I have a dream
Saturday, 20. September 2008, 08:02:14
Ambitions are funny things. They define what you aspire to become. Dreams are so much less tangible since they more describe desires and wishes than realistic goals. You can say that ambitions are about lifes harsh realities, while dreams are about personal values. Based on this assumption I do believe dreams can tell much more about a person than his ambitions.
Which leaves me to wonder what kind of dreams and aspirations many politicans, world leaders and company executives may have. I guess the higher up in a system you are, the more ambitious you have got to be. And ambition is not really compatible with softer values. What about religious high ranking officials like Pope Benedict XVI or Mother Theresa? Personally I believe that regardless of how altruistic your initial motives might have been, sooner or later your original aspirations will become corrupted. You will end up caught between your original aspirations and the challenges and responsibilities your position put on you, and you will loose the idealism that originally fueled your choices. Until you one day ends up as just one more manager.
But this is perhaps just me being a cynic.
I guess artists have it easier this way. Yes, even artists are in it for the money - but I find it more interesting to see the results of creative minds at work fueled by artistic intentions than just purely greed. Not that it is anything wrong with greed, I believe we are all motived by money and to some degreed power - but there is a limit to everything. Of course, when I write about artists, I do not include the artists some commercial record studies are churning out. I suspect they have as much artistic integrity as your average telemarketing salesperson. But again - there is nothing wrong with being successfull and still having artistic integrity.
People may of course feel free to disagree with me here, but I believe a band like U2 has just as much integrity as Dimmu Borgir (yes, I am aware Dimmu Borgir is considered a sellout among some black metal fans since they have become more commercial in their last 3-4 albums). And of course The Beatles have just as much artistic credability as Vangelis. I am lot more uncertain about artists like Alicia Keys. But I guess Katie Melua can be compared to Tracy Chapman.
What I say next may perhaps surprise a lot of people, but I do actually respect for artists like Fatboy Slim, DJ Tiesto, Green Velvet and a number of other dance, trance and house acts. They are at least commercial, and create music that is based on having fun and dancing around. As ambitions goes, I do not think this is the worst you can do. I am a lot more suspicious of people like Damien Hirst which I find dangerously pretentious. You can say the same thing about Jeff Koons, both are borderzone pop artists even if I find enigmatic artists like Banksy a lot more interesting.
But still - it is close to impossible to guess a persons (initial) dreams based on his actions. I sometimes really wonder what all these different people have in common. The desire for fame? Fortune? Women? Free drinks for all? World peace? Achieving Nirvana?
Well, what probably is most important is that we know and aknowledge what our own dreams are. Heh - for my own part I have lots of dreams which I of course know are completely impossible to achieve. I dream about being the first person to discover true antigravity, the first person to transfer wireless power in a cost-efficient manner, to be able to create true artificial intelligence with learning capabilities and perhaps even real emotions (more on this in later blogs) and to be able to create the ultimate user interface.
I guess it is only the last dream that I have the slightest chance of achieving - but as dreams go these are probably not the worst you can have. As long as I am able to create good code, am able to be financially selfsustained and still can get involved in lofty projects then I am happy. My ambitions are definitively not on par with my dreams, but isn't these some of the inconsistencies what makes us humans so intersting to be around?
What makes me wonder about what people like Hitler and Stalin dreamt about? Certainly not getting hugs.
Which leaves me to wonder what kind of dreams and aspirations many politicans, world leaders and company executives may have. I guess the higher up in a system you are, the more ambitious you have got to be. And ambition is not really compatible with softer values. What about religious high ranking officials like Pope Benedict XVI or Mother Theresa? Personally I believe that regardless of how altruistic your initial motives might have been, sooner or later your original aspirations will become corrupted. You will end up caught between your original aspirations and the challenges and responsibilities your position put on you, and you will loose the idealism that originally fueled your choices. Until you one day ends up as just one more manager.
But this is perhaps just me being a cynic.
I guess artists have it easier this way. Yes, even artists are in it for the money - but I find it more interesting to see the results of creative minds at work fueled by artistic intentions than just purely greed. Not that it is anything wrong with greed, I believe we are all motived by money and to some degreed power - but there is a limit to everything. Of course, when I write about artists, I do not include the artists some commercial record studies are churning out. I suspect they have as much artistic integrity as your average telemarketing salesperson. But again - there is nothing wrong with being successfull and still having artistic integrity.
People may of course feel free to disagree with me here, but I believe a band like U2 has just as much integrity as Dimmu Borgir (yes, I am aware Dimmu Borgir is considered a sellout among some black metal fans since they have become more commercial in their last 3-4 albums). And of course The Beatles have just as much artistic credability as Vangelis. I am lot more uncertain about artists like Alicia Keys. But I guess Katie Melua can be compared to Tracy Chapman.
What I say next may perhaps surprise a lot of people, but I do actually respect for artists like Fatboy Slim, DJ Tiesto, Green Velvet and a number of other dance, trance and house acts. They are at least commercial, and create music that is based on having fun and dancing around. As ambitions goes, I do not think this is the worst you can do. I am a lot more suspicious of people like Damien Hirst which I find dangerously pretentious. You can say the same thing about Jeff Koons, both are borderzone pop artists even if I find enigmatic artists like Banksy a lot more interesting.
But still - it is close to impossible to guess a persons (initial) dreams based on his actions. I sometimes really wonder what all these different people have in common. The desire for fame? Fortune? Women? Free drinks for all? World peace? Achieving Nirvana?
Well, what probably is most important is that we know and aknowledge what our own dreams are. Heh - for my own part I have lots of dreams which I of course know are completely impossible to achieve. I dream about being the first person to discover true antigravity, the first person to transfer wireless power in a cost-efficient manner, to be able to create true artificial intelligence with learning capabilities and perhaps even real emotions (more on this in later blogs) and to be able to create the ultimate user interface.
I guess it is only the last dream that I have the slightest chance of achieving - but as dreams go these are probably not the worst you can have. As long as I am able to create good code, am able to be financially selfsustained and still can get involved in lofty projects then I am happy. My ambitions are definitively not on par with my dreams, but isn't these some of the inconsistencies what makes us humans so intersting to be around?
What makes me wonder about what people like Hitler and Stalin dreamt about? Certainly not getting hugs.
WIDGETIZE