I think I am on to something! Thanks for pulling out that wikipedia definition, my brain made that connection all by itself, I guess art history class in college really did teach me something!
I try to remember the Corinthians 13 verse that says, 'Love is patient, love is kind ... It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
We can only patiently remind people that this is the way that it is, perhaps by writing really compelling poetry about the subject! ;p
@ecoinstant,
Alex, you're a moral philosopher with a great sense of humor. A rare combination. And a pleasurable one to to encounter.
You are right, of course. Patience is a virtue (and, admittedly, not one of my strongest suits). What's frustrating is that human beings, in the aggregate, seem to have zero ability to learn from history. They hear the stories ... but fail to extract the meaning.
How many poems can one poet write?
The cognitive biases that plague us all is nothing new, but the consequences of being wrong are now orders of magnitude higher than in earlier generations. The Enlightenment was supposed to have fixed this ... we'd subject our ideas to the crucible of critical review and only the best (and most likely to be correct) would survive. But we are backsliding.
To Hell with logic, reason and rationale. To Hell with empirical evidence, provable facts and the evidence of your eyes ... "I feel that it's the Truth ... based upon my metaphysical insights. Now let's pass some laws."
Our species has tripped ass-backwards into the technological ability to cause ourselves, and the planet more generally, such enormous grief that we've become a Force of Nature on parallel with asteroids and super-volcanoes. But we are gods with neither wisdom ... nor the inclination to be wise. In our never-ending quest for freedom, we've lost all appreciation for the tempering provided by restraint.
It is cause for pause.
Quill
You are too kind! I suspect that I am, like you, just a guy calling it like he sees it.
It is true that children are resistant to learn the lessons from their parents, intent as they are at proving the lessons themselves. Unfortunately when we apply that at a societal level we get some pretty sad commentary on civilization.
I sometimes think that my superpower is to be agreeably contrarian. I seem to have a way to disagree with people without triggering them. It doesn't always work, some people are especially set in their ways, but I find it to be a pleasurable activity to make people think.
I really enjoy your idea of Centrism. The truth is subtle, and always lies hidden somewhere in the middle ;p
I just clicked through and found your new poem, onward to healthcare!
@ecoinstant,
I agree, people seem to naturally "like you." Even when I point out the whole Rasputin-look-alike thing, they still want to send you chocolates and flowers. :-)
Alas, I possess no such super-power. I can spend a week composing a perfectly well-balanced and masterfully diplomatic treatise on the virtues of taking a vacation and, for some, you'd think Ghangis Khan had just passed through town. Perhaps I need to grow a beard.
What I've found is that ideologues HATE when issues are reduced to matters of reason. Logic, rationale, providing evidence to support one's assertions ... this kind of reductionist attitude destroys the ineffable and emergent nature of their Truths. They have a method of arriving at their understandings (they love the word "metaphysics") that is not compatible with the norms of "critical thinking." And, I'm a S.O.B. for articulating the obvious.
If I had a wish for the world, it would be to make the Silent Majority less silent. The most vociferous 10% of the population is forcing/coercing the remaining 90% into self-censoring submission. The suppression of cognitive dissonance, the DoubleThink of 1984, combined with the willful blindness of The Emporer's New Clothes.
I stole it straight from Aristotle and am honored to be such a thief.
Quill
Oh my I have had this fantastic comment open in a tab for 7 days now!
You are such a poetic Ghangis Khan! I find you perfectly palatable but I have observed what you said, I call it 'the bristling'!
I don't know exactly how I do it or where I learned it, but often I find a way to say differently the opposing view. The beard may help, I like to think it is more of a Santa Claus vibe than Rasputin, although if you remember your history, Rasputin was an extremely charismatic counselor that so ingrained himself into the politics of the day that he had to be poisoned, beat to death, rolled up in a carpet and drowned to even begin to extricate his influence!
Re:
I believe we are on the cusp of a new age of enlightenment, but we need to keep shaking the bed or many will sleep right through!
Love and Light!
@ecoinstant,
I agree, people seem to naturally "like you." Even when I point out the whole Rasputin-look-alike thing, they still want to send you chocolates and flowers. :-)
Alas, I possess no such super-power. I can spend a week composing a perfectly well-balanced and masterfully diplomatic treatise on the virtues of taking a vacation and, for some, you'd think Ghangis Khan had just passed through town. Perhaps I need to grow a beard.
What I've found is that ideologues HATE when issues are reduced to matters of reason. Logic, rationale, providing evidence to support one's assertions ... this kind of reductionist attitude destroys the ineffable and emergent nature of their Truths. They have a method of arriving at their understandings (they love the word "metaphysics") that is not compatible with the norms of "critical thinking." And, I'm a S.O.B. for articulating the obvious.
If I had a wish for the world, it would be to make the Silent Majority less silent. The most vociferous 10% of the population is forcing/coercing the remaining 90% into self-censoring submission. The suppression of cognitive dissonance, the DoubleThink of 1984, combined with the willful blindness of The Emporer's New Clothes.
I stole it straight from Aristotle and am honored to be such a thief.
Quill