Few people understand existential thought, and understandably so. It’s based on a complicated theory called Phenomenology, and its dynamics ebb and flow between the abstract and the physical. To think existentially requires a single assumption that turns traditional thought inside out and provides a new way of viewing reality; the belief that existence precedes essence.

This means that the actions you take determine who you are; not vice versa. Someone who steals doesn’t do so because they are a thief, rather, they are a thief because they steal. The thief’s actions are what make him a thief; he wasn’t necessarily a thief beforehand. Existentialists tend to shun predetermination and embrace self-determination.

In traditional thought, essence precedes existence. A modern doctrine of this idea is the thought that our genetics simply predetermine everything about us, and our essence exists before we exit the womb. The idea that free will doesn’t exist is a favorite among Social Darwinists, Eugenicists, and autocrats the world over.

An existentialist will point out that predeterminism is mostly backwards. Man is born first, encounters himself, and develops his essence as time moves forward. We are subject to the physical laws of the universe, but this process begins only after we come into being. At first, man is nothing. This has many implications, but the most important implication of existence preceding essence, is that it places ultimate responsibility on the individual. Even under harsh circumstances, you still decide how you are in dealing with them.

Another implication of existence preceding essence is that identity becomes an illusion. Those who pigeonhole themselves into categories in order to play a specific “role” in society are the intellectual equivalent to children playing pretend. Most playing societal roles falsely believe that the role was meant for them before they existed.

An existentialist finds this absurd. Since existence comes before essence, the role played is just an essence that they’ve created for themselves out of nothing. What kind of sentient being actually chooses an essence of servility?

Instead of owning up to the fact that they “play” a role, they believe that they “are” the role. By writing this blog, I am only “playing” the role of an existentialist in order to relay self-expression to other beings. It is impossible for this single label to sum up my own multidimensional, dynamic existence.

Is a cowboy a cowboy because he wears a cowboy hat? Is a soldier one because he takes orders? Does a politician become one before or after acquiring a 3-piece suit? And by whose authority are these lines drawn? These false labels are an inherent nuisance because they create false dividing lines. To add insult to injury, this division is used by social engineers to manipulate the adult children who live as pretenders. “Divide and conquer” is their motto, and convincing multidimensional, multifaceted human beings that they fit neatly into a state-assigned role is a key instrument in maintaining the status-quo.

Most people cling so tightly to their synthetic identity, that they will ignore ethics to maintain it. These terrified souls willingly imprison themselves within their chosen social roles to avoid truly encountering themselves or admitting to wrongdoing. Afraid to admit that they have voted wrong, or are not necessarily what they say they are at the risk of receiving a different label, they subsequently imprison everyone else in the political system as well. The truth is sacrificed on the altar of identity. These fake identities aid in perpetuating the endless cycle of absurdity we find in our daily lives.

Looking at the world through existential eyes reveals a copious amount of absurdity, which explains the existential angst or “nausea” (as Jean-Paul Sartre described) accompanying such deep reflection. Take away the status, the money, the 3-piece suits, the military fatigues, the religious roles, the economic roles, the cultural roles, the national identities, the top-secret clearances, the shiny badges, and the parental role government plays, and you are left with a troubling view of human beings doing stupid things to each other to maintain stupid identities that don’t really exist.

Entire books can be written on the Phenomenological breakdown of governmental action (which would be fun to attempt someday), but for the sake of saving space, we’ll analyze the false identities of those involved.

The president of the United States, the bureaucrats of the military industrial complex, and the American people are incorrectly playing roles based on essence that they have invented, while simultaneously maintaining that their essence was preexistent.

It’s possible to observe a situation based on false reality and dismantle it through existential analysis. For instance; the recent execution of Osama Bin Laden and the new tension between Pakistan and the United States. Since scientific evidence of the event that has allegedly taken place has not been presented, this event is based on hearsay, not reality.

This is the situation: The president and military industrial complex tell the people that Osama Bin Laden is finally dead, and that the people should rejoice. Those who prefer reality-based thought immediately began asking for forensic evidence to confirm this, and at that point, something very interesting happens; no evidence is provided, but the event is accepted as scientific fact. How can this be possible?

Again, the false roles we play are to blame for this. The American people take the word of the president and the military industrial complex specifically because of the labels they carry. The president’s word does not need to be confirmed because he is “The President.” Instead of being seen as an equal human being subject to the same laws as the rest of us, he is special, different, and above the law. His essence is incorrectly seen as that of the “President” and not of a “fellow human being.”

To question the actions of the military industrial complex is quite possibly the boldest act of blasphemy in American culture. This is the new faith-based political system we have come to know and love in America. On a truly level playing field, this nonsense doesn’t take place.

The role of the “American citizen” is also an important one to dismantle. They play this role by viewing the president and military as parental figures that do not have to explain themselves. Like the mothers and fathers of the national community, when asked “Why?” they simply respond with “Because we said so!” By accepting what is said as infallible, the American citizen fulfills his role as the child of a protective parent.

The biggest response by the children of big government, when an unbeliever asks for forensic evidence of events taking place, is that the government simply does not have to do this. “Who the hell are you to ask such a question?” they reply. “Where is your top-secret clearance?”

Let’s break this argument down. “Who the hell are you?” would imply that those demanding evidence are not as entitled as those they have elected. This is a condescending question that speaks down to the slave-class. As an existentialist, I would answer, “I’m a human being, and other human beings have taken my resources and are using them carry out acts of death and chaos in my name. As a person responsible for his essence, I’d like to undo that. Who the hell are you?”

And just where is my top-secret clearance? On the level playing field of existence preceding essence, autocratic authority is null and void. If authority does exist, it’s because I have allowed it to exist either by voting for it democratically, or by allowing it be forced onto my existence by other people. My top-secret clearance is individual autonomy which usurps any faith-based claim of artificial authority.

If all men are created equal, as existence before essence suggests, there is no room for absurdities like “top-secret clearance,” and in the universal scheme of things, I do not have to take the word of an equal as infallible. Where is your top-secret clearance? The answer is that it doesn’t really exist, and neither does your role as protector of the state.