free, part II
I considered freedom from economic slavery in my previous post and spent time considering the ideal. However, I am a very bipolar sort of person in thought and where I swing ideal in one moment you will soon find me swinging realistic. Welcome to the realistic swing.
We people may try to live an ideal life - one that is noble and ethical. It is good to be ethical of course. But let us be honest with ourselves and realize that we are not going to "save" ourselves or put humanity on "the right track." We are a horde of over 6 billion, marching off in one direction and it takes more than the goodwill of a few to steer such a mass. Like it or not, the developed world is causing the economic slavery and environmental destruction I wrote about in the last post. And the less-developed nations are striving ever so hard to be like rest. In short, we are heading toward our own destruction and there is probably very little that can be done to avert it. Or at least, there is little in our power to achieve it.
What then? Do we still strive for the ideal in our personal lives? That seems a noble goal still and one that will make you look good in the eyes of others. But does it matter? Really? We are all going to die and it won't matter then. Are we responsible for the billions of others in this world who will also die? I admit that it feels good to think you are doing what is right. But it is much more difficult to live that sort of life and will cost a person very much. The ideal life is made of sacrifice. I just wonder if there is anything worth sacrificing one's self to. People often say "you can't take it with you" and they are often speaking of material goods. But you can't take brownie points with you either. Once you are dead that is it - it's over.
We people may try to live an ideal life - one that is noble and ethical. It is good to be ethical of course. But let us be honest with ourselves and realize that we are not going to "save" ourselves or put humanity on "the right track." We are a horde of over 6 billion, marching off in one direction and it takes more than the goodwill of a few to steer such a mass. Like it or not, the developed world is causing the economic slavery and environmental destruction I wrote about in the last post. And the less-developed nations are striving ever so hard to be like rest. In short, we are heading toward our own destruction and there is probably very little that can be done to avert it. Or at least, there is little in our power to achieve it.
What then? Do we still strive for the ideal in our personal lives? That seems a noble goal still and one that will make you look good in the eyes of others. But does it matter? Really? We are all going to die and it won't matter then. Are we responsible for the billions of others in this world who will also die? I admit that it feels good to think you are doing what is right. But it is much more difficult to live that sort of life and will cost a person very much. The ideal life is made of sacrifice. I just wonder if there is anything worth sacrificing one's self to. People often say "you can't take it with you" and they are often speaking of material goods. But you can't take brownie points with you either. Once you are dead that is it - it's over.