Which is better, chocolate or marijuana? This is a difficult question, because both are good in their own way and for their own purposes. The only way to choose between the two is to envision being stranded on a desert island with only one or the other.
Overall, I would have to go with chocolate. I have noticed that very dark chocolate (cocao content > 80%) acts as an effective antidepressant and overall stimulant. I feel better and think better under the influence of chocolate. Chocolate does not detract from intellectual agility in the way that marijuana does. It is legal and comparatively much cheaper. The lower caloric cost of marijuana is counterbalanced by the munchies. Marijuana actually results in increased caloric consumption, so that the effect on diet is probably much worse than that resulting from chocolate's high amount of saturated fat.
My hobbies, such as chess, reading, and working on web sites, aren't exactly rocket science, but they do require a certain amount of intellectual agility, and because of that, chocolate is more compatible with me. Marijuana dumbs me down and requires a lot of adjustments and is better for those rare occasions when I have nothing to do, as when I am in a waiting mode, waiting for something to begin.
I think weed is useful for medicinal purposes in order to decay the memory of unpleasant experiences. It is also effective at addressing anxiety and boredom. I think it can open up non-spiritual people to spiritual experiences. Without marijuana, it is almost impossible for me to really understand religious phenomena. I am very grounded in the material world. Under the influence of marijuana, I leave this world and its concerns, drift up into the atmosphere and can look at the "big picture," so to speak.
I am very happy I quit drinking almost completely. I will drink at a party once in a while, maybe once every three months, just to prove my immunity to the temptation. Such occasional drinking does not result in any relapse. I don't feel tempted the next day to get more. Instead, I feel reinforced in my conviction not to drink for the most part.
Since I gave up drinking, I find that I am less compatible with drinkers and vice versa. Drinkers aren't much for thinking. They aren't much for ideas. Drinkers only want to hang out with other drinkers, so I find that my not-drinking results in fewer social invitations. Besides, it's not fun being the sober one around a bunch of sloppy drunks. There are many people whose idea of fun begins and ends with a bottle of liquor, wine or beer. I won't say I'm immune to the attraction, but as I got older I found that alcohol did not agree with my body or mind and had too many negative consequences. I do not like myself when I am under the influence of alcohol. I'm not a "happy drunk." Rather, I perceive that evil gets a foothold into my world when I drink. When I see a bottle now, I just see potential problems rather than a bottle of fun like some of my friends. I see alcohol as a means by which evil enters this world. Fuel for demons.
It is very interesting to me to observe that many, although not all drinkers tend to dislike marijuana. I think they do not like it because it is variable and somewhat unpredictable. Alcohol on the other hand is Old Reliable. They know exactly what they are getting into when they drink.
Marijuana is an ancient sacrament and a precursor to spiritual awakening. I think that it has been an overall positive influence in my own life. One of its features that outshine all other substances is that it is non-addictive. One can quit just so, overnight. It is not in any way difficult. When the need for sobriety arises, then one puts it aside. Sometimes the Goddess appears at the gateway and instructs the user to go back to the world. This is what unpleasant experiences are about. They are a warning to return. There are times when the marijuana can be useful, and times when one has had enough.
Among marijuana users that I know, for many of them, weed is just another item on the recreational menu along with alcohol, unfortunately. I do not know why that is, but I would like it to change. I wish that more people awakened to the knowledge that marijuana is better than alcohol by any measure at all. I wish that more people knew that alcohol is very harmful. Unfortunately, there are many social pressures against marijuana, whereas alcohol is accepted by law enforcement, employers, and society at large. All of the pressure from the law and from society is focused upon the less harmful substance. This is due to a lack of understanding.
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Does So-and-So Like Me?
There's no fool like an old fool. Old people like to imagine that young people have the hots for them. They can't see themselves unless they look in the mirror, and when they look in the mirror, they put a spin on what they see. Perhaps they see themselves as they were twenty or thirty years ago.
As a general rule of thumb, I think that young people are attracted to young people, and old people are attracted to young people, and the main exception to this would be where an old person has enough money to make it worth one's while to feign blindness to physical appearance.
Recently, an older friend of mine has fallen in love with a fellow in his twenties. His heart is twisted in knots and his self-inflicted torture is painful to watch, in part because I've been there myself.
If one has to wonder whether another person is attracted to them, the correct answer is probably No. Certainly the safest answer is No.
One of the supreme humiliations is to woo and be rejected out of hand. It is painful to endure a powerful, all-consuming infatuation, as I indeed have, only to discover that all of one's feelings and all of one's plans are regarded by another as being without any value whatsoever. The offer of love, the offer of support, one's hand in marriage and one's whole life may be rejected simply by hanging up a phone or with a terse email as cold as ice.
I am not a great judge of other people's feelings. I'm not that bad, but rate my skills at people-reading as merely average at best. I no longer trust my intuition about whether people are attracted to me. I am very suspicious of wishful thinking and the failure to detect deception.
Sometimes, when I was much younger and more attractive, of course, people feigned attraction to me for their own ends. A lesbian struggling with her orientation, pretending to be bisexual, was one example. I was useful to let her think she was being "good" as judged by the values of her Catholic parents, and useful besides as an attractive mate to flaunt around her girlfriends and make them jealous. I remember her friends, because she introduced me to so many of them, just brief meetings to ensure they got their eyes on me and would tell everyone they knew about her and me together.
People often feign attraction or interest because they enjoy the flattery of another person. They feel better about themselves for being loved by another, even if the love represents something that they could never reciprocate.
A lesbian is a lesbian in part because of sex, but mostly because they prefer to love a woman and not a man. There is the physical factor, but the emotional factor is more important. As for me, friendships with women have never endured for any period of time. I have never experienced a close friendship with a woman that lasted more than a month. Other than my mother and grandmother, there has never been a woman I would feel comfortable calling on the phone just to chat. I do not know why this is, but I think it is a strong indicator that a gay relationship is what's right for me. With women, everything just seems wrong. I have more difficulty reading women than I do reading men. By contrast, men are easy, whether straight or gay. I can predict what they are thinking with much greater accuracy. Perhaps that is why I prefer the company of men.
My father has a problem with reading people that has only grown more severe with age. He deludes himself into thinking that various women are secretly attracted to him. His imagination engages, and he composes elaborate theories that have no basis in reality. The consequences are humiliating and sometimes dangerous.
For my part, I intend to avoid such foolishness, but if an age arrives at which my mind is no longer capable of resisting the siren call of delusion, then I hope I will have enough wit and resolve to end my life with some semblance of order and decorum and salvage some dignity. One of the great tragedies of our civilization is that old people are expected to simply go on, long after their wits have left them, on and on until such time as natural death occurs. Death is not compassionate. Nor is Death prompt. Rather, Death toys with his victims like a cat, letting them suffer and inflict misery and confusion upon their loved ones and their communities.
As a general rule of thumb, I think that young people are attracted to young people, and old people are attracted to young people, and the main exception to this would be where an old person has enough money to make it worth one's while to feign blindness to physical appearance.
Recently, an older friend of mine has fallen in love with a fellow in his twenties. His heart is twisted in knots and his self-inflicted torture is painful to watch, in part because I've been there myself.
If one has to wonder whether another person is attracted to them, the correct answer is probably No. Certainly the safest answer is No.
One of the supreme humiliations is to woo and be rejected out of hand. It is painful to endure a powerful, all-consuming infatuation, as I indeed have, only to discover that all of one's feelings and all of one's plans are regarded by another as being without any value whatsoever. The offer of love, the offer of support, one's hand in marriage and one's whole life may be rejected simply by hanging up a phone or with a terse email as cold as ice.
I am not a great judge of other people's feelings. I'm not that bad, but rate my skills at people-reading as merely average at best. I no longer trust my intuition about whether people are attracted to me. I am very suspicious of wishful thinking and the failure to detect deception.
Sometimes, when I was much younger and more attractive, of course, people feigned attraction to me for their own ends. A lesbian struggling with her orientation, pretending to be bisexual, was one example. I was useful to let her think she was being "good" as judged by the values of her Catholic parents, and useful besides as an attractive mate to flaunt around her girlfriends and make them jealous. I remember her friends, because she introduced me to so many of them, just brief meetings to ensure they got their eyes on me and would tell everyone they knew about her and me together.
People often feign attraction or interest because they enjoy the flattery of another person. They feel better about themselves for being loved by another, even if the love represents something that they could never reciprocate.
A lesbian is a lesbian in part because of sex, but mostly because they prefer to love a woman and not a man. There is the physical factor, but the emotional factor is more important. As for me, friendships with women have never endured for any period of time. I have never experienced a close friendship with a woman that lasted more than a month. Other than my mother and grandmother, there has never been a woman I would feel comfortable calling on the phone just to chat. I do not know why this is, but I think it is a strong indicator that a gay relationship is what's right for me. With women, everything just seems wrong. I have more difficulty reading women than I do reading men. By contrast, men are easy, whether straight or gay. I can predict what they are thinking with much greater accuracy. Perhaps that is why I prefer the company of men.
My father has a problem with reading people that has only grown more severe with age. He deludes himself into thinking that various women are secretly attracted to him. His imagination engages, and he composes elaborate theories that have no basis in reality. The consequences are humiliating and sometimes dangerous.
For my part, I intend to avoid such foolishness, but if an age arrives at which my mind is no longer capable of resisting the siren call of delusion, then I hope I will have enough wit and resolve to end my life with some semblance of order and decorum and salvage some dignity. One of the great tragedies of our civilization is that old people are expected to simply go on, long after their wits have left them, on and on until such time as natural death occurs. Death is not compassionate. Nor is Death prompt. Rather, Death toys with his victims like a cat, letting them suffer and inflict misery and confusion upon their loved ones and their communities.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
When Foul Seems Fair, Beware
When evil-doers employ words and forms that match their souls, be thankful. It is a small mercy. They have not guile. They are weak.
When foul seems fair, like Sauron in exile among elves and men, assuming the guise of virtue, then there is danger, for that is a crafty foe.
When foul seems fair, like Sauron in exile among elves and men, assuming the guise of virtue, then there is danger, for that is a crafty foe.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Anger
Of the two chief negative emotions, anger and sadness, anger presents the most risk to heart health because of its intensity. Sadness is something that can fade after a nap, or if not, then it may be amenable to medication, such as chocolate. Anger tends to come on quickly and cause the release of adrenal hormones, with the elevation of heart rate and blood pressure.
Upon reflection, I do not think there are many things worth getting angry over. However, the fast pace of modern life, with its endless complexity and injustices great and small, leaves many people vulnerable to anger. Those who are angry tend to infect others with the same emotion, perpetuating a cycle of anger throughout society.
Society is divided into tribes that bicker and find fault with one another. Male vs. female is common, followed by old vs. young, straight vs. gay, white vs. black, religious vs. secular, or conservative vs. liberal. One must continually lower expectations, because beings that present a rational and high-minded front to the world may prove to be tribal animals, quick to judge others for the slightest pretence.
I recognize my own propensity to anger as being similar to that of my father's. I call this beast "Sgt. Silly," imagining a red-faced drill sergeant yelling at fresh recruits for some petty, insignificant infraction.
On the whole, anger has seldom been really useful, but more often been harmful. The harm is not always defined by actions or words but rather the insidious effects on internal organs, such as the heart, because anger acts like a potent toxin. Recovery from anger is slow, and the effects appear to be long-lasting.
Anger is best indulged by the rich and powerful, who can effect real change in the world when motivated by anger. I think that happens from time to time. Certainly those who donate millions of dollars to various causes, political or social or charitable, are not always motivated by mere greed. Sometimes they are angry, or concerned, or enthusiastic. Whatever their emotional motivation, they wish to change the world.
For the poor, anger is typically only harmful to the bearer, because with few exceptions, the poor can do little or nothing to change the world in a useful, meaningful way.
One of the reasons that I have used marijuana from time to time is to find liberation from anger and anxiety. Marijuana seems effective to that end. I am not sure it is possible to be angry while high. Marijuana bestows forgetfulness, a blessed decaying of the memories of past injustices, of which every life must have a record. Yet marijuana dulls the intellect, and for that reason, for the time being, I follow the path of abstinence, because I need all my wits about me, every iota of intelligence. I look forward to a time in the future when I can sit down again beside the old tree and watch the stars.
Upon reflection, I do not think there are many things worth getting angry over. However, the fast pace of modern life, with its endless complexity and injustices great and small, leaves many people vulnerable to anger. Those who are angry tend to infect others with the same emotion, perpetuating a cycle of anger throughout society.
Society is divided into tribes that bicker and find fault with one another. Male vs. female is common, followed by old vs. young, straight vs. gay, white vs. black, religious vs. secular, or conservative vs. liberal. One must continually lower expectations, because beings that present a rational and high-minded front to the world may prove to be tribal animals, quick to judge others for the slightest pretence.
I recognize my own propensity to anger as being similar to that of my father's. I call this beast "Sgt. Silly," imagining a red-faced drill sergeant yelling at fresh recruits for some petty, insignificant infraction.
On the whole, anger has seldom been really useful, but more often been harmful. The harm is not always defined by actions or words but rather the insidious effects on internal organs, such as the heart, because anger acts like a potent toxin. Recovery from anger is slow, and the effects appear to be long-lasting.
Anger is best indulged by the rich and powerful, who can effect real change in the world when motivated by anger. I think that happens from time to time. Certainly those who donate millions of dollars to various causes, political or social or charitable, are not always motivated by mere greed. Sometimes they are angry, or concerned, or enthusiastic. Whatever their emotional motivation, they wish to change the world.
For the poor, anger is typically only harmful to the bearer, because with few exceptions, the poor can do little or nothing to change the world in a useful, meaningful way.
One of the reasons that I have used marijuana from time to time is to find liberation from anger and anxiety. Marijuana seems effective to that end. I am not sure it is possible to be angry while high. Marijuana bestows forgetfulness, a blessed decaying of the memories of past injustices, of which every life must have a record. Yet marijuana dulls the intellect, and for that reason, for the time being, I follow the path of abstinence, because I need all my wits about me, every iota of intelligence. I look forward to a time in the future when I can sit down again beside the old tree and watch the stars.
Monday, February 17, 2014
God's Indifference
Some believe in religion. Who can say where the truth lies or whether the priest lies? If there are gods, I think that they are indifferent to our fate. Our suffering moves them not at all. In a human being, such cold-blooded ambivalence is deemed evil. God is given a pass, but what is God?
Riddle me this. Precisely to what do you pray and why? I have spoken with many believers, but never received a satisfactory answer to that question.
In the Bible, HE remains anonymous with no history and no background. HE displays neither visible form nor audible voice. HE could be anything at all--devil, charlatan, fiction, alien, or arch-villain, take your pick. Perhaps this is a strategic rather than accidental omission. HE adapts to his audience, shape-changing to appear just a little bit different to every believer. HE is the playdough of philosophy, adapting like a virus to the requirements of his individual hosts. This is why there are so many different sects and even within the sects, individuals believe different things. There is no agreement among believers.
I do not think any religions have got God right. They do not even know what they worship. They are placing all of their money on the table to buy a mystery gift box without knowing what is inside the box. I think it would be better to know what is inside the box first.
---
Common ground among believers and non-believers can be found on practical issues, such as morality. I do not think religion is necessary for morality, and it may even get in the way by inserting an unnecessary and fragile support structure.
---
I see many references in classified advertisements to so-and-so being a Christian, implying that therefore they will be honest and not cheat others, but I think that such a statement reveals spiritual immaturity and spiritual arrogance. There are countless cases of professed Christians doing evil. I think it is more likely a professed atheist would be honest and not cheat others, because more honesty is required to admit to a minority belief. I avoid those who insert a statement about their religion while advertising a product or service, because I think that they may have something to hide. They are playing upon the prejudices of gullible believers and seeking out those who are easy to cheat.
---
The most foolish among the non-believers, especially those who have recently lost their religion, assume that, since there may be no divine punishment or reward for behavior, they should do whatever they please. Perhaps the choice for good or evil is a matter of taste, but if so, evil is in poor taste and more likely to obtain poor results in the long run. There are examples in history of both believers and non-believers doing evil and doing good. I am not sure what the correlation is between belief system and moral behavior and probably no one really knows.
---
The greatest tragedy of modern religion is the low calibre of modern priests. The exodus of the intelligent over the centuries has forced churches to subsist with dim lights indeed. Of course the churches must change fundamentally not only their opinions upon social issues but their very doctrine in order to attract the intelligent in large numbers. Some perceive that, but many resist change, because change is a disturbing thing for many people who do not wish to think about the ramifications. Unfortunately, the world that we live in is extremely complicated, and there is a natural human desire for simplicity. I love to watch movies about magic, gods and goddesses. Such things appeal to me a great deal. I do think the world could be a better, more interesting place with gods and magic, although there is a possibility it could be worse.
I believe that the church must retreat to a proper sphere, that of morality alone, and leave questions of history, science and theology alone. Perhaps the Unitarians are closest to this ideal at present. Of course it is tempting to venture into other fields, writing opinions about things such as God and angels and passing them off as facts, but doing so places credibility at risk. Better it is to say, I am human, and I do not know of such matters, nor can I know. In regard to those religions that claim to know what they cannot, I am atheist. I do like to think about a goddess watching over me, because that would be nice, having a protector and all, but I doubt she would really bother. Surely she would have better things to do with her time, being a goddess. At any rate, lately I've noticed that when I am in need, she hits the snooze button and can't be reached on the telephone.
I do not think that many churches have mastered the basics of morality, because they are so tied up in knots over relatively simple questions of human sexuality. If they cannot understand issues having to do with mere genitalia, then it is difficult to see how they will ever cope with weightier issues, and indeed the church was missing in action over all the big issues of the twentieth century. Where were the priests when the Holocaust happened? They were busy chastising their flock about such matters as divorce, contraception and homosexuality, no doubt.
Riddle me this. Precisely to what do you pray and why? I have spoken with many believers, but never received a satisfactory answer to that question.
In the Bible, HE remains anonymous with no history and no background. HE displays neither visible form nor audible voice. HE could be anything at all--devil, charlatan, fiction, alien, or arch-villain, take your pick. Perhaps this is a strategic rather than accidental omission. HE adapts to his audience, shape-changing to appear just a little bit different to every believer. HE is the playdough of philosophy, adapting like a virus to the requirements of his individual hosts. This is why there are so many different sects and even within the sects, individuals believe different things. There is no agreement among believers.
I do not think any religions have got God right. They do not even know what they worship. They are placing all of their money on the table to buy a mystery gift box without knowing what is inside the box. I think it would be better to know what is inside the box first.
---
Common ground among believers and non-believers can be found on practical issues, such as morality. I do not think religion is necessary for morality, and it may even get in the way by inserting an unnecessary and fragile support structure.
---
I see many references in classified advertisements to so-and-so being a Christian, implying that therefore they will be honest and not cheat others, but I think that such a statement reveals spiritual immaturity and spiritual arrogance. There are countless cases of professed Christians doing evil. I think it is more likely a professed atheist would be honest and not cheat others, because more honesty is required to admit to a minority belief. I avoid those who insert a statement about their religion while advertising a product or service, because I think that they may have something to hide. They are playing upon the prejudices of gullible believers and seeking out those who are easy to cheat.
---
The most foolish among the non-believers, especially those who have recently lost their religion, assume that, since there may be no divine punishment or reward for behavior, they should do whatever they please. Perhaps the choice for good or evil is a matter of taste, but if so, evil is in poor taste and more likely to obtain poor results in the long run. There are examples in history of both believers and non-believers doing evil and doing good. I am not sure what the correlation is between belief system and moral behavior and probably no one really knows.
---
The greatest tragedy of modern religion is the low calibre of modern priests. The exodus of the intelligent over the centuries has forced churches to subsist with dim lights indeed. Of course the churches must change fundamentally not only their opinions upon social issues but their very doctrine in order to attract the intelligent in large numbers. Some perceive that, but many resist change, because change is a disturbing thing for many people who do not wish to think about the ramifications. Unfortunately, the world that we live in is extremely complicated, and there is a natural human desire for simplicity. I love to watch movies about magic, gods and goddesses. Such things appeal to me a great deal. I do think the world could be a better, more interesting place with gods and magic, although there is a possibility it could be worse.
I believe that the church must retreat to a proper sphere, that of morality alone, and leave questions of history, science and theology alone. Perhaps the Unitarians are closest to this ideal at present. Of course it is tempting to venture into other fields, writing opinions about things such as God and angels and passing them off as facts, but doing so places credibility at risk. Better it is to say, I am human, and I do not know of such matters, nor can I know. In regard to those religions that claim to know what they cannot, I am atheist. I do like to think about a goddess watching over me, because that would be nice, having a protector and all, but I doubt she would really bother. Surely she would have better things to do with her time, being a goddess. At any rate, lately I've noticed that when I am in need, she hits the snooze button and can't be reached on the telephone.
I do not think that many churches have mastered the basics of morality, because they are so tied up in knots over relatively simple questions of human sexuality. If they cannot understand issues having to do with mere genitalia, then it is difficult to see how they will ever cope with weightier issues, and indeed the church was missing in action over all the big issues of the twentieth century. Where were the priests when the Holocaust happened? They were busy chastising their flock about such matters as divorce, contraception and homosexuality, no doubt.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Snags
The world is not an even playing field. Every society has snags that ensnare the unwary or the unlucky. Some are very wary, but unlucky and get caught in a snag. The better society has fewer snags, and the worse society has more and deadlier snags.
For a human being, a snag might be a disability, quirk, minority status, or physical or psychological limitation. Humans are extremely complicated machines. Life is a roll of the dice. Some souls inhabit bodies that thrive in the environment they find themselves in. Some souls may have splendid bodies, yet exist in an unfavorable environment. Some are unlucky enough to inhabit both a poor body and environment. It is a mistake to look down upon the unsuccessful and the unlucky. They are not "bad." Placed in a different environment, such an individual may thrive. They are unlucky. Luck is fickle, however, and those that are on top today may fall from grace tomorrow, because life is ever-changing, and life soon gives way to death, so that all who are high today will be low tomorrow.
It is always a mistake to jump to conclusions. First impressions are helpful, but one should never cease listening and watching and absorbing new data as it comes to light, because first impressions are often inaccurate. The whole story is not told. First impressions provide merely the title of the book and the cover picture. How much information does that transmit? Not very much. I would not expect to know much about Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" by looking at the cover. And yet some people persist in leaping to conclusions about others based upon their first impression, which they neglect to modify.
For a human being, a snag might be a disability, quirk, minority status, or physical or psychological limitation. Humans are extremely complicated machines. Life is a roll of the dice. Some souls inhabit bodies that thrive in the environment they find themselves in. Some souls may have splendid bodies, yet exist in an unfavorable environment. Some are unlucky enough to inhabit both a poor body and environment. It is a mistake to look down upon the unsuccessful and the unlucky. They are not "bad." Placed in a different environment, such an individual may thrive. They are unlucky. Luck is fickle, however, and those that are on top today may fall from grace tomorrow, because life is ever-changing, and life soon gives way to death, so that all who are high today will be low tomorrow.
It is always a mistake to jump to conclusions. First impressions are helpful, but one should never cease listening and watching and absorbing new data as it comes to light, because first impressions are often inaccurate. The whole story is not told. First impressions provide merely the title of the book and the cover picture. How much information does that transmit? Not very much. I would not expect to know much about Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" by looking at the cover. And yet some people persist in leaping to conclusions about others based upon their first impression, which they neglect to modify.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Good and Evil
My local newspaper is depressing. Crime is the main thread throughout the paper. It is because there are no investigative journalists anymore. The paper takes free news from the local police department. I suppose that saves money on the salary for a real journalist.
This week, I read about men shooting one another and / or themselves either in my own town or the nation.
A fool and his money are soon parted, but a fool with a gun is soon departed.
I think there are too many guns, too many gun nuts and too many angry young men in the world who don't know why they're angry and don't know who they should be angry at.
I think it's a pity guns don't require the solving of a random quadratic equation in order to be operated. Guns and other weapons are far too simple and far too powerful. They cheapen life.
The greatest problem of our species is advanced technology coupled with low morality and a small understanding. This is why the U.S. does not want Iran to have nuclear weapons, because Iran has low morality and a small understanding. That North Korea has nuclear weapons is bad enough.
I also read a disturbing story about some unknown evil-doer living in a nice, middle-class suburb who is poisoning his neighbor's beloved cats and dogs. I would imagine the poisoner is either a young man, because young men often do evil in their ignorance, or else an angry older man that is enraged because cats and dogs stray onto his property or he hears dogs barking and wants silence.
I would like to be a policeman just to investigate such a crime and identify and arrest the culprit. I think I would be good at that. Unfortunately, policemen often spend their time on trivial matters. Crimes against animals are not perceived in their proper light as practice for crimes against humans. The perpetrator is evil and has chosen an easy target for his very first practice-murders, because house pets are ignorant of the evil of humans, yet I believe that an investigator could find him by studying the residents of the neighborhood and talking to the people who live nearby.
The case reminds me of a knock on the door I received years ago. I opened the door to find a scowling elderly neighbor holding a dead cat in his arms. He told me that he had found my cat in his yard. He told me I shouldn't have let my cat wander onto his yard. "Look, see? Now it's dead." I replied that it was not my cat. He insisted that it was, but he was a deranged old man. I reiterated what I had said before, but his stubbornness persisted until finally I ordered him to leave my property and take the carcass with him. He was used to orders, being ex-military, and I think that was just what he needed. It was the only interaction that he and I ever had in all the years I lived at my home. He died several months later of natural causes, and I can only assume that his mental state had declined along with his physical. Upon reflection, I have wondered whether the old man had killed the cat himself. There are a lot of angry and sad old men in the world living alone who have driven their friends and relatives away with their bad manners. After he died, his children inherited and moved into his home. I had never known he had so much family. They had not been interested in visiting when he was alive, which is no great mystery. People do create their own worlds, driving others away or attracting them, as the case may be.
To harm human beings or their beloved pets, their cats and dogs, is a wicked blasphemy. It changes destiny. The changer cannot possibly know how many thousands of alterations will be wrought far into the future. In his ignorance, he may not even care.
A humble soul respects the complexity of this great chess game between Darkness and Light. One does not shake the board and remove random pieces, because there are ramifications that cannot possibly be fully understood, complications that cannot possibly be calculated to their conclusion by a human being. How much better it is to pass through this life in quiet reflection while leaving this world unchanged!
Some believe that having a mighty name and many possessions is the most important thing, but such matters are temporary. Even the humblest of the poor has a better lot than the mightiest of the dead.
Perhaps there is no divine punishment for dark deeds. Evil-doers operate with seeming impunity in savage times and places. They scorn what is good and boast about their evil deeds. Perhaps the choice between good and evil is merely one of taste, with the more refined preferring good and the primitive preferring evil.
Divine judge or no, consequences may still be observed by those who watch and listen. Those who prefer wickedness find themselves among the wicked, for the righteous will not suffer the company of the wicked. To dwell among the wicked is hell. Those who prefer righteousness will dwell among the righteous, and that is heaven.
I think that an evil-doer must suffer in the memory of wrongs committed in the past. Contrariwise, to know that one has done well and given happiness to others is a reward in itself. If I die tomorrow--and there is no guarantee that any of us will not--then I will pass from existence without regrets on the spiritual level. There will be others. We are not the last generation. There are many chapters still. The world is mysterious and complex, regenerating and always changing, and the simple math of subtraction and addition isn't all that existence is about.
This week, I read about men shooting one another and / or themselves either in my own town or the nation.
A fool and his money are soon parted, but a fool with a gun is soon departed.
I think there are too many guns, too many gun nuts and too many angry young men in the world who don't know why they're angry and don't know who they should be angry at.
I think it's a pity guns don't require the solving of a random quadratic equation in order to be operated. Guns and other weapons are far too simple and far too powerful. They cheapen life.
The greatest problem of our species is advanced technology coupled with low morality and a small understanding. This is why the U.S. does not want Iran to have nuclear weapons, because Iran has low morality and a small understanding. That North Korea has nuclear weapons is bad enough.
I also read a disturbing story about some unknown evil-doer living in a nice, middle-class suburb who is poisoning his neighbor's beloved cats and dogs. I would imagine the poisoner is either a young man, because young men often do evil in their ignorance, or else an angry older man that is enraged because cats and dogs stray onto his property or he hears dogs barking and wants silence.
I would like to be a policeman just to investigate such a crime and identify and arrest the culprit. I think I would be good at that. Unfortunately, policemen often spend their time on trivial matters. Crimes against animals are not perceived in their proper light as practice for crimes against humans. The perpetrator is evil and has chosen an easy target for his very first practice-murders, because house pets are ignorant of the evil of humans, yet I believe that an investigator could find him by studying the residents of the neighborhood and talking to the people who live nearby.
The case reminds me of a knock on the door I received years ago. I opened the door to find a scowling elderly neighbor holding a dead cat in his arms. He told me that he had found my cat in his yard. He told me I shouldn't have let my cat wander onto his yard. "Look, see? Now it's dead." I replied that it was not my cat. He insisted that it was, but he was a deranged old man. I reiterated what I had said before, but his stubbornness persisted until finally I ordered him to leave my property and take the carcass with him. He was used to orders, being ex-military, and I think that was just what he needed. It was the only interaction that he and I ever had in all the years I lived at my home. He died several months later of natural causes, and I can only assume that his mental state had declined along with his physical. Upon reflection, I have wondered whether the old man had killed the cat himself. There are a lot of angry and sad old men in the world living alone who have driven their friends and relatives away with their bad manners. After he died, his children inherited and moved into his home. I had never known he had so much family. They had not been interested in visiting when he was alive, which is no great mystery. People do create their own worlds, driving others away or attracting them, as the case may be.
To harm human beings or their beloved pets, their cats and dogs, is a wicked blasphemy. It changes destiny. The changer cannot possibly know how many thousands of alterations will be wrought far into the future. In his ignorance, he may not even care.
A humble soul respects the complexity of this great chess game between Darkness and Light. One does not shake the board and remove random pieces, because there are ramifications that cannot possibly be fully understood, complications that cannot possibly be calculated to their conclusion by a human being. How much better it is to pass through this life in quiet reflection while leaving this world unchanged!
Some believe that having a mighty name and many possessions is the most important thing, but such matters are temporary. Even the humblest of the poor has a better lot than the mightiest of the dead.
Perhaps there is no divine punishment for dark deeds. Evil-doers operate with seeming impunity in savage times and places. They scorn what is good and boast about their evil deeds. Perhaps the choice between good and evil is merely one of taste, with the more refined preferring good and the primitive preferring evil.
Divine judge or no, consequences may still be observed by those who watch and listen. Those who prefer wickedness find themselves among the wicked, for the righteous will not suffer the company of the wicked. To dwell among the wicked is hell. Those who prefer righteousness will dwell among the righteous, and that is heaven.
I think that an evil-doer must suffer in the memory of wrongs committed in the past. Contrariwise, to know that one has done well and given happiness to others is a reward in itself. If I die tomorrow--and there is no guarantee that any of us will not--then I will pass from existence without regrets on the spiritual level. There will be others. We are not the last generation. There are many chapters still. The world is mysterious and complex, regenerating and always changing, and the simple math of subtraction and addition isn't all that existence is about.
Friday, January 17, 2014
The Death Penalty
Those who favor the death penalty must contend with cases like Paco's in the Philippines. In the U.S., our government also behaves in an irrational manner sometimes. Mistakes are made. All governments are capable of error and their error rate is high.
Anyone who has worked to create and maintain extremely complicated systems understands the ways in which unexpected and exceptional cases, or errors, can arise. I know that errors almost certainly arise. The more complexity, the more possibility of error. Legal systems are extremely complicated. That is why expensive, highly trained lawyers are required. If a legal system is isolated from all political and social pressure, then it may crafted in such a way as to become resistant to error, but such a legal system has never existed in the history of mankind. Only a naive person would assume the legal system to be free of error. Such a person would not make a good engineer.
Death is a permanent decision that cannot be corrected, yet the possibility of error remains high. Human beings have not created a legal system that is free of error.
When there is a possibility of error, a good engineer will introduce an error-correcting mechanism. Only an incompetent and sloppy engineer would let the error wreak havoc. In the case of a legal system, an error might result in the maximum punishment assigned to an innocent person. A competent engineer will prefer a maximum punishment amenable to correction. We must be vigilant against mistakes. Mistakes can arise from corruption, simple incompetence, and other unexpected causes. It is not possible to foresee all the reasons for every error.
Life imprisonment can be partially corrected by early release. Death cannot be corrected. Indeed, the chief advantage of the death penalty accrues to the psychopathic criminals who have wormed their way into the system and misuse the law to their own ends. There are likely to be Trojan horses of one form or another in every government--in law enforcement agencies and in the judicial system. These systems are all vulnerable to Trojan horses in proportion to their size and complexity and are ill-protected from them.
Therefore I conclude the death penalty is wrong until such time that governments reduce their error rate to 0%. The death penalty may not be the greatest evil in a society. The greatest evil may be the waging of needless war or the corruption that influences our leaders to divert public funds to their rich cronies. Yet it is evil and reflects sloppy and careless design.
Anyone who has worked to create and maintain extremely complicated systems understands the ways in which unexpected and exceptional cases, or errors, can arise. I know that errors almost certainly arise. The more complexity, the more possibility of error. Legal systems are extremely complicated. That is why expensive, highly trained lawyers are required. If a legal system is isolated from all political and social pressure, then it may crafted in such a way as to become resistant to error, but such a legal system has never existed in the history of mankind. Only a naive person would assume the legal system to be free of error. Such a person would not make a good engineer.
Death is a permanent decision that cannot be corrected, yet the possibility of error remains high. Human beings have not created a legal system that is free of error.
When there is a possibility of error, a good engineer will introduce an error-correcting mechanism. Only an incompetent and sloppy engineer would let the error wreak havoc. In the case of a legal system, an error might result in the maximum punishment assigned to an innocent person. A competent engineer will prefer a maximum punishment amenable to correction. We must be vigilant against mistakes. Mistakes can arise from corruption, simple incompetence, and other unexpected causes. It is not possible to foresee all the reasons for every error.
Life imprisonment can be partially corrected by early release. Death cannot be corrected. Indeed, the chief advantage of the death penalty accrues to the psychopathic criminals who have wormed their way into the system and misuse the law to their own ends. There are likely to be Trojan horses of one form or another in every government--in law enforcement agencies and in the judicial system. These systems are all vulnerable to Trojan horses in proportion to their size and complexity and are ill-protected from them.
Therefore I conclude the death penalty is wrong until such time that governments reduce their error rate to 0%. The death penalty may not be the greatest evil in a society. The greatest evil may be the waging of needless war or the corruption that influences our leaders to divert public funds to their rich cronies. Yet it is evil and reflects sloppy and careless design.
Monday, December 30, 2013
The Case of the Pregnant Nurse
I found the story of a pregnant nurse fired over a flu shot interesting. Her employer grants exceptions in the case of religious objections. Had the nurse joined the Church of the Narrow Mind, she could have declined the flu shot and remained employed. "Special rights" are accorded to cultists only, the privileged ones that know better than the rest of us.
I remember back in the day, when one suggested that gay people should not be fired merely for being gay, the cultists charged that this was "special rights for gays". That old jug did not hold water, because equal rights are not "special" rights. However, "special rights" are indeed accorded to cultists in America, where religion and religion alone is afforded special privileges and considerations. On the other hand, philosophy and conscience receive little protection. This is a strange state of affairs with many far-reaching implications.
Is not religion the derivative of conscience? I would hope so. If religion is instead the cause, rather than the effect of conscience, then that creates a vulnerability in conscience. Conscience should have no dependencies. Losing one's religion could result in losing one's conscience. I lost my moral framework when I lost my religion at the age of fourteen. I knew very little about philosophy at that age and was not in the slightest way philosophical.
Church taught the history of certain religious figures, flavored by the Church's bias. That was not useful to me for inculcating morality. I learned the history of every book in the Bible. In many cases, the lessons were taught multiple times. Such knowledge was interesting, as I tend to find all knowledge interesting, and rather colorful actually, but not useful. I have forgotten much over the decades since. However, I love history and love imagining people of old, so I eagerly devoured the books of the Bible. No one could maintain against all argument that the books of the Bible were written without bias and even vindictiveness in some instances, but I do find the Bible interesting. I do not imbue the stories with the gravity that some do. They are stories. Some I like more than others.
I believe that if a comparison must be made, then conscience and philosophy are more important than religion. Religion is someone else's thoughts taken second-hand, is it not? If not, then one's belief isn't religion at all, but heresy or even shamanism.
Returning to the case of the pregnant nurse, I am not for firing workers over trivial things. I believe the nurse's employer should allow her to take an unpaid leave of absence until she gives birth. That seems like a fair resolution of the matter to me. As I understand the issue, she is willing to take the flu shot after, but not during her pregnancy. A decent and caring employer should show willingness to make a minor accommodation for a pregnant woman's conscience.
I remember back in the day, when one suggested that gay people should not be fired merely for being gay, the cultists charged that this was "special rights for gays". That old jug did not hold water, because equal rights are not "special" rights. However, "special rights" are indeed accorded to cultists in America, where religion and religion alone is afforded special privileges and considerations. On the other hand, philosophy and conscience receive little protection. This is a strange state of affairs with many far-reaching implications.
Is not religion the derivative of conscience? I would hope so. If religion is instead the cause, rather than the effect of conscience, then that creates a vulnerability in conscience. Conscience should have no dependencies. Losing one's religion could result in losing one's conscience. I lost my moral framework when I lost my religion at the age of fourteen. I knew very little about philosophy at that age and was not in the slightest way philosophical.
Church taught the history of certain religious figures, flavored by the Church's bias. That was not useful to me for inculcating morality. I learned the history of every book in the Bible. In many cases, the lessons were taught multiple times. Such knowledge was interesting, as I tend to find all knowledge interesting, and rather colorful actually, but not useful. I have forgotten much over the decades since. However, I love history and love imagining people of old, so I eagerly devoured the books of the Bible. No one could maintain against all argument that the books of the Bible were written without bias and even vindictiveness in some instances, but I do find the Bible interesting. I do not imbue the stories with the gravity that some do. They are stories. Some I like more than others.
I believe that if a comparison must be made, then conscience and philosophy are more important than religion. Religion is someone else's thoughts taken second-hand, is it not? If not, then one's belief isn't religion at all, but heresy or even shamanism.
Returning to the case of the pregnant nurse, I am not for firing workers over trivial things. I believe the nurse's employer should allow her to take an unpaid leave of absence until she gives birth. That seems like a fair resolution of the matter to me. As I understand the issue, she is willing to take the flu shot after, but not during her pregnancy. A decent and caring employer should show willingness to make a minor accommodation for a pregnant woman's conscience.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
A Litmus Test for Kindness
I think that much is revealed by a person's treatment of animals. Good, kind people treat the weaker species with understanding, patience, and gentleness. Such people must be good and kind, because the power differential between the animals and ourselves is vast. We are like gods to our pets. We have god-like abilities. How could a cat understand the way by which we control light, sound, temperature, and even the availability of food and water with seemingly little or no effort? Other humans can defend themselves, or are otherwise protected by our community. Animals are largely defenseless, with only a thin degree of protection by the law and custom. For reason of their defenselessness, it is particularly wicked to mistreat animals. I believe that if someone is mean to an animal, then they are capable of worse deeds towards human beings.
Both of my cats like me and seek out my company. They do not hide when I am around. I feel like they consider me to be their friend. I feel like they both understand my ways. I can communicate easily with them about simple things. They do not understand English, but understand the basic parameters of reading my body language. When I tell them something, if it is simple and can be easily guessed, then more times than not, they guess the correct meaning. I respect their intelligence, such as it is. I feel flattered and privileged to have their friendship.
Both of my cats like me and seek out my company. They do not hide when I am around. I feel like they consider me to be their friend. I feel like they both understand my ways. I can communicate easily with them about simple things. They do not understand English, but understand the basic parameters of reading my body language. When I tell them something, if it is simple and can be easily guessed, then more times than not, they guess the correct meaning. I respect their intelligence, such as it is. I feel flattered and privileged to have their friendship.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Depression
A depressed mind scapegoats issues as the cause of depression. Our minds are perpetual problem-solvers and trouble-shooters, and so we always try to look for a reason. It is only natural to look for the cause of a problem and try to resolve it. But if the cause is in reality biochemical, then it is invisible and cannot be perceived by the mind. Thus we run the risk of mistaking visible things for being the cause of depression, when in reality, they are just things.
One key to alleviating depression, anger, shame, and other negative emotions, I think, is to accept that things do not matter. I suppose nothing matters ultimately. Things do not matter in the sense that they are not worth feeling unhappy about for any extended period of time.
I think high-achievers have difficulty finding happiness. They feel upset when things are not going their way, because they are used to ensuring that things go their way. They are used to working hard and experiencing success. Once one has tasted the sweet flavor of success, it is difficult to get used to the bitter dregs of failure.
Although some people are excellent problem-solvers, unfortunately, as one gets older, one encounters problems that are intractable and have no resolution. Such problems might as well be accepted as the normal state of being. Acceptance is freedom, freedom from care and worry. There is no sense in fighting a battle that has already been lost. One lives and tries to make the most of each situation. Happiness sometimes requires reducing expectations and accepting imperfection and impermanence. Happiness is about being satisfied with a "C" and not expecting an "A". Sometimes the "grading policy" is such that an "A" cannot be achieved. It is impossible to make an "A". Instead, a "C" is the best one can do. In such a scenario, one might as well be happy with the "C".
The reality is we are dust. From star-dust we derived and to dust we return. There is only so much an ordinary human being can do. We are feeble, limited, temporary creatures, dead and gone and forgotten. Impermanence seems self-evident yet is not often emphasized.
Many people believe that the individual consciousness is so important that the soul survives death and persists somehow. They do not know how, and so they employ abstract words to describe the process by which the soul lingers on after the body dies. Even the concept of the soul itself is rather abstract.
Socrates believed in the immortality of the soul, although he never defined the soul in an adequate manner for my satisfaction. His definition of the soul resembles DNA to me. He did not know about DNA or many other things to do with science, but I think he can be forgiven that. He found a belief in the afterlife to be a comforting thought, given that he was condemned to die. None of his arguments persuade me.
I think we are just aspects of the whole, and our individual consciousness is unimportant and will be unpreserved. Such a belief does not make me fear death any more than anyone else. I think the belief in immortality is a symptom of vanity. Humans are vain creatures. To my mind, we have no more right to a soul than a cat. What is special about a human, except that we have more agile brains?
One key to alleviating depression, anger, shame, and other negative emotions, I think, is to accept that things do not matter. I suppose nothing matters ultimately. Things do not matter in the sense that they are not worth feeling unhappy about for any extended period of time.
I think high-achievers have difficulty finding happiness. They feel upset when things are not going their way, because they are used to ensuring that things go their way. They are used to working hard and experiencing success. Once one has tasted the sweet flavor of success, it is difficult to get used to the bitter dregs of failure.
Although some people are excellent problem-solvers, unfortunately, as one gets older, one encounters problems that are intractable and have no resolution. Such problems might as well be accepted as the normal state of being. Acceptance is freedom, freedom from care and worry. There is no sense in fighting a battle that has already been lost. One lives and tries to make the most of each situation. Happiness sometimes requires reducing expectations and accepting imperfection and impermanence. Happiness is about being satisfied with a "C" and not expecting an "A". Sometimes the "grading policy" is such that an "A" cannot be achieved. It is impossible to make an "A". Instead, a "C" is the best one can do. In such a scenario, one might as well be happy with the "C".
The reality is we are dust. From star-dust we derived and to dust we return. There is only so much an ordinary human being can do. We are feeble, limited, temporary creatures, dead and gone and forgotten. Impermanence seems self-evident yet is not often emphasized.
Many people believe that the individual consciousness is so important that the soul survives death and persists somehow. They do not know how, and so they employ abstract words to describe the process by which the soul lingers on after the body dies. Even the concept of the soul itself is rather abstract.
Socrates believed in the immortality of the soul, although he never defined the soul in an adequate manner for my satisfaction. His definition of the soul resembles DNA to me. He did not know about DNA or many other things to do with science, but I think he can be forgiven that. He found a belief in the afterlife to be a comforting thought, given that he was condemned to die. None of his arguments persuade me.
I think we are just aspects of the whole, and our individual consciousness is unimportant and will be unpreserved. Such a belief does not make me fear death any more than anyone else. I think the belief in immortality is a symptom of vanity. Humans are vain creatures. To my mind, we have no more right to a soul than a cat. What is special about a human, except that we have more agile brains?
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Socrates Talked a Lot of Nonsense
I have trouble following Socrates. He talked a lot of nonsense. Not many of his arguments have the power to persuade. I am annoyed none of his followers ever spent the least effort at a refutation to any of his wild, rambling arguments. Nevertheless I like his story. The drama appeals to me--friends gathering about a condemned man to hear his last outpourings of what they perceive as wisdom. I think he was an ancestor to the modern mind. There would be many changes to his model in the course of history. I also have a certain regard for the intellectual integrity of Socrates. I think if Socrates knew then what we know now, his arguments would undergo vast revisions as he assimilated the knowledge and corrected his many errors.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Thanks for the Belly-Laugh
On November 30th, 2013, someone wrote a message on Usenet to express their opinion on cheating in Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.
The world has no lack of nerd-tyrants revealing how things would be ordered under their regime. I may be a bit of a nerd myself, but I flatter myself on being more democratic. I don't care so much how others order their affairs, as long as their behavior doesn't harm others. The idea of someone cheating on a game in the privacy of their own home does not send me into a lather nor cause frothing at the mouth.
Over on Craigslist, I posted a message in support of my favorite computer program, and people promptly wrote in to speculate on my sex life. They assessed my mental capacity as being subnormal, and then said that actually I must be a spammer, because the definition of "spammer" apparently has been expanded to include anyone that disagrees with one's viewpoint.
I stay away from online arenas that have such examples of incivility. They can be amusing, it is true, but the problem is that sometimes I am not in the mood to laugh. Sometimes I find myself tempted to respond in like manner, which is a regression to a more primitive state of mind, a juvenile state. I prefer to surround myself with examples of behavior I would like to emulate, rather than behavior I should never want to emulate. I find that I learn from example and that I profit from observing good examples. I like being around good people.
I think it would be dangerous to be a police officer. The danger from physical violence perhaps is not quite as great as the danger from spiritual violence. That is to say, having to deal with evil-doers for a long time offers many temptations and many bad examples, so that a person would require extraordinary resilience to avoid regressing, to avoid turning from good to evil.
"This is pathetic. If you're going to save scum, don't play."It is amusing to imagine how the world would be ordered if a nerd-tyrant seized control of all living beings. I suppose I would be denied forever the privilege of playing Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup the very moment I attempted to run a script file that preserved my save files from deletion by the game. My punishment would be life without Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. Somehow I'd manage. I suppose I'd play chess more often or perhaps Wesnoth or Lexulous.
The world has no lack of nerd-tyrants revealing how things would be ordered under their regime. I may be a bit of a nerd myself, but I flatter myself on being more democratic. I don't care so much how others order their affairs, as long as their behavior doesn't harm others. The idea of someone cheating on a game in the privacy of their own home does not send me into a lather nor cause frothing at the mouth.
Over on Craigslist, I posted a message in support of my favorite computer program, and people promptly wrote in to speculate on my sex life. They assessed my mental capacity as being subnormal, and then said that actually I must be a spammer, because the definition of "spammer" apparently has been expanded to include anyone that disagrees with one's viewpoint.
I stay away from online arenas that have such examples of incivility. They can be amusing, it is true, but the problem is that sometimes I am not in the mood to laugh. Sometimes I find myself tempted to respond in like manner, which is a regression to a more primitive state of mind, a juvenile state. I prefer to surround myself with examples of behavior I would like to emulate, rather than behavior I should never want to emulate. I find that I learn from example and that I profit from observing good examples. I like being around good people.
I think it would be dangerous to be a police officer. The danger from physical violence perhaps is not quite as great as the danger from spiritual violence. That is to say, having to deal with evil-doers for a long time offers many temptations and many bad examples, so that a person would require extraordinary resilience to avoid regressing, to avoid turning from good to evil.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Does the U.N. stand for "Uninformed Nincompoops"?
'The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) warned that [Uruguay's legalization of marijuana]
would endanger young people and 'contribute to the earlier onset of
addiction'."
That U.N. body does not understand the meaning of the word "addiction". Perhaps they should learn the meaning of words before using them. But that would be out of character. Since when do human beings learn the proper ways of using something before abusing it? The club, fire, the crossbow, and the gun are all examples of technologies that humans have developed and then misused for evil ends. Language is a form of technology, and the same things are done with all technologies. The motive is power over others and the incessant desire to control what others think and do.
I wonder how many in the U.N. are "addicted" to drinking tea? What if the governments of the world decide, based upon nothing, that tea is bad? Perhaps the tea-drinkers need to be placed in prison in order to learn not to drink tea. This is the same rationale that has been used to persecute cannabis consumers around the world. Prohibition of cannabis has no rhyme or reason.
INCB seems excessively concerned over a substance less harmful than alcohol, aspirin or coffee. Information about cannabis is widely available, and cannabis has been researched for longer than most pharmaceutical drugs in use today. The only possible conclusions to draw from the INCB's statement is that they are either lying for some hidden purpose or else ignorant. I doubt very much they are ignorant. I wonder, therefore, why they are lying? Do they expect people to believe their lies, and if so, who are these people, and why do they not educate themselves regarding the facts?
Uruguay's new law shows enlightenment and intelligence. It is the rest of the world that is barbaric and ignorant. The world is enthralled with the use of force. People will never be addicted to marijuana. There is nothing to worry about there. The very idea of addiction to marijuana is ludicrous. People will become addicted to violence. This is the real addiction. It is the tool of those who seek power over others.
That U.N. body does not understand the meaning of the word "addiction". Perhaps they should learn the meaning of words before using them. But that would be out of character. Since when do human beings learn the proper ways of using something before abusing it? The club, fire, the crossbow, and the gun are all examples of technologies that humans have developed and then misused for evil ends. Language is a form of technology, and the same things are done with all technologies. The motive is power over others and the incessant desire to control what others think and do.
I wonder how many in the U.N. are "addicted" to drinking tea? What if the governments of the world decide, based upon nothing, that tea is bad? Perhaps the tea-drinkers need to be placed in prison in order to learn not to drink tea. This is the same rationale that has been used to persecute cannabis consumers around the world. Prohibition of cannabis has no rhyme or reason.
INCB seems excessively concerned over a substance less harmful than alcohol, aspirin or coffee. Information about cannabis is widely available, and cannabis has been researched for longer than most pharmaceutical drugs in use today. The only possible conclusions to draw from the INCB's statement is that they are either lying for some hidden purpose or else ignorant. I doubt very much they are ignorant. I wonder, therefore, why they are lying? Do they expect people to believe their lies, and if so, who are these people, and why do they not educate themselves regarding the facts?
Uruguay's new law shows enlightenment and intelligence. It is the rest of the world that is barbaric and ignorant. The world is enthralled with the use of force. People will never be addicted to marijuana. There is nothing to worry about there. The very idea of addiction to marijuana is ludicrous. People will become addicted to violence. This is the real addiction. It is the tool of those who seek power over others.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
The Exceptional Soul
Given the choice between recanting and death, Socrates chose death. Even after Socrates was condemned to die, many days later, his wealthy friends offered him the option of fleeing and being supported for the rest of his life in a foreign city. They begged him to do so with tears streaming from their eyes. He rejected their offer and chose death because he believed it was the right thing to do.
Socrates believed in righteousness.
It seems that others, given a similar option, take the opposite tact. Clinging even to the last few days that might remain in the feeble human form, such a soul abases itself, kneeling and grasping the tyrant's foot, begging for mercy and forgiveness, recanting all that was once held to be true and good.
Men in the style of Socrates are rare, while the other sort are common, yet it is Socrates we remember. Socrates was the exceptional soul.
Socrates believed in righteousness.
It seems that others, given a similar option, take the opposite tact. Clinging even to the last few days that might remain in the feeble human form, such a soul abases itself, kneeling and grasping the tyrant's foot, begging for mercy and forgiveness, recanting all that was once held to be true and good.
Men in the style of Socrates are rare, while the other sort are common, yet it is Socrates we remember. Socrates was the exceptional soul.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Good Politicians
A good politician is one that can see when something isn't working and knocks it off. There are some good politicians. It's a mistake to paint them all with one brush.
Intellectual honesty is refreshing. One of my favorite quotes from the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see through a glass, darkly..." It is difficult to find the right path at every juncture. Sometimes one chooses the wrong path. I like someone who can look at a situation and not only realize they were mistaken, but admit it and change their position to reflect their new understanding. This is called "wishy-washiness" by the ignorant. There is no value in remaining on a sinking ship. In our time, we have seen a number of politicians come around on at least two issues, marijuana and gay marriage. That represents progress, albeit a slow pace of progress, when one considers how much time and effort for reform has been invested and for how many decades. In both cases, the laws, going back many generations into the past, have been absolutely bananas and haywire. They have not been working in the optimal manner. They were not based either upon reason or upon compassion. They were based upon prejudice and outdated and disproved notions. The laws were wrong and served evil, rather than good. In some states of the U.S., the politicians still cling to the old, wrong ways.
The reason people want laws and obey laws without even being monitored or forced to do so is that they believe law to be a good thing. When contradictions are observed, then respect for the law sensibly decreases. That is why it is important to correct inequities in the law. Even a minor inequity is cause for concern. But when the law reaches deep into people's personal lives, then an urgency is assigned to the problem.
Laws must be crafted with great care. Laws can do great harm that is often unforeseen and unintended. Sometimes the harm is not appreciated until many years in the future when new information has come to light or the situation has changed. Change is the one constant. Everything changes. People, places, nations, culture, society, and even religion and our understanding of existence itself. There is no point in resisting change. To resist change is impossible, because our bodies are changing on their way to the grave. Instead, one flows with change, taking the good along with the bad.
Intellectual honesty is refreshing. One of my favorite quotes from the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see through a glass, darkly..." It is difficult to find the right path at every juncture. Sometimes one chooses the wrong path. I like someone who can look at a situation and not only realize they were mistaken, but admit it and change their position to reflect their new understanding. This is called "wishy-washiness" by the ignorant. There is no value in remaining on a sinking ship. In our time, we have seen a number of politicians come around on at least two issues, marijuana and gay marriage. That represents progress, albeit a slow pace of progress, when one considers how much time and effort for reform has been invested and for how many decades. In both cases, the laws, going back many generations into the past, have been absolutely bananas and haywire. They have not been working in the optimal manner. They were not based either upon reason or upon compassion. They were based upon prejudice and outdated and disproved notions. The laws were wrong and served evil, rather than good. In some states of the U.S., the politicians still cling to the old, wrong ways.
The reason people want laws and obey laws without even being monitored or forced to do so is that they believe law to be a good thing. When contradictions are observed, then respect for the law sensibly decreases. That is why it is important to correct inequities in the law. Even a minor inequity is cause for concern. But when the law reaches deep into people's personal lives, then an urgency is assigned to the problem.
Laws must be crafted with great care. Laws can do great harm that is often unforeseen and unintended. Sometimes the harm is not appreciated until many years in the future when new information has come to light or the situation has changed. Change is the one constant. Everything changes. People, places, nations, culture, society, and even religion and our understanding of existence itself. There is no point in resisting change. To resist change is impossible, because our bodies are changing on their way to the grave. Instead, one flows with change, taking the good along with the bad.
Monday, December 2, 2013
The Futility of Lies
Truth is the best guide and the surest path to wisdom. Believing in things that are not so is a step into madness and error. If truth is on one's side, then one has already won. There is no contest. There is no need to prove anything to anyone. The other side has already lost. Truth prevails. Some think that there is a contest. They place their trust in contests. They are impressed by power.
If everyone who perceives the truth is condemned, and only those who believe in the lie are left, then the truth is still true, and the lie is still a lie. It is not possible to make something that is true, not true. If two multiplied by three is six, then the answer of six prevails, now, in the past, and for all time, no matter what anyone says or does about it. That is the charm of the truth. Truth is immune to interference from human beings. It cannot be destroyed or diminished. It is immutable and permanent in a world of impermanence and death.
If everyone who perceives the truth is condemned, and only those who believe in the lie are left, then the truth is still true, and the lie is still a lie. It is not possible to make something that is true, not true. If two multiplied by three is six, then the answer of six prevails, now, in the past, and for all time, no matter what anyone says or does about it. That is the charm of the truth. Truth is immune to interference from human beings. It cannot be destroyed or diminished. It is immutable and permanent in a world of impermanence and death.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Madness
Mental illness is the worst. Someone dear to my heart remains in this world, living, breathing, and talking, but they are not there, they are only a simulacrum. As was said of such people in times past, they are possessed by a demon. I came to visit a year ago, but my visit was unappreciated, and I don't think it did any good at all. One can be here and not be here, can see and yet not see, can hear and yet not hear. Such a person has left the community of living souls and become a mad hermit, isolated, alone, and lonely, oh, so desperately lonely that they commune with the dead, who are closer to them than the living. When last I visited, the black-and-white photographs of long-gone ancestors were of greater interest than anything I had to say, and when after many hours of listening I made clear I needed to adjourn for lunch, sour resentment was the result.
I wish to visit, but I think such an effort would be wasted and only for my own benefit, but I am not sure whether there is any benefit for myself. My memories are better than the present. I would only be perceived like a distant noise, and all that I said would be either unheard or misinterpreted, and my visit would soon be forgotten.
I am reminded of a coworker who had a mad woman living in his house, his aged mother, whose mind was irreparably gone. In the past, she had been kind, he said, but now, she was possessed by a demon and did everything possible to disrupt and distress. She would throw food at the walls, bang on the walls at night to wake people up, scream, moan, yell, and say hurtful things. He believed it was his moral duty to keep her in his house. He hated his brother for not showing gratitude for his sacrifice and not helping. I sympathized with him and thought him a good and decent man, but I was uncertain regarding the morality, because his mother had lost her wits beyond recovery, and made miserable the life of his entire family. I felt there was not only his mother's welfare to weigh, but also the welfare of his family and even of himself. Self-sacrifice appears noble and good, and it moves me, but can it also be a subtle form of selfishness? I think there is something known as the "martyr complex," wherein one may be too ready and eager to sacrifice, apparently, one's own interests. No sacrifice is free of cost. With each sacrifice, one reduces the capacity to support other good and worthy causes. To sacrifice for one cause is to say that it is worthier than other causes.
I wish to visit, but I think such an effort would be wasted and only for my own benefit, but I am not sure whether there is any benefit for myself. My memories are better than the present. I would only be perceived like a distant noise, and all that I said would be either unheard or misinterpreted, and my visit would soon be forgotten.
I am reminded of a coworker who had a mad woman living in his house, his aged mother, whose mind was irreparably gone. In the past, she had been kind, he said, but now, she was possessed by a demon and did everything possible to disrupt and distress. She would throw food at the walls, bang on the walls at night to wake people up, scream, moan, yell, and say hurtful things. He believed it was his moral duty to keep her in his house. He hated his brother for not showing gratitude for his sacrifice and not helping. I sympathized with him and thought him a good and decent man, but I was uncertain regarding the morality, because his mother had lost her wits beyond recovery, and made miserable the life of his entire family. I felt there was not only his mother's welfare to weigh, but also the welfare of his family and even of himself. Self-sacrifice appears noble and good, and it moves me, but can it also be a subtle form of selfishness? I think there is something known as the "martyr complex," wherein one may be too ready and eager to sacrifice, apparently, one's own interests. No sacrifice is free of cost. With each sacrifice, one reduces the capacity to support other good and worthy causes. To sacrifice for one cause is to say that it is worthier than other causes.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Cherish Mistakes
I like to recall past errors to rectify present behavior. In this manner, instead of being all negative and lamentable, a mistake can help to ensure positive results for the future. I cherish my mistakes, because they are effective teachers. Perhaps this is why, or so it is said, that certainty and idealism and their close relation, fanaticism, are more common among the young than the old. The young have not had time and opportunity yet to make their mistakes. They tend to see the choices before them as simple and straight-cut. With experience, new dimensions to situations and behavior become evident, and one grows more circumspect.
My brother believed that life imitated chess and vice versa, and one of his reasons was that mistakes in chess are similar to mistakes in life due to their being the result of oversight.
Off topic: I find oversight an odd word. The primary meaning is an unintended mistake. The secondary meaning is watchful care or management. The implication seems to be that managers are clueless.
My brother believed that life imitated chess and vice versa, and one of his reasons was that mistakes in chess are similar to mistakes in life due to their being the result of oversight.
Off topic: I find oversight an odd word. The primary meaning is an unintended mistake. The secondary meaning is watchful care or management. The implication seems to be that managers are clueless.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Old Books
I like old books. If the author is dead, that to me is a recommendation. If a book has survived its author and is still being sold, then it probably has merit.
I don't like most news magazines. Someone bought me a year's subscription to TIME, which is one of the worst, with many charts, graphs, numbers, and random facts, and little or nothing of any interest. I can consume a TIME magazine in about sixty seconds, and I always throw it in the wastebasket afterwards, because it is never worth saving.
I read Socrates just about every day. I don't mind reading the same passages. It is better to reread Socrates a thousand times than to read TIME magazine once. His ideas inspire reflection and relate to many things under the Sun. I find myself agreeing with Socrates more and more, but still I disagree with some of his most radical propositions, for instance that all bodily desires are to be ignored or minimized in sacrifice to the greater goal of philosophy. He conjures up this idea of the philosopher as a monastic scholar who eats simple food, say porridge and onions, just enough to survive, wears simple clothes, lives in poverty by choice, and finds no value in any of the nicer things in life, what ordinary men regard as pleasures. The philosopher instead looks forward to death, when he will be reunited with the gods and with spiritual beings and achieve his ultimate goal, which is acquisition of the truth. That to me seems rather unpleasant and extreme. I do think life has a purpose and so does pleasure. When available and morally acceptable, pleasure should be enjoyed rather than scorned. I don't share Socrates' dismissal of the senses, but he is correct in pointing out that the senses do mislead us when we are searching for truth, and that the most powerful deductive tools make use of pure reason. Indeed, I think that is how the astrophysicists go about things--by using mathematical theories.
Socrates is a dear old heart, cheerfully anticipating his death. At first I felt pity for Socrates and annoyance at the injustice of the Athenians in condemning their sincere and honest critic. But I am persuaded by Socrates to forgive his accusers. One can't help but envy such a civilized exit from this world--surrounded by loving and loyal friends--knowing the precise day and hour and manner of one's passing--feeling no pain at all. Upon reflection, his was the very best of all deaths. Many humans die in an abrupt manner, with their financial and social affairs in disarray, and even the rich and intelligent are not immune to this fate, as I have observed. Many humans die young, before their time, whereas Socrates died in his seventies. Many die in pain or alone or unloved, whereas Socrates suffered none of that. In the final analysis, one cannot pity him. His accusers are condemned by history, and Socrates is exonerated and immortalized.
I do not know if his individual consciousness still exists, but I rather doubt it. Socrates believed he would still be around, somewhere, in some shape or form. I just don't feel we humans are important or good or powerful enough to escape annihilation. Death seems final to me, and the finality seems just and equitable. Yet perhaps Socrates was right in one sense, if we are all a part of a whole. For if the universe is one, and I think it may be, and the astrophysicists say we all derive from star dust, then individual consciousness is beside the point, because there is one consciousness only, the greater one that transcends all, and our individuality is a kind of illusion.
I don't like most news magazines. Someone bought me a year's subscription to TIME, which is one of the worst, with many charts, graphs, numbers, and random facts, and little or nothing of any interest. I can consume a TIME magazine in about sixty seconds, and I always throw it in the wastebasket afterwards, because it is never worth saving.
I read Socrates just about every day. I don't mind reading the same passages. It is better to reread Socrates a thousand times than to read TIME magazine once. His ideas inspire reflection and relate to many things under the Sun. I find myself agreeing with Socrates more and more, but still I disagree with some of his most radical propositions, for instance that all bodily desires are to be ignored or minimized in sacrifice to the greater goal of philosophy. He conjures up this idea of the philosopher as a monastic scholar who eats simple food, say porridge and onions, just enough to survive, wears simple clothes, lives in poverty by choice, and finds no value in any of the nicer things in life, what ordinary men regard as pleasures. The philosopher instead looks forward to death, when he will be reunited with the gods and with spiritual beings and achieve his ultimate goal, which is acquisition of the truth. That to me seems rather unpleasant and extreme. I do think life has a purpose and so does pleasure. When available and morally acceptable, pleasure should be enjoyed rather than scorned. I don't share Socrates' dismissal of the senses, but he is correct in pointing out that the senses do mislead us when we are searching for truth, and that the most powerful deductive tools make use of pure reason. Indeed, I think that is how the astrophysicists go about things--by using mathematical theories.
Socrates is a dear old heart, cheerfully anticipating his death. At first I felt pity for Socrates and annoyance at the injustice of the Athenians in condemning their sincere and honest critic. But I am persuaded by Socrates to forgive his accusers. One can't help but envy such a civilized exit from this world--surrounded by loving and loyal friends--knowing the precise day and hour and manner of one's passing--feeling no pain at all. Upon reflection, his was the very best of all deaths. Many humans die in an abrupt manner, with their financial and social affairs in disarray, and even the rich and intelligent are not immune to this fate, as I have observed. Many humans die young, before their time, whereas Socrates died in his seventies. Many die in pain or alone or unloved, whereas Socrates suffered none of that. In the final analysis, one cannot pity him. His accusers are condemned by history, and Socrates is exonerated and immortalized.
I do not know if his individual consciousness still exists, but I rather doubt it. Socrates believed he would still be around, somewhere, in some shape or form. I just don't feel we humans are important or good or powerful enough to escape annihilation. Death seems final to me, and the finality seems just and equitable. Yet perhaps Socrates was right in one sense, if we are all a part of a whole. For if the universe is one, and I think it may be, and the astrophysicists say we all derive from star dust, then individual consciousness is beside the point, because there is one consciousness only, the greater one that transcends all, and our individuality is a kind of illusion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)