Why Make the Effort: My inquiry into why we still give a damn

In the movie the Matrix revolutions, there's a particular scene in which the rogue programme within the Matrix, Agent Smith is fighting the chosen one, Neo and proceeds to lecture him on why resistance is futile. The quote and Neo's response is below Agent Smith:Why, Mr. Anderson? Why, why, why? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?

Neo :Because I choose to.

Agent Smith: Why can't you emote mr Anderson? Emote!!

This echoed within me for a long time since watching the movie and always represented for me a sort of foolish defiance humanity seems to have in the face of absurdity. In the face of cold hard facts. Because I choose to. It doesn't answer rationally all points raised and neither does it deny them. Neo accepts everything said by the agent of chaos, of randomness but takes the reigns of the only thing he has. His ability to choose.

So why do people still try? This will be something I explore for the next few months in my reading and sharing on here.

This exploration was awakened by a short note I wrote to myself earlier this week and which I will use to close off this section for now:

Giving a damn:

It can be exhausting doing "the right thing" . Making the effort to be courteous instead of curt, doing your work as best as you can instead of skating by because after all, the universe will result in heat death so what does it even matter?! ...That boggles my mind.

Why do people still try? Why do they vote , why do they still cry foul when brutes force themselves upon us or leeches suck us dry? Why do people still cooperate and drive in a civilized manner, when driving on shoulders and acting out Fast and Furious scenes would reuslt in them obtaining a better result for themselves at the expense of others?

Maybe some do it because of their belief in the rewards that come from the divine. Maybe some do it because they hold themselves to a moral standard. Maybe some see it as the rational way to live.

Whatever the reason, I'm simultaneously dismayed and inspired by the state of things. Dismayed that so many live with reckless abandon. But inspired that , there still remain those that make the effort. That take the higher road , that do the difficult thing.

Y'all are the MVPs.

To quote the great Jerry Smith (Rick & Morty ), "Life is effort and I'll quit when I die".