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One of the problems with a certain prevalent mal-development of western consciousness is the growth of a tendency to believe that “perceptions” and “reality” do not correlate or intersect. It is considered “masterful” to take the position that somebody else’s perceptions have nothing at all to do with reality. Perhaps only one’s own perceptions are really able to dominate reality appropriately — separating truth from falsity in an exact way.

This, in my view, is why many people speak forth with the expectation of struggling but not with the expectation of achieving something real. Because to “struggle” is to put forward one’s perceptions into the public realm. But the perceptions would have to be perceptions of reality itself for the putting forth of one’s perceptions to have any chance of changing reality. But most people are conditioned to believe that we cannot change reality, only perceptions: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

So, pointless struggle becomes very common indeed. One gives up on changing reality all for the liquid joy of expressing one’s perceptions in pure form. Expressing one’s perceptions becomes a compensatory compulsion due to being deprived of a notion of reality, and not having any clue what reality is.

In terms of the effect of embracing perceptions as reality itself, and ignoring that there is a reality that is independent of perception (such as global warming, the reality of miscommunication and twisted reasoning, and so on) many westerners speak at cross-purposes to themselves and others. It’s a Tower of Babel.

Rational thinking has become a lost art, and catering to each other’s “perceptions”, by treating all perceptions (no matter how outlandish) as if they were already valid components of meaning itself  (when reality can never be ascertained ) has become more common. In other words, social interactions have become politicized in such a thorough way, that current stakeholders are easily able to keep out newcomers who do not play this game of manipulating perceptions. Rationality has had no or little stake in western cultural consciousness due to the advent of this egoist subjectivist approach which accepts that what is real is the aggregate of common opinion, and nothing else besides.

A rational person cannot be expected to succeed in such a society unless they first prostitute themselves by playing a highly irrational game.