The Functionalist Notion from The Southern Beat

Thanks to Eric McLean of The Southern Beat for this essay, The Functionalist Notion. Check out his site for other scintillating and thought-provoking essays!

The Functionalist Notion

an essay by:

Eric McLean

I am sitting at a red light, staring at its neon glow, waiting for a change to let me move. The light to my right turns green and the cars to my left begin to accelerate down the road, all in a perfect line of little toy boxes compiled of aluminum, metal, and rubber…

The light to my right turns red and the glare that I have been staring at, ever so bored, turns green. I follow the pattern as before and step on the gas pedal. My head is gently pushed back with the rhythm of my car then suddenly jerks forward with the shifting of gears.

For some unknown reason, a thought is implanted into my brain, a tiny bolt of lightning awakens me from this dreamy state I have been in. It hits me like a sudden gust of wind, taking my breath away temporarily. Why is everything so minutely and intensely structured? Recently, I have been very worried, even sick to my stomach that everything I, and the rest of the world, do is purely forms of habit and behavior. Even writing this essay, I realized that I look at the clock at the same time every day…exactly 10:14 a.m.

When was the last time you checked to see which shoe you put on first in the morning? I know deep down in my subconscious thought, I somehow manage to put on my left shoe first. Yes, one might look at this as trivial, but, it is only the beginning of series of events, actions and reactions, that take place like clockwork. Washing your hair before your body in the shower, getting out the milk before setting a bowl on the table, leaving home at exactly 8:10 a.m. Why is it the same every day? Nothing changes in the least bit, that is unless I make a conscious decision to do so and by that time it is already too late.

I am not saying that any of this is bad, in fact, I would venture to say that this kind of structure and discipline is essential for human life to exist coherently on mother earth. I would even profess that habit, in one way or another, is exactly what keeps our society, as a whole, intact. What else keeps 6 billion people in this world from doing exactly what they want, causing some wave of mass chaos and destruction to come crashing down, crushing the earth in its might and fury?

On the other hand, the behaviors we, as human beings, exhibit either by choice or pure reaction can be a very horrible thing. Why does the businessman get up every morning at the exact same time, get dressed in the same suit he wears every monday, and kiss his wife on the cheek before he leaves? It is not, and i truly believe this, because he likes doing it. Yes, maybe he gets some sick satisfaction out of it…but does he really like doing it? He is a robot, a series of screws and bolts with a mainframe built into his body that provides enough power to act and react, nothing more. He does what he did the day before, the day before that, and the day before that. Nothing stops him from getting a small coffee and newspaper from 7-11 at 7:30 a.m. and casually throwing down $4.37 on the counter. Why? Because he knew it was coming. That, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what I fear in this life. I fear that I will fall into a diagram of habit and self-destruction if I am not careful. I fear that I will be among those who never dared to break the mold, and simply stayed in line. I fear that I will simply become a part of the masses being herded along like a shepherd tending to his flock of sheep. I am habitual. I am addicted to regularity. I practice tendency. And the sad thing is, I loathe it but can not change a thing or disorder will follow. I will end with a quote that, hopefully, will make you want to break free of the chains of order and regularity and do great things.

“…and at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

-Theodore Roosevelt