in a world already dense with despair, disease and desolation, has chosen not only to abandon Man and leave him unattended in the fatal fog of our zeitgeist, but also to worsen his suffocation by confronting his attention with shockingly palpable proofs of all that is evil around him, of all that poses a threat to his children, of all that is deadly to his mind, body and spirit. Ultimately, said media has directed the attention of the masses towards the most threatening of earthly phenomena whilst omitting virtue and beauty from its bleak programs, which has transformed Man into a creature suspicious and fearful of that which surrounds him, into a nihilistic pessimist, into the very worst sort of cynic.

Then, the last two attributes of aggressivity and bias are easily observed in this media’s perverse enthusiasm for covering the practices of our Modern societies which it describes as embodiments of the values and customs of the old ages whilst blatantly disregarding the major historical developments and levelling of inequality that has taken place throughout the world. Such a statement should not be seen as a call to rest and end all forms of activism merely because significant progress has occurred but rather, it intends to encourage the media and its disciples to put a temporary end to their intellectual and moral hatred of the