A friend has asked me why I have not found myself in a philosophy department. "Why not talk to those most interested in what you truly are?", they asked. I say I have great love for the discipline, and respect for what academics do. And some academic philosophers have truly open minds. The presence of these I enjoy. Yet, it is the solipsism of an academic office that confines me too greatly, as does the rigid unforgiving nature of a grammarian who knows almost nothing of linguistics and actual language use. One seeks a niche into which one can construct an office with a view; they form an argument about an issue and refuse to admit any other thought into their musing, or, if they do, they abuse it. These safe politicians must act in this manner, these academic philosophers, in order to earn their pretty check every other month, but they have shut themselves from the influence of others in the most unphilosophical of ways.
Genuine philosophy comes to the poor or to the financially independent. It arises from a need and a nature. It comes from a vocation that cannot be ignored. I have experienced this necessity, my absent friend. I have tried to direct my life onto other paths. I found myself always making the sacrifice, always needing to question and answer, then question again. These academics, brilliant and genius-like though they are, they sacrifice that freedom for instant recognition and financial satisfaction. Their "self-overcoming" remains, yet it is stunted.