Rant. Sorry.
I think I finally figured out what my problem is. I do apologize for this uncharacteristic post, but things have been bugging me for a while, and I need to get it out in the open so I can calm down a bit.
I’ve been off-and-on introspective and moody for just over a year now, and in addition to the usual culprit of my ambition interacting with my laziness, I think I’ve nailed down another thing that’s been bothering me.
I’ve had this addiction to political rant/blog web sites for quite some time. In particular, since I believe in tormenting myself, I tend to view the kind of a more conservative nature. I’m not happy with this, and I’m trying to wean myself off of it, but it’s forced me to realize that the people with whom I tend to disagree with usually have their ideas more grounded in reality than those whose views I sympathize.
There’s an Einstein quote I like that I’m reminded of: “All of our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike, and yet it is the most precious thing we have.” In particular, I take this to mean that thinking critically and keeping an open mind is the only real measure of truth that we have, imperfect as it may be due to our human failings. With this in mind, I am forced to always criticize and hold to greatest scrutiny those concepts which are most sacred to me.
In particular, I try to hold onto a personal belief that violence in any form is abhorrent and immoral, but I must contrast this with the understanding that we live in a world where pacifism is not yet possible. Everybody agrees, for example, that Saddam, Hitler, etc. are bad and need to go, but the answers for now involve more violence and killing. Though I’m not content to justify war on the basis of its motivation (i.e. the ends justify the means bullshit), unless we find some workable alternative to killing, that is the only option we have available, and my discontents mean absolutely nothing (particularly to those people who suffer under such regimes).
What REALLY worries me when I visit the usual warblogging sites is that they leave the impression (and this is just my liberal prejudice talking, I hope my conservative friends don’t take offense) that one should not only accept this as the only solution to the problem, but in fact embrace it. Though I agree that the actions of terrorists, dictators, etc. are deplorable, it’s hard not to feel that my outrage is being artificially exaggerated in order to more easily accept the use of continued violence as a solution. In other words, I feel like I'm being told that war isn’t just necessary, it’s justified in an absolute moral sense. I fear that this mentality will enslave us to a world were war IS the only option to ensuring our security and freedom, but again that is only my personal belief. I cannot prove my moral position, and for all I know theirs is right. I only wish there was more emphasis on a critical, clear analysis of what exactly is going on in the world and the benefits/costs of our proposed solutions than all of this aggressive partisan rationalizing (not that I’m helping matters much).
I guess I can find comfort in another quote, by Hemingway: “Don’t ever believe that war, no matter how justified or how necessary, is not a crime.” Still, that doesn’t help the victims any.
It extends to other things, too. At the risk of sounding hypocritical (I’m too lazy to recycle, and to be honest it doesn’t help much), I do have a strong soft spot for environmental issues, but I must hold these beliefs along with the understanding that the health and economic well-being of the third world frequently runs against them. Similarly, I do believe that humans have an ethical responsibility toward animals (and most vegetarians/vegans don’t bother me), but I do loves the meats and over 80% of our (critical) medical information does come from animal research. While I do think that these problems can be addressed as technology develops (it is true that wealthier nations can afford to be more environmentally sound, and I’m open to synthetic meat if it tastes good-McSteve posted an article on this earlier), such solutions are still, at best, far down the road.
So I think the core of what bugs me is my inability to reconcile who I am with who I wish to be, and what is right with what I think should be right. I will try to hold onto my liberal core beliefs as best I can, but in the end I think the only real virtue is remaining open and critical to the realities of the world, since that is the only hope we have for finding a true solution. I just hope we don’t kill ourselves or the world first, nor become complacent and confuse what's best for what's right.
May God help us, for we need it.
I’ve been off-and-on introspective and moody for just over a year now, and in addition to the usual culprit of my ambition interacting with my laziness, I think I’ve nailed down another thing that’s been bothering me.
I’ve had this addiction to political rant/blog web sites for quite some time. In particular, since I believe in tormenting myself, I tend to view the kind of a more conservative nature. I’m not happy with this, and I’m trying to wean myself off of it, but it’s forced me to realize that the people with whom I tend to disagree with usually have their ideas more grounded in reality than those whose views I sympathize.
There’s an Einstein quote I like that I’m reminded of: “All of our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike, and yet it is the most precious thing we have.” In particular, I take this to mean that thinking critically and keeping an open mind is the only real measure of truth that we have, imperfect as it may be due to our human failings. With this in mind, I am forced to always criticize and hold to greatest scrutiny those concepts which are most sacred to me.
In particular, I try to hold onto a personal belief that violence in any form is abhorrent and immoral, but I must contrast this with the understanding that we live in a world where pacifism is not yet possible. Everybody agrees, for example, that Saddam, Hitler, etc. are bad and need to go, but the answers for now involve more violence and killing. Though I’m not content to justify war on the basis of its motivation (i.e. the ends justify the means bullshit), unless we find some workable alternative to killing, that is the only option we have available, and my discontents mean absolutely nothing (particularly to those people who suffer under such regimes).
What REALLY worries me when I visit the usual warblogging sites is that they leave the impression (and this is just my liberal prejudice talking, I hope my conservative friends don’t take offense) that one should not only accept this as the only solution to the problem, but in fact embrace it. Though I agree that the actions of terrorists, dictators, etc. are deplorable, it’s hard not to feel that my outrage is being artificially exaggerated in order to more easily accept the use of continued violence as a solution. In other words, I feel like I'm being told that war isn’t just necessary, it’s justified in an absolute moral sense. I fear that this mentality will enslave us to a world were war IS the only option to ensuring our security and freedom, but again that is only my personal belief. I cannot prove my moral position, and for all I know theirs is right. I only wish there was more emphasis on a critical, clear analysis of what exactly is going on in the world and the benefits/costs of our proposed solutions than all of this aggressive partisan rationalizing (not that I’m helping matters much).
I guess I can find comfort in another quote, by Hemingway: “Don’t ever believe that war, no matter how justified or how necessary, is not a crime.” Still, that doesn’t help the victims any.
It extends to other things, too. At the risk of sounding hypocritical (I’m too lazy to recycle, and to be honest it doesn’t help much), I do have a strong soft spot for environmental issues, but I must hold these beliefs along with the understanding that the health and economic well-being of the third world frequently runs against them. Similarly, I do believe that humans have an ethical responsibility toward animals (and most vegetarians/vegans don’t bother me), but I do loves the meats and over 80% of our (critical) medical information does come from animal research. While I do think that these problems can be addressed as technology develops (it is true that wealthier nations can afford to be more environmentally sound, and I’m open to synthetic meat if it tastes good-McSteve posted an article on this earlier), such solutions are still, at best, far down the road.
So I think the core of what bugs me is my inability to reconcile who I am with who I wish to be, and what is right with what I think should be right. I will try to hold onto my liberal core beliefs as best I can, but in the end I think the only real virtue is remaining open and critical to the realities of the world, since that is the only hope we have for finding a true solution. I just hope we don’t kill ourselves or the world first, nor become complacent and confuse what's best for what's right.
May God help us, for we need it.