self is the biological product of the culture one is born into. the culture moulds the self, and the very self also rejuvenates the culture very much like the dead vegetation then enriches the soil it grows from.

the second self, formed of thoughts, is the byproduct of the inconveniences the individual biological self experiences, like a pebble in the shoe, and wishes to eliminate them, not unlike the punching bag as the theoretical opponent a boxer vents his cultivated anger on. the bag, not being a real opponent does not get hurt, nor is there any reaction other than the visual effect for the onlooker. so, too, the motions of the counterculture not being physical makes no desired physical effect upon the main stream culture. conversely, it strengthens the very commerce sector that sustains the segregation. the main stream commerce manufactures the means and methods of the counterculture: the candles for the candle light vigils, the yellow ribbons, balloons, posters and all those paraphernalia.

the counterculture operates employing the media outlets as the punching bag to vent the anger on the mainstream culture. and just as the two opponents in the boxing ring fight for the esteem in the same watching eyes seated around the ring. both those on the left of the centre and the mainstream, the prevalent norm seek that which enables them to flow with the current. the distinction here is that which separates the passengers of the deck class from the ones travelling in the staterooms of the ship. herded separately, they all have the same destination.

is "mister president" no more, no less a mister as any other mister joe or miss jane? in order for man to be a common man, man would have to give up any and every thing that is not in common with one's fellow beings. and that includes the described identity forming a membership group, the fraternities and sororities, the k.k.k. and the likes.

the unquestioned and separate alliance of the prevalent 180some 'independent' states, with many more sub-groupings is the dividing cause. the separation sustains due to the lack of the means of mobility. now reaching the moon takes less time than what it takes between two places within the same province of the 3rd world.

but just as all men who have travelled to the moon have done so enwrapped in airtight vacuum of space suit, keeping them fully separate from the new surrounding, the people are now lumped together enwrapped in separate identities of each nationality and each group including what people have so far retained their separate identities of earlier times. that is what is known as 'carrying their little england with them' wherever the english went. that has transformed the new world into the new york and new england, scotland, jerusalem, london, paris, and every name imaginable from the old world. the migrating hoards were not willing to seek anything new even in naming the new place. thus there are also the japantowns, chinatowns, korea towns, india towns in the u s.

now there are certain forms of differences that are given, like shape, size, colour of skin, eyes, hair, etc., but in this, too, that of the prevailing ruling class is the chosen form. and with the use of the media the commerce sector has taken advantage of it by selling lotions and potions and surgical means to improvise on the natural form. the current u.s. first lady michelle obama, ex-secretary of state condoliza rice and the tv icon oprah have had to iron their hairs to remove the kinkiness of the african descent. the japanese girls opting for the removal of the eye lid curve, and japanese men for cutting and rejoining their shins with a piece in-between to increase their height. the hindus have their veda-promoted superiority of the "gaur varna", the fair skin, which is the main fodder for the movie industry, which has retained it in selecting actors, especially the females, and in the movie hymns to the "gori", the fair skinned. not long ago, the hollywood, too, used to not have dark skinned actors, and used dark makeups on the caucasian actors to play the roles of indians, american indian and others. edger rice burroughs' immensely popular tarzan, though barely twenty-two, addressed his african subjects as "my children" even when most of them were much older than him. the dark skinned people were seen by rudyard kipling as the white man's burden, and were destined to be ruled.

the commerce sector controlled media shapes and pampers the second self, which is one's image in others' eyes as one would like to be thought of. the hallmark industry has cultivated a mindset that looks for an appropriate readymade expression for every event of life between birth and death. it makes both the sender and recipient of the printed card feel rest assured that the message was well conveyed. an individual shopping for the personal expression from the mass produced forms is not doing anything different from the u.s. president parroting his speech written by a team of speechwriters, the both never having been cognizant of the very sense of being what one is. but an individual aware person does not go shopping to keep up with the joneses and the very survival of the joneses depends upon the admiring eyes that are used to letting someone else do the thinking for them.

the etymological origin of the word: rich< reich <: - royal, like the rose by any other name retains the special status that is opposite of the common man. where there is this division of the classes, there is never the people's rule possible. by addressing the ruler as "mister president", the u.s. law makers have deluded the americans into making believe that therefore they, too, are equal of the one mister dwelling in the white house. likewise, the indian president riding the six horse driven victoria only changes the colour of the skin, while retaining the english mode of rule. incidentally, the indian/sanskrit word: 'rashtrapati' does agree with the regal status, for the suffix 'pati' means master. and what is a master without the savants, the people to rule over?

read the writings of the counterculture. many of the known writers are professors in ivy league institutions. or they are former governmental officials and the wall street executives, labour leaders. neither in their previous positions nor in their current stance is there any burning desire to seek a change in the way of life they are accustomed to living.

so it is as an old indian expression conveys, "all talk and no do makes one an intellectual." and the intellectual sustains his material superiority by thought: "i think, therefore i am." all others have to earn their living by physically working for him.