The vanity of misery is not enticing and is not wanted by those caught in the maelstrom. We live in a connected age in which every dream and desire of an individual is reflected for the world to see on digital media. People with little self-confidence (or, a perverse surplus of narcissism) flood our streams with selfies and with poorly thought out monologues that do little to stimulate our intellects. Weeding out signal from noise becomes ever-increasingly more difficult as the self-imposed prisons of the noise-bearers coalesce into view. I believe that we are becoming more simplistic as a species with all of this ill-conceived content. We need to care not for the simplistic and shallow that fill our televisions, social media streams, and conversations and care more for those directly in our lives: those in front of us.
What is there to accomplish by being a parrot? Parrots regurgitate, albeit with a touch of their own simple cognitions. Why should we care about filling the void of these parrot-men? Who truly gains as we consume tabloid story after tabloid story and meaningless banter that adds nothing to the discourse at hand? We need to be more elitist, not less. We need to scrutinize every attempt on our senses. We need to take ownership of what we put in our brains.
As the world talks and chirps with the selfies and nuances of the day-to-day life of average human beings, we lose a part of ourselves. Are we expected to pity those that cannot chart their own path and traverse their own seas? Are we to play into the modern narcissism that technology brings? Every communication that is outside of our innermost circle should be directed with purpose. Our simplicities and tepid niceties should begin conversation, not preclude it. The elite do not have the time nor the energy for the banter of simple narcissism. I do not care what you look like. I do not care what you did last night. Entertain me through educational means and burst forth from the monotony of our digital age. You will not see me feed the parrot-men. You will not see me engage the parrot-men. No, I am looking for something more: the essence that goes beyond the narcissism of the vanity of misery. I encourage all to do the same. Celebrate what makes you unique, not the same, in this age of parroting.