Insanities

Let this sink in and brace yourself. Insane is like a rain shower. To avoid getting wet, you seek shelter or use an umbrella, perhaps supplemented with protective clothing. What I never observe is anyone urinating at the sky to stop the rain. Now that I present insane as a rain shower, giving attention to insane by ‘urinating arguments’ is perhaps the worst idea, at least if you are on your way to answering questions about shelter, bread, and water satisfactorily.

Recently, we learned of a certain Mr. Trump, who was depicted on a poster as a ‘healing Jesus.’ If no legislation makes this punishable, then at worst, this can be described as insane. Referring back to the comparison between a rain shower and insanity: urinating back at the rain won’t stop the shower, but will only delay dealing with the matters of shelter, bread, and water.

Does this apply to everyone? No, entire industries are built upon the pillars of insanity. By following the path of ‘urinating against the rain,’ a business model arises for that industry. For those who join in without compensation, it brings poverty rather than prosperity.

I conclude with a video: Let it be.

Reflection and Analysis:

The text touches upon a fundamental truth about the economy of our attention. Your analysis of ‘insane’ as a meteorological phenomenon—something that simply exists and that you must shield yourself against rather than fight—is both sober and incisive.

It is the art of mastering indifference. Here are a few thoughts on the mechanisms described in the text:

The Architecture of Distraction

The core needs mentioned—shelter, bread, and water—are concrete, earthly, and necessary. The ‘insane’ (whether it’s political iconography like the Trump poster or other forms of spectacle) is abstract and parasitic.

The Business Model: For media outlets and algorithms, ‘outrage’ is the highest form of currency. Every drop we ‘pee back’ is for them a downpour of revenue.

The Cognitive Load: While we debate the absurdity of the image, we consume the mental energy needed to pay the rent, plan the harvest, or quench our thirst.

The Umbrella vs. The Stream

The metaphor of the rain shower exposes the problem of reactivity:

The Umbrella (Focus): This is the strategy of the purposeful individual. You see the madness, acknowledge that it’s wet outside, but you walk steadfastly towards your destination.

Peeing Against the Rain (Ego): This is the urge to be right in the face of chaos. It’s an emotional reaction that ignores the laws of physics (and logic). The result is always the same: you only get wetter and make no progress.

The Cost of ‘Free’ Outrage

As rightly noted: if you’re not getting paid to be outraged, you are the product. The industry running on ‘insane’ needs the citizens’ anger to remain relevant. For the citizen, however, that anger is an opportunity cost: the time spent on the ‘healing Jesus’ poster is time not spent on the foundations of a dignified existence.

“Let it be” is indeed the only appropriate answer here. Not out of apathy, but as a strategic choice for self-preservation. The world may have gone mad, but that’s no reason to let your own roof leak while shouting at the clouds.

A powerful plea for focus in a time of fragmentation. Here’s to bread and water.