Do Not Yield
Live, Don't Just Exist
I had a terrible night’s sleep last night. While much is weighing on my mind, I developed an urge to write about popular culture and a passage of Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Recently, I watched the fantastic James Bond movie series starring Daniel Craig. In Skyfall, M played by Judi Dench, recites a passage.
“Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson 1842
These lines are favorites of many in politics, the military, and securities services across the Anglosphere. I heard parts of Ulysses by Tennyson from time to time in the Marine Corps. There’s not much novel here in the lines themselves, particularly the poignant conclusion in the film where the gunfight begins in the hearing. We ask ourselves is much more important: who are we, and what do we seek to do with our time?
In the film, James Bond and British intelligence are questioned by a state that considered them ill-equipped and antiquated in the face of the threat. A series of cyberattacks undermine MI-6’s standing during the film, causing a political crisis. Like much that happens in real life, politicians fail to see the human dimension of these cyberattacks and their very human responses or consequences (A no-fly zone is still a bad idea). This story culminates in a hearing where the Parliament accuses British human intelligence efforts as relics of a bygone era. However, that is proven wrong as James does not yield himself to the dangers facing his country and defeats Britain’s enemies.
While James Bond’s clarity of purpose is both liberating and damning, we do not necessarily have his luxury and burden in our more mundane lives. We are faced with the more typical challenges of life and making the best of what time we have on this Earth. In fact, we have a tendency toward the melancholy of Tennyson’s Ulysses as opposed to the melancholic fatalism of James Bond.
A look at another quotation from another James Bond movie, No Time to Die, this time a eulogy can be of help.
“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”
Jack London, San Francisco Bulletin, 1916
The self-explanatory passage gives us another frame by which we can view the object of life. While we seek not to yield, we should strive to live that life to its fullest. I argue we can call for a life of clarity, one lacking ambiguity, replete with deliberate effort—far too many things in life muddle life itself.
A synonymous thought is the concept of de-cluttering. I, however, want us to go a step forward in defining ourselves in a positive framework. We should seek to determine ourselves positively and our goals aspirational and achievable. One’s ability to reach for our desires and grab hold allows us to take control of our lives. Often, negative influences, negative people, and increasingly hostile technology consume our free time and limited energy. We should seek to unhook ourselves from the opiates of the masses that we consume that consume our own lives.
This issue is an all too frequent problem among people in politics. I notice in my colleagues. I see it myself. Many people lament that life sometimes takes on the characteristics of high school. I believe this is partly because of the addictive products (weapons?) of digital consumption. The digital heroin dealers of social media hook us to their fake worlds. The corpulent billionaire LinkedIn founder, Reid Hoffman, describes technology as exploiting the seven deadly sins to profit. Profit comes at the expense of the masses, the people. You shouldn’t let disgusting people abuse you like this – consume as little as possible.
Most technologies in human history are labor-saving devices, which improve your quality of life. You should have that attitude when choosing products to use. For the first time in human civilization, the general trend in civil society is to expand access to mind-altering substances and products that draw people from normal society. Contrast forms of entertainment like Instagram, where people mindlessly view images and videos from people they may not know, slowly building up negative emotions in the process, to something like a James Bond movie. Though there are probably better ways to spend your time than consuming either, clearly, a narrative device like a film is healthier for you.
The question of the good life is a question for theologians, philosophers, and others which this essay is not equipped to deal with in the format of Muzzle Velocity. Instead, whatever your notion of eudaimonia may be, the first step in it must be in finding clarity and purpose. Self-improvement is a political act. Seek that out. I here will continue to do so as well. Discard the opiates that numb life itself and show open disdain from those who profit from the loss of your time. Your time and life are valuable.
Do not yield.