[Published in Doomed to Obscurity Issue #3]


                 Doomed To Obscurity


        Why the name?  It implies what we are all destined to 
be. First off, I was not one of the ones who founded this new
zine, or one who helped think of any part of it. I read the 
first issue, and it it rung a bell somewhere in me. I kicked 
back and thought about what exactly the title meant, and where 
I was going... Until a few years ago at least. Then things
changed in the relationship between myself and obscurity.

        How did things change? Why did they change? Because I 
wanted them to. It occurred to me that like millions before me, 
I was capable of passing beyond this realm without leaving a 
visible mark.. without leaving some fragment of a legacy to 
those who follow me. That isn't something I want to come to 
pass if I can help it. There is no reason in the world why 
every single individual who wants to leave his or her mark 
can't do so. 

        Read. This one action can get you further in life than 
hundreds of hours of mindless labor. Read other people's 
works, so that you can see what was done before you. 
Understand what others thought of fundamental questions in 
life and use that as a foundation for your own educated 
thoughts on why things work the way they do.

        Write. If in no other way, you can always write what 
you think, how you feel, where you have been, and what you 
have experienced. Your thoughts and feelings will later be 
used to help guide someone else. What you write will go on to 
be read by thousands, maybe millions in the future. Somewhere, 
in some form, what you write will be kept in logs, on ftp 
servers, on private bulletin board systems.

        What? Write about events, how they relate to you, why 
they affect you and others. Write about trends in society, 
society itself, or the governing bodies that affect that 
society. Write about why you feel repressed, why you feel free,
and what to do about it. 

        Change. Suggest it, tell about it, push it, do everything
short of forcing it on someone. Change is the most wicked engine
of creativity. By changing everything around us, we open ourselves
to new ideas, new methods of doing what we are required. Via change,
we as the human race may be able to push beyond society and forge
a new living where we are closer to being content.

        That's it. Short as it may be, it sums everything up. Don't
doom yourself to obscurity. Strike out against the idea of passive
resistance. Be active in the struggle to make a change.

                        DisordeR