Going with your gut
Many years ago, I broached the topic of Capital Punishment with a strongly conservative acquaintance of that time. I confessed to him that I felt really conflicted about the death penalty. On the one hand, I understood logically all the stated reasons why it was a helpful tool to our society. From the bottom of my heart, however, I just couldn't shake the belief that it was a moral wrong for a nation to commit the very crime it intended to punish. This I framed as an appeal, and I asked that acquaintance to discuss the issue with me, help me resolve my internal conflicts about it.
He sort of chuckled in a good-natured way. "There's nothing to discuss," he said simply. "For you, this is an emotional matter. All the facts and figures and 'logical' arguments in the world will never change your feelings about it. Go with you gut," he said. This advice impressed me enormously, especially in regard for the speaker since he was therefore advising me to rest comfortably in a position he found objectionable in itself. I tell ya, though, since that day, I've never looked back to the argument again. I have long felt that the death penalty is a mistake, and I've since come to back that up with thought as well as feeling. Going with my gut was indeed the best of the advice, however.
Today I came up here to blog this during a break in studying the Progressive movement in the early 20th Century in American history. Something I read brought to mind questions about the eternal conflict between the desires of business leaders and the desires of workers. I thought about how many times I've heard the argument that capitalism and business function best when they're left alone, when they're as free from the constraints of government regulation and intervention as possible. I've always sort of looked at that argument sideways, and said, "Well, duh."
Functioning "with a free hand" as Scarlett O'Hara's foreman at the lumber mill would have called it probably is indeed best for business.
I don't think it's best for society as a whole, however.
There might come a counter-argument, "Well, yuh-huh, this happens to be a capitalist society, and so what's best for business is what's best for society overall, dumbass!" but I've stopped listening by then.
This is one of those occasions where I just have to go with my gut. I don't believe that what's best for business is what's best for the people. I care more about "the people" than I do the needs of industry and enterprise. There's little need for me, personally, to argue with people who believe the opposite, since we'll talk and chatter about specific cases and acts of government and taxes and details, and maybe even healthcare. I think essentially, we're arguing about this greater issue: What's more important, the needs of business or the needs of society? I think that's a choice that we each make from the gut, and for most people, probably unconsciously. We might improve our education about specifics of a situation like healthcare as an example, and I like those opportunities. I find that most debates I enter on the top really end up back at this fundamental square one, though. I'm done with those arguments; there doesn't seem much point in them.
Now that I trace this back to why I find them so pointless, I feel pretty good about going with my gut on this one, and calling it a day in the realm of debate.
Trace
He sort of chuckled in a good-natured way. "There's nothing to discuss," he said simply. "For you, this is an emotional matter. All the facts and figures and 'logical' arguments in the world will never change your feelings about it. Go with you gut," he said. This advice impressed me enormously, especially in regard for the speaker since he was therefore advising me to rest comfortably in a position he found objectionable in itself. I tell ya, though, since that day, I've never looked back to the argument again. I have long felt that the death penalty is a mistake, and I've since come to back that up with thought as well as feeling. Going with my gut was indeed the best of the advice, however.
Today I came up here to blog this during a break in studying the Progressive movement in the early 20th Century in American history. Something I read brought to mind questions about the eternal conflict between the desires of business leaders and the desires of workers. I thought about how many times I've heard the argument that capitalism and business function best when they're left alone, when they're as free from the constraints of government regulation and intervention as possible. I've always sort of looked at that argument sideways, and said, "Well, duh."
Functioning "with a free hand" as Scarlett O'Hara's foreman at the lumber mill would have called it probably is indeed best for business.
I don't think it's best for society as a whole, however.
There might come a counter-argument, "Well, yuh-huh, this happens to be a capitalist society, and so what's best for business is what's best for society overall, dumbass!" but I've stopped listening by then.
This is one of those occasions where I just have to go with my gut. I don't believe that what's best for business is what's best for the people. I care more about "the people" than I do the needs of industry and enterprise. There's little need for me, personally, to argue with people who believe the opposite, since we'll talk and chatter about specific cases and acts of government and taxes and details, and maybe even healthcare. I think essentially, we're arguing about this greater issue: What's more important, the needs of business or the needs of society? I think that's a choice that we each make from the gut, and for most people, probably unconsciously. We might improve our education about specifics of a situation like healthcare as an example, and I like those opportunities. I find that most debates I enter on the top really end up back at this fundamental square one, though. I'm done with those arguments; there doesn't seem much point in them.
Now that I trace this back to why I find them so pointless, I feel pretty good about going with my gut on this one, and calling it a day in the realm of debate.
Trace