Why I Am a Liberal
Remember when you were a child, in the typical playground scenario, were you the bully, the victim, or the bystander?
Sounds like an innocuous question. Perhaps overly simplistic. But it reveals the very essence of the point. How you feel politically and philosophically now is a reaction to what happened to you on that playground then.
So you're an adult now, eh? Yeah, well so what. How much has really changed? Things may be much more evolved, likely much more sophisticated, elaborate, and convoluted -- clearly there's a lot less shoving and crying going on -- but the central problem remains essentially the same.
In this world, where two or more people become involved, the situation can result in a familiar and tragic formula, a formula comprised of bullies and victims and bystanders.
Certainly, there are numerous exceptions. Not every interaction between people is a disaster.
And of course, when there are poor outcomes, there is so much variation. There are justifications, varying shades of gray, degrees of crime and guilt.
And yes, it is true that very few people can be categorically pigeonholed; an individual may behave differently simply given a different set of circumstances -- can be both a bully or a victim simply depending on the conditions.
But, deny as you might, a frank evaluation of life will reveal a startling conclusion, that many many situations boil down to these basics: bully, victim, bystander. Now why is that?
Well, you -- like every other living thing on this planet -- are just a big carbon-based (instead of silicon-based) computer. You are a painstakingly intricate vessel meant to accomplish one thing and one thing alone. You are to carry a code. That's it.
Now, this code is not alive per se -- but nonetheless, it "wants" to exist. It does not "want" to disappear. It "wants" to continue. But the world is a harsh place (too many variables). A single copy of the code is not very safe; it can be easily destroyed. So, the code
Sounds like an innocuous question. Perhaps overly simplistic. But it reveals the very essence of the point. How you feel politically and philosophically now is a reaction to what happened to you on that playground then.
So you're an adult now, eh? Yeah, well so what. How much has really changed? Things may be much more evolved, likely much more sophisticated, elaborate, and convoluted -- clearly there's a lot less shoving and crying going on -- but the central problem remains essentially the same.
In this world, where two or more people become involved, the situation can result in a familiar and tragic formula, a formula comprised of bullies and victims and bystanders.
Certainly, there are numerous exceptions. Not every interaction between people is a disaster.
And of course, when there are poor outcomes, there is so much variation. There are justifications, varying shades of gray, degrees of crime and guilt.
And yes, it is true that very few people can be categorically pigeonholed; an individual may behave differently simply given a different set of circumstances -- can be both a bully or a victim simply depending on the conditions.
But, deny as you might, a frank evaluation of life will reveal a startling conclusion, that many many situations boil down to these basics: bully, victim, bystander. Now why is that?
Well, you -- like every other living thing on this planet -- are just a big carbon-based (instead of silicon-based) computer. You are a painstakingly intricate vessel meant to accomplish one thing and one thing alone. You are to carry a code. That's it.
Now, this code is not alive per se -- but nonetheless, it "wants" to exist. It does not "want" to disappear. It "wants" to continue. But the world is a harsh place (too many variables). A single copy of the code is not very safe; it can be easily destroyed. So, the code