An epos is a story worthy of remembering and retelling. The expression ‘epic day’ is used widely in extreme sports to describe a perfect day. An epic day is one
When ideal conditions meet your maximum ability.
When good luck meets preparedness.
When you can use the conditions to your maximum advantage.
An epic day is one when the conditions allow you to push your own boundaries.
It is the expression of the fundamentally Taoist concept of being in harmony with your environment. It does not happen often, but when it does, it is incredibly rewarding. In this past Winter, I had only one such day kite-skiing.
The attitude needed for epic days is not unique to extreme sports. I saw a documentary about the life of Steve Jobs. They interviewed in it an engineer working on the Macintosh development project. He was talking about Jobs and what a terrible tyrant he was, then he started crying. “They were the best days of my life” he said. The market was ripe for a great achievement and he did his best while being part of it.
Innovation, discovery, even just a day of hard work well done can produce the same satisfaction. An epic day/moment, again, is when ideal conditions/circumstances meet your maximum ability.
You must be wondering by now, what does this have to do with politics. It is personal all right, but where is the politics? In contrast. Let me explain.
The two cardinal sins of communism were called voluntarism and deviationism. Since I was not sure about the ‘official’ translation of the second notion, I asked Bingchat. To my surprise, I got a perfect description of both. Here is the edited version:
Voluntarism, is the belief that sheer willpower, or revolutionary enthusiasm can override material conditions or historical processes. Marxist theory emphasizes that socialism arises from specific economic and social developments—not just from wanting it badly enough.
Deviationism refers to straying from the official party line or doctrine. In Stalinist regimes, this was treated as a serious ideological offense. A deviationist might be accused of revisionism (watering down Marxist principles), dogmatism (rigidly clinging to outdated interpretations), or nationalism (putting national interests above international socialist solidarity).
In short: deviationism was about ideological disobedience, while voluntarism was about overzealous action untethered from Marxist analysis. Both were considered dangerous because they threatened the unity and theoretical purity of the movement.
The best example of voluntarism was Khruschev’s attempt to compete with the Americans in cotton production, destroying the Aral Sea ecosystem in the process.
The best examples of deviationism were the treatment of alternative approaches to communism, such as Trotskyism, Euro-communism or Maoism.
Great many people were killed for these sins. The one element that unites them is the running communist dogma, the idea that you cannot deviate in any direction. Only obedience and the unity of purpose can create a better world.
The reason we need to talk about them is not the past but the present. The attitudes they represent are not only more alive than ever, but they are evolving as well.
I already quoted many times the engraving on Marx’s tombstone:
“The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways,
the point, however, is to change it”
The denial of reality is stupid, but today’s neo-communists are turning it into delusional insanity. Marx believed that if we treat everybody the same way, we will attain equality. He was wrong, but even he would not believe that chopping off a boy’s genitals will turn him into a girl.
The Marxist idea of freedom from exploitation has tuned into an expectation of free stuff.
The Marxist idea was that our will should rule over our reality turned into the belief that we can create our reality.
The old ideas were just wrong and unworkable, the new ones are outright insane.
The neo-communists combined the two cardinal sins of the communists of old into one operational strategy. We can will anything into existence and chastise or condemn anybody who is questioning its sanity.
Just about any leftist cause is an example of unreal expectations.
DEI, the climate ‘crisis’, the race hustle; feminism, uncontrolled immigration, the threat of AI, The New World Order, ‘transgenderism’, the global military adventures are all about unattainable goals.
The will to aim for the unattainable is not a bug, but a feature.
The less likely is a goal to succeed, the greater the need is to believe in it.
Just ask Greta Thunberg or Dylan Mulvaney.
Marxism/Communism are moralizing religions. Their backbone is faith.
Their goal is to shame us into obedience and acceptance of the moralizing, dogmatic narrative. Any opposition to any of the leftist causes is attributed to immorality.
The unquestioning worship of voluntarism is the new dogma.
When I asked a relative whether he still thinks that the war in Ukraine against the Russians can be won, his answer was “We must win!”
He answered a question I didn’t ask, just so that he can restate his commitment to the ideological dogma which he clearly considers more important than reality.
I watched a few congressional hearings recently witnessing the same. Evasions and lies to protect the faith. True believers will not deviate from the dogma.
The essence of conservatism is respect for reality, respect for what we already know.
It means that our approach to change should be based on well established, proven principles and with full consideration of our limitations in affecting reality.
It means respecting and harnessing the wind. Not controlling but cooperating with it.
We can only control ourselves and can only change what we fully understand.
The essence of socialism is forcing our will onto reality; to create a new man, a new ethos, a new economy, a new environment. With the right ideology, we could control them all. If something does not work, it’s not because it cannot, but because we did not want it the enough or the right way.
The essence of an epic day is humility and gratitude;
the essence of both voluntarism and deviationism is conceit and arrogance.
The thing that attracts me to extreme sports is the respect for reality and the constant testing of our limits and boundaries. I have nothing but contempt for the self-important arrogance of the neo-communists and their will to power.
Now, watch this epic video and read some of the comments.
… then let me know what you think…..
I would also like to know whether you ever had the experience of an Epic day.
Be glad if you did and seek it if you have not yet.
More from here
I don’t think that a Marxist like Slavoj Žižek can ever understand what I am talking about…
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