It’s all around in everyday life.  A little pressure is applied here and there and next thing that one realizes is that the choices that one thought he or she made were not really choices at all.  Of course, the choice to not follow through exists, but pressure to conform will eventually force one back into the fold.  The inevitability of return is almost assured, and if coming back into the fold isn’t an option…  well, there are ways to deal with that as well.

The subtle and gentle pressures are applied from birth to death.  Vaccinations, school, college or military, work, retirement, death and disposal, these are all common pressures that run through lives in general.  Along the way are the details, the permutations of which are too numerous to ponder.  In many cases, these are couched as “requirements” in order to advance in a given pursuit.

Legend has it that young and hopeful photographers had to visit Alfred Stieglitz to get his stamp of approval in order to have any success in the world of photography.  After Stieglitz died in 1946, the legend goes that Georgia O’Keefe became the ultimate gatekeeper to the world of photography.  The level of talent of the artist was not the point, it was impressing these gatekeepers that mattered.  If they weren’t impressed, well, then the best thing one could do in order to avoid swimming upstream was to go home and find a new pursuit.

Stieglitz and O’Keefe are no longer the gatekeepers to success in art, but this does not mean that success is any more assured.  Now one must fulfill any number of requirements and play any number of games in order to get a toe in the door.

Subtle and gentle pressure.  The artist must go to school.  The student must pass the judgment of those who “teach” him or her.  The student must then stand out in competition but meet criteria set by the judges.  The student must then “learn” from these judges in order to earn that piece of paper that says they have passed judgment.  But then one is told they must earn another piece of paper that says they have gone through an ultimate judgment, which will propel them to the ranks of those judges.

Never mind the talent level of the artist (or lack thereof).  Discipline must be maintained and everyone should be moving toward the same end.

The game must be played.  All along the way, pressure is applied in order to keep the person on the path set by those who now oversee that very path, and by whom the criteria for passage is set.  The person is told they must take that path.  Failure to do so will result in the person not achieving success in the pursuit of their goals.

The pressure is gentle.  It’s almost imperceptible.  The pressure is great and is there.  Eventually, there is nothing but the path as one moves headlong and fast toward the destination.  As the pressure increases and constricts, the choice to continue down the path is still present.  But one thing remains…

Either way, the event horizon will be crossed.

The Panopticon continues its machinations.