1. The modern world is a place ruled by law.
What does this statement mean? It means that every individual, no matter his/her status in the society, is bound by an obligation to follow rules set forth by the society itself. This is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be treated fairly and justly, with regulations delineated by the so-called "law".
In other words, law is a tether to what we can do, and what we cannot. It is a safeguard against possible intrusions to the public utility. The society itself is very defensive of its morals: Any attempt to damage the integrity of the moral standards shall encounter very tough resistance. In this sense, a "peace-loving", "altruistic" individual is the most valued, for he is the most protective of the utility of the society. This, according to Nietzsche, is how "selflessness" come to be a good virtue.
However, when law itself becomes the problem, we have no solution. When the soldiers in our army turn against ourselves, we have no choice but to surrender. This occurs when law no longer protects us, but our property. One can sometimes bypass basic moral principles to enforce laws so as to be systematic and effectively use law as a bulwark to ambiguities in human behavior. Yet, when law merely protects something that is lifeless, we become not the guardians, but the slaves not only to the properties we own, but also to the lifeless laws we obey. I believe that the point when one knows only to keep an eye on his money and nothing else, is the point when he no longer exists as a living entity.
On a deeper level, isn't the sole existence of law to bound what we can or cannot do a tragedy and lament to our inevitable tendency to corrupt? The tome of rules is evidence that man cannot control himself, and must be intimidated by punishment in order to behave decently. We are indeed born to be bad, born to harm others to loot as much as possible. Law itself testifies the offensive thief within us, and hence hires mercenaries of defense to protect our property, that we so dearly love more than anything else.
Men have created law to protect themselves, but now, in this society of extreme Capitalism, we have unfortunately become enslaved by our own creation. Law is the product of the absurd and crazy man.
2. "Man survives by forgetting his past".
I suppose that we all make mistakes. Multitudes of them, to be honest. Sometimes these mistakes can be far-reaching and dire as well. One factor of two can be exponentiated, exploding into an answer that could misjudge the universe for an atom. One wrong branch in the river of decisions can lead you to a completely different ocean. For a person as careless as me and a mind as chaotic as mine, regret permeates the fabric of his memory, staining it blue and melancholic.
Therefore, to say the least, decisions have troubled mankind for centuries. The wavefunction must collapse to one, and only one, branch. If one never has to make a decision, he must either be extremely dependent, controlled, or downright inept. This is the unfortunate burden that everyone has to bear.
In this sense, in a probabilistic view, everyone must make some kind of wrong decision, and sometimes he would not even know that he made the wrong decision until too late. Regret, just like death, is inevitable to everyone.
Do not let the inevitable lead to your demise.
3. Through the partially reflective glass I gaze over to the splendor of the Victoria Harbour.
Light of all kinds of colours makes this city never experience sunset. Intelligence, dedication, technology have fused to become what we see today, the pearl of the East glimmering in the vast black ocean of Capitalism.
In this epitome of civilization, what place does the archaic religion hold?
The obvious answer would be "none". Every physical law that dictate the flow of electricity through the fluorescent lights, the logic behind integrated circuits in your computers, the propulsion of the engine in your cars, are all found by humans, not "created" by any deity up and above. All evidence points towards the lack of a deity ("white, all-loving, omnipotent etc.") up in the clouds. There simply is no god, and I often wonder why this fact is so difficult to accept. [1]
Yet, within the car I overhear the conversation of two men who have turned to religion. From them, I learn that religion provided the framework within which their moral must stand. This indeed caused them to change their past ways, eliminating a lot of their vices.
Is religion, then, a tool of reformation, providing morals?
Personally, I regard this role of religion in the society yet another tragedy, not unlike that of the existence of law. Engraved on the stone tablets of Moses was, yet again, the testimony of the innate wolves within us. It is of utmost misfortune that mankind needs to rely on ancient superstitions to overcome this urge to harm, and even escape from the truth of eventual death.
Politically, I have seen this society beginning to yield to the ignorant. As long as the desire for money is fulfilled, man can afford to sell his right to know, his conscience. The fact that ignorance is bliss is why I have lost hope to this city. Sleep forever in this orgy of meaningless colours, will you?
[1] For philosophically inclined readers: I think that god is "very likely, almost completely certainly" non-existent. That statement is for people who insist that "god is their everything".
