What's Cool?

I've got no new information to pass on regarding my injured comrades from my previous post, so I'm just going post something else that's been on my mind lately.

What makes someone 'cool'? Of course the word and idea behind it is very subjective. But overall who are people who are respected? The first thing, and the most cliche'd is that a person who is respected must respect themselves. Maslow's heirarchy of needs says that a person's ultimate need is self actualization. But like being cool being self actualized isn't something one can follow down a checklist of items in order to achieve an end. Most importantly some people's goals for achievement can be impossibly high.

Back in elementary school one of my teachers told me one of the dumbest things I think I've ever heard. 'Never let your reach exceed your grasp.' What kind of Marxist 'worker's paradise' crap is that? If a person limits their dreams to only those things they know they can achieve then that person has no dreams. Their goals will be as simple as the acquisition of material things or money merely for the purpose of having them.

I'm going to paraphrase what I remember as Vonnegut who said man's purpose in life was 'to be the eyes, the ears, the consciense of the creator of the universe...'. I'm a bit hamstrung with that one since I have no faith that there is a creator of the universe, but I can make allowances. If in place of the creator of the universe you inserted the idea of a collective consciousness of all mankind, then that's an idea I can get behind. But how does that make one cool? By most standard definitions the last three paragraphs I've written would make me decidedly uncool in pop culture circles. Eh, pop culture morons. If your life goals are to provide decoration and entertainment, then that's fine, but I sort of feel sorry for you.

So to be cool one must have a consciense. Okay, I could go for that I guess. What else?

What do I think is cool? People who've accomplished something. People who are educated, and strong, and able. Look at my friends list, there's a bunch of guys close to the top that I'm serving with over here. Every one of them is in my opinion 'cool'. Except for the fact that one of them is a Yankees fan, I couldn't think of a bad thing to say about any of them.

I know I quote Heinlein alot, but here's another one from him that I quite like: "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." I think to be cool one should be a bit more capable then a one trick pony. To be accomplished, to be able a person should be well rounded, a rennaisance man as it were.

So in my opinion a person who's cool should be accomplished, and have a conscience. Good starts there. But where is this taking us? Why does it matter?

Hey, it's just a blog. I can't offer all the solutions. It's just my observations of the world around me...


I'm going to close this meandering with a quote on love I found while looking up some Vonnegut stuff:

"Love is where you find it. I think it is foolish to go looking for it, and I think it can often be poisonous." Think on that one, if I can maintain some self-discipline I'll blog on it next time.