"Friendship" (poem) >>> A Toast To Those Who Make Life Worth Living
Do you have a friend? A really good one? If so, you are lucky. They're hard to come by.
Thankfully, you don't need many. One is enough.
If you do have one, once in a while, say, "Thank you for being my friend." Don't add or detract, don't embellish or embroider ... just the way I wrote it. And say it like you mean it.
For some strange reason, that I'm at a loss to explain, these are particularly powerful words amongst human beings. The essence of the effect is, perhaps, primeval. Neither poetry, nor prose, makes them more potent.
If you do it right: It will cost you something to say them; and, they will cost your friend something to hear.
Nothing is free.
@quillfire: I agree it's good to have friends. But the question is -- are friends or robots/AI more reliable? Yes you can ask me if being reliable is the most important thing in life. It may not be, but AI and robotics can replicate friendship easily and it will. If you can have a breast pump and formula milk and childcare and Novel Effect, why isn't robotics for sex and friendship and companionship wrong? I think there's a big possibility that this will be a norm in the future. Our idea of companionship has been modelled by an unsustainable demand for romance and sex. We are screwing around like rats in a sewage line. I don't think historically human beings has ever had so much of sex. It's not sustainable to have a lifestyle around sex. Robotics will help fragment our false sense of relationship and companionship.
Don't know if you ever saw Lost in Space, but when I was a kid I so wanted that robot!!!! Sure AI may be a very good friend. Heck I rely on Lola (my Google Maps GPS) to tell me where to go, and Google Assistant to answer questions, set alarms, and make lists!
@sidsun,
An intriguing take.
Let me pose a question to you: If a robot is programmed to be loyal to you, is it being loyal?
Does loyalty, or the thing that makes loyalty so valued amongst human beings, not require the ability to betray? If not, why then is it so valued? Doesn't friendship, in order for it to be meaningful, have to be voluntary? Wouldn't a robot just be going through the motions? And wouldn't you know it?
I share your disdain for the promiscuity of modern society. It's not because of some religious imperative as I'm agnostic. It's because I believe that sex is as emotional as it is physical, and good sex, more so. And, if it's not, I'm not interested. For me, this precludes hooking up with strangers. I advocate romance amongst friends because 99.99% of life requires a teammate more than a twinky.
Your thoughts are rational and I'm not sure that you're wrong. But I can't help but wonder if you're not giving into nihilism. There's lots of honorable people out there, of both genders. The problem is that they're harder to find as, the idea for them, of posting a want-ad on a hook-up sight is, on its face, off-putting.
Be careful about trading efficiency for effect. Nothing is free. What price do you pay for choosing the former over the latter?
Thanks for dropping by. I look forward to chatting again in the future. Open invite.
I like this poem, friendship is a good topic to think about and contemplate. They can help us, guide us, entertain us and in times of need provide support. I was always a bit of a loner, growing up on an isolated farm made me that way. I moved at age 10 into a town, and made school and then University friends - I still keep in touch with some but rarely seem them. Nowadays I'm just happy doing my own thing, I always was the happiest in my own company. I still get out and do things, work mostly drives that - but I could quite happily be a little hermit sat alone with my own thoughts. It's funny how our early life and experience can form the plan for the rest of our lives.
#thealliance
@coff33a,
It's funny ... I'm both. My daughter says I'm the ultimate extrovert and yet I, too, enjoy spending long hours alone thinking. I got rid of my cellphone years ago because it kept interrupting my trains of thought. In any event, whenever you feel like shooting the sh*t, you know where to find me. Open invite.
Speaking of speaking, I've got a couple of technical question I'd like to run by you in private. My DM'ing skills are minimal ... I haven't yet figured out how to DM anyone with whom I haven't yet DM'd. I'm 50.
Is there any chance you could DM me? My phone number, or whatever it's called, on Discord is QuillFire #7038.
Talk again soon.
I'm not much use with Discord myself, but I think we need to be on the same server to then DM. Join this one https://discord.gg/MTERcXc it's always handy to have a few servers in your list - especially one's where you can leave your post links in Post Promotion.
One is always blessed when she finds a kindred spirit. Great write, quill:)
@prydefoltz,
I was just thinking I need to drop in on Pryde ... but Speak of the Devil, here you are. I'm going to make this a short response, as I plan to see if I can't find something to torment you about on your own feed ... shortly. :-)
So ... thanks for the comment.
Sad that friendships like my parents had that spanned an entire lifespan are, as far as I know, unheard anymore.