[Blank] Harder!

Why amplifying a ineffective action results in more disappointment

Vote Harder! is one of my favorite memes. I love it because of how well it captures the feeling of what the a good citizen should do, all while mocking the lack of results from previous obedience to the model. This pattern is everywhere. Let me break down just these two words.

On its face, the implied vibe is that voting will solve your problems, you just need to do it with more diligence. All the voting campaigns, Rock the Vote being one of the most iconic and still functioning today, are designed to get you bought into the belief that your vote matters and that once you cast your vote, your job is done. The subtext of the verb mismatch is that because voting is binary, it is impossible to do it ‘harder,’ turning action into mockery. The intent is to point out that you have diligently voted in all of the elections and yet you have never received any benefit from doing so.

The main moral of the meme is pointing out that whatever action is being referenced it is not the pathway to the solution. The action that you are told is the only and correct way to interact with the system is actually detrimental and the continued belief in this as the pathway to success is lunacy. This is a modern way of saying:

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

We cannot vote our way out of a broken democracy. More governance will not be the solution to the bureaucratic state that has been created. These systems are not internally self-correcting, which should be obvious; if they were, we could point to times in history where they did correct. We make general progress in spite of the institutions, not because of them. I do believe there is immense value in institutions, it’s just that the last 50 years have been of decay. Name some institutions that have a proven track record of improvement over this time period [love to hear thoughts in comments below].

Skill Issue

The whole point of this is that the world constantly controls us by making us victims, while telling us it’s our fault. The message is that it’s a Skill Issue. If only you were more faithful to the regime of whatever doctrine is being referenced then we could fix the problem. Here’s a quick list that I see popular right now:

• Give Harder. Elon is a trillionaire. We could solve world hunger if we stole just 30% of his wealth. Any messaging regarding kids, the poor, or the homeless claims that we just need more money. The money towards all of these things has increased in the past 50 years yet the problem has not gone away. Stealing another X amount and giving it to these groups only incentivizes the receiving institutions to perpetuate the problem. Solving the problem means institutional death. They are not honorable practitioners of seppuku.

• Protect Harder. The best current example is the UK ban on social media for children under 16. I’m not even against the idea in practice in my home, but the only reason for the government to be involved to this degree is the secondary effects. To implement it, everyone using social media needs to be registered. This makes it much easier for them to arrest you when you post naughty things online. (Naughty = Anything that challenges government authority or points out its failures). Many have already been jailed for social media posts.

• Negotiate Harder. Negotiate Harder. We need more committees and groups to solve this. Direct action is easily condemned because it is 'something,' while the whole purpose of large-group agreement on vague stances is to ensure nothing gets done. The UN and NATO are the pinnacle.

• Listen/Obey Harder. This is the standard template, don’t think and do what you want, do what you are told and do it with the most extreme diligence. See COVID for the best example.

Submit Harder!

One of the most striking lessons I’ve learned recently is how my behaviors of deference and service are the problem and not the solution. I had bought into the world view that service and pleasing behavior were the proper way to improve family and relationships. I thought that respect would be the outcome of service, even when all the previous attempts resulted in less respect. I just deluded myself into thinking I simply wasn’t ‘Serving Harder’. If only I took on more work with no outward expectations of a return I would be respected for the effort. Acting in this manner without any boundaries and with hidden (covert) expectations is a well-documented path to failure; I was simply never aware of it.

I hit my version of self-sacrifice rock bottom in a way that made the insanity of my actions so obvious that I finally went looking for an answer. I was lucky to have some friends point me to the solution and it has been a month-long journey of enlightenment that has helped me realize the flawed nature of my behaviors and how to correct them.

What are you doing in your life that has never had the results that you thought the action would bring? Is the answer that the action is wrong and not your skill at performing it?