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Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Though the Looking Glass Are We

Down the rabbit hole
we tumble as partisanship increases our troubles.
The leadership just ain’t there but blaming folk just a’int fair.
While people grumble in the wings the country continues to fumble.
Moreover, finding true unbiased truth in these polarized days is too too rare Because everything,
including the misinformation and the dissemination of opinion as fact screams eat me, drink me.
When all it does is cause our minds to shrink when we think its making us grow

So

I ask you to make up your own damn mind and stop screaming
off with his slash her head.
When somebody seems to have made up their mind, let them.
Rather than screaming and hitting them with faulty reasoning and saying, “he be keen on treasoning”.

This is why the ballot is anonymous.
This is why we have freedom of press.
Not to force opinion, but to allow it
This is the key that will lead us out of this mad tea party of the parties.
Through the looking glass are we

Sunday, July 2, 2006

Choice

Freedom is the existence of choice. Whether or not humanity has choice is obvious. We do. The question should be how much choice and in extension how much freedom do we have. Can I choose what my opinion is. My favorite color is red. Out of all the colors of the world why did I choose it? To quote the matrix. I already know the choice I’ve made now I have to know why. Were the reasons why I chose the color red as my favorite color under my control or maybe there were reasons outside of my control. My mother’s favorite color is red. Red is one of the three patriotic colors. It also happens to be a color assoiciated with a lot of symbolism. I had no control over these facts. Did they take the choice out of my hands.

The opposite of freedom is fate. Fate is the lack of choice. How much of existence is due do the choices that individuals made or factors that were out of their control such as the weather or an unexpected event. This is a debate theologists and philosophers have dealt with for centuries. How much free will did God give us.

Apart from God there is also society. Do I believe murder is wrong because of my own conclusions or because society says its wrong. I like to believe I make up my own mind on maters like this but my environment does play a role. How much of a role does it play. Everybody has things they would kill for. A mother would kill to protect her child, and a soldier will kill to protect his or her country. Are these archetypical ideals shared throughout humanity or are they cultural.

Family, patriotism, self preservation how much of what a person does in these situation is instinctual. Some people believe that humans don’t have much left, but we still have compulsions that we can’t control. We wish to live, mate, eat, drink, sleep. Biology takes choice away from me. I can chose not to eat for a day but eventually hunger will enter my mind like a gnat gnawing on a leaf. Eventually I would become to feel irritable. Then I would start to feel fatigued. These feelings strongly encourage me to eat every four to six hours. The only control I have over them is to avoid hunger.

This brings up another point, consequence. Is the choice between a rock and a hard place a choice? If I do thing A and thing A gives me a beneficial result and if I do thing B and thing B gives me a negative result I am more likely to repeat thing A than I am to repeat Thing B. Is this a choice?

Ultimately I believe that freedom is limited. I can make choices but I am not always in control over the factors that affects those choice.

What's My Worth

How do I measure my worth
The job I have
The house I own
The wife I love
The joy I bring
The money I make
The life I live
The character I have gained through thought and strife.
How do I measure my worth

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