RE: Should Imprisoned Drug Offenders Be Released Upon Legalization?
Absolutely. I can remember the last time I proactively lied, it was 2 years ago. I've made great progress in living authentically - at least on that front - but I still have a long way to go, since my views are generally deemed unacceptably outrageous, even by those closest to me. This means that I often omit the truth by simply not speaking what I truly feel. I will, however, answer any question posed without actively lying.
Lying is primarily indicative of a lack of self-respect, and secondly, an act of disrespect for the other person. Lying is the act of a coward, and this I could not abide, so I no longer tell lies actively; though omission is in the same vein, and no person can claim full authenticity until they address this issue as well. The truly authentic person will no doubt be institutionalized (or at least socially ostracized) in short order. The culture simply does not permit this level of honesty without punishment.
Governments claim a monopoly on large-scale protection. You called the police because you were denied other viable options under threat of violent punishment. He did not desist because what he respected the lofty notion of man's "law", he desisted because men came with guns and used force to make him afraid. This does not require law. Any private protection service could do this, or you could do it yourself if properly armed and skilled.
The protective aspect of law is but a minuscule aspect of its role in society, though it is often thought of as representing the entirety of its function. Its actual function is to rob and oppress the people. Protection is just the cream cheese that makes the poison pill palatable. Every government function contains these two aspects - the treacherous reality, and the agreeable facade.
I agree that our focus should be on solutions, though I deem it reasonable to be angry with a terrorist organization enslaving the whole of humanity. The average man on the street is absolutely complicit in these moral crimes because he loves his enslavement, and loves to see others enslaved. His highest aspiration is to have the devil's ear, and to have his bidding done by its power. This is what democracy is.
The government is a manifestation of mass immorality. Mass immorality is a manifestation of the fear that lies within the hearts of men. Evil is the tool of cowards. Evil is, by definition, a lie - the misrepresentation of truth. So we have come full circle - the coward's outward lies are a reflection of his inward lie - fear. And he fears nothing more than going within and addressing his weakness. He would rather die than do this, and often does.
Maybe you get negative reactions because your honesty is not seen as exemplary but as an attack or arrogance? Authenticity alone does not make you a respectable person. If you feel that someone cannot yet cope with an honest statement or answer, or you already suspect that speaking it will cause a conflict between you and that person, how wise of you to do it anyway?
I have experienced that authenticity is not perceived as such by my family members but is interpreted as intransigence and self-glorification. Which actually pointed to a blind spot on my part and I suspected that there was something to it. Whenever I was enraptured to presume judgements or frustratedly criticize the decisions and statements of my fellow human beings, my honesty was no longer worth much.
Your environment will only recognize you as a role model when you are free from any misconduct. And even then the likelihood of being misunderstood and suspiciously eyed is because you have not been a wise person all your life. Give people time to know for sure that who you want to be is real.
If you are convinced of a mass immorality, why are you wondering why you experience a kind of exclusion or punishment when you criticize people of immorality?
Immorality is and always will remain a fact. So is morality. Tell me spontaneously an event in which you have observed your friends or your family members in a moral act. Where you've seen them so you've taken an example from them. Where they omitted or did something that you felt was a moral enrichment. If you can't think of anything so ad hoc, it's probably because you're just as infected with the common habit of focusing on the unpleasant aspects of others. I don't blame you, I feel the same way.
I find it extremely difficult to give examples of integrity and sovereignty and to sharpen my powers of observation in this respect.
With my example of family history I wanted to express that people can retain their dignity despite subjugation and that the immorality of others does not make them bitter. My grandfather and also my mother gave these examples - among others - for me. Who is it with you?
Moral action is a rather quiet affair, which may explain why it seems difficult to cite specific circumstances. In reality, they are so obvious, they escape our notice.
Moral acts are innumerable - they include everything that is not an immoral act, of which there are relatively few. Immoral acts are those which do not duly acknowledge the free-will choice of the individual. They are an act of theft, whereby such choice is withheld; consent is not respected.
Everything else is moral - building a canoe, watching TV, painting your bedroom, making a sandwich. These are not as noteworthy as defending the life of a would-be victim, but they are moral actions nonetheless, and carry the integrity and sovereignty of that perspective. I do not see need of more impressive examples than merely refraining from the immoral.
It is the responsibility of every person to value truth. The majority of people are not meeting this responsibility. You question the wisdom of insisting upon truth in a world where it is not respected, but what is the alternative? Would it be wisdom to instead deny truth, or omit it? Certainly not. Would it be wisdom to portray it with sugar and spice, and everything nice? Perhaps it would, as this is more agreeable, though some truths are difficult to frame thusly, and such coddling is certainly not deserved.
It may very well be a personal flaw to resent the insistence upon this hand-holding appeasement of irrationality and willful ignorance; but as one committed to truth, I recognize that the message and the messenger have no valid correlation, nor does the message and its method of delivery. If a person is unwilling to make this distinction, they do not value truth highly enough, and it is not the responsibility of the truthful to descend into the grave to meet these unduly-contented zombies on their own level.
I admit that there is a part of me that would rather see the world die in flames than to appease infantile miscreants who whine "Carry me" while writhing in the muck, rather than simply standing of their own volition. That being said, a stubborn benevolence and sense of connectivity with all living beings nags me to work toward averting this unnecessary disaster. So I live upon the fence, wavering between helping them, and allowing them the justice of drowning in 6 inches of water due to their pathetic unwillingness to simply raise their head.
Why not? In the eye of what you observe and perceive as immoral - and which seems to be very strong - I see a certain need for the stronger examples to act as a polarity to balance it out?
As you cannot reach ever the majority isn't it wise to reach the minority which are the people near you (family, friends, working place, groceries etc.)?
I ask you for alternatives which do not point so much to an "either, or" position. You can encourage wisdom in others when you put some trust in them that they are not totally unattainable. It's an art to practice that as we have to teach ourselves to act in this way.
If that is so then you could as well be ignorant towards those you don't want to be responsible for. Couldn't it be the case that the person you are dealing with and which appears to you zombie-like that this person doesn't know about this distinction resp. is not used and educated in thinking that way?
Have you had an experience where you were able to overcome this distance between you and another one and finally, after thinking, it is useless, came to a positive outcome? ... maybe not all at once but in the course of time?
It should be clear that doing this work is not easy at all. The temptation to send everything to hell is exactly the challenge you give to yourself. Every lost battle, every separation from the willingness to see the flaws of others as well in oneself points to an itching spot which says: there is work to be done.
Why smearing someone with sugar when you actually could also be just friendly? In the meaning of befriending yourself with the idea that your interlocutor may be surprised by an attitude of you which you haven't shown before? This may lead to a similar surprise for yourself and you may receive the unexpected. Without guarantee, though. People are smart, even the dumb ones, once they sense that your intention is not to put them down or to win an argument.
I would like to ask you if this is a challenge you can take up the next time you meet someone you attribute to be a zombie or a whining creature. You can be still direct but respectful, no?
HaHa! Greatly said! I hope your "stubborn benevolence and sense of connectivity with all living beings" will nag further on you.
Thank you for engaging, Brian.
I always appreciate how earnestly you embrace a topic. You are voming at this from a healthier perspective than I am at the moment. I’m exacerbated with the rampant evil (i.e. deception) that taints every corner of the man-made world.
Immorality is insanity, quite literally. It is a denial of reality. This is extreme and bizarre, even if ubiquitous. Morality is reasonable and appropriate in all cases and only appears extreme by contrast to the ludicrous example set by immorality. This is why I say I do not look for extreme examples of morality - I don’t think morality is ever extreme. I think it is as mundane and sensible as using an umbrella to stay dry in the rain.
Whenever you ask me to recede into memory for some example, I find it very difficult. It feels like looking for some old piece of paperwork and I’m not sure of its location. I don’t know if I’ve ever closed the gap between me and someone else.
I agree that people are smart - if you can reach them. They are severely damaged and dysfunctional and your voice must cut through layers of scar tissue to be accurately heard. They’ve been manipulated, used, and abused since the very moment they were born. They’ve been brutalized and crippled. They are horrid, shambling mutations of their true self - myself included.
It is very difficult for them to overcome their hypnotized state if not motivated to do so before they enter into a conversation with me. I do not believe I have the power to instill the desire to wake up when they don’t even believe they are asleep.
In my experience, the people who hear truth most clearly are those with a natural proclivity to do so. It may just be inborn. They have ears to hear, so to speak. In a sense, we are always and only preaching to the chior - whatever our messaage. We are helping to improve, expedite and advance, but never to actually convert. The blind are blind, but the sighted can be granted more sight. This is what I’m noticing, but it’s just a theory.
I understand. Yeah, you're right, morality isn't extreme, it can't be by nature.
I want to answer you in the spirit of Zen:
source: http://info.stiltij.nl/publiek/meditatie/studie/zenstories.pdf
It's maybe worth your time to look for the old piece of paperwork and to succeed in only one time to overcome the distance as it would be not your loss.
Great story! I am very aware that your council is wise, I am just having trouble right now because I am very resentful over the unrelenting aggression against innocents present absolutely everywhere, from the highest levels of government and beyond, to the most seemingly benign familial relationships.
Coercion, control, manipulation, false obligations, deception, denial - all day long, everywhere you look. A pile of beauty, love, truth, authenticity, peace, and happiness sits on the table in the middle of the room, while everyone clamors and claws at each other all around it, starving, writhing, wailing, and fighting over illusions.
I have often tried to reach for the table - and continue to try - but I grow weak and tired at times, and find myself increasingly inclined to beat them off of me instead of just trying to avoid their aggression and helping them to overcome their desperate grasping.
In any case, I do not wish to monopolize your time. Thank you for your insight and care. Enjoy your evening.
:) maybe I monopolized your time.
Um... No.
