The Real World was getting too long, plus I can't put these
cartoons in comments. Love Kliban. Anyway, as the Tao Te Ching
teaches us: The past and present are illusions, there is only the
eternal, ever changing NOW. As Billy Pilgrim teaches us: There is
good and bad, horrible and wonderful in life and to get through it, try to
focus on the good parts. Comparisons are useless as there will always
people better and worse off than myself but those comparisons do not change my
life, which I am trying to get through by thinking of and looking forward
to the good parts, mostly. I had the choice recently to replace the
dreaded '97 Saturn and was at the brink of buying a Mustang convertible, but
ended up with a CX5. Practical, and out of this world great to a 16 year
old Sudanese, but a meaningless comparison. Can't afford the down on
solar, even though the payback is ten years, solar panels are still very
inefficient and use manufacturing processes that do as much harm as good.
Have to keep the Jacuzzi going because the wife has a bad back (reminding
me to check on the tax ramifications). Burn wood in the fireplace and
with our internal thermostats set low hardly heat the house during the winter
but for the same reason use a lot of electricity in the summer to keep
ourselves somewhat cool.
2022 will release me from having to procure the seven deadly sins
(see below). I plan to let my spirit (what is left of it) soar. I
will stay legal, but not necessarily moral. That is, of course dependent
on my physical and financial well-being until the aforementioned day of
liberation. I'm sure the effects will be mostly localized to whatever
hamlet finds its misfortune to have me as an inhabitant.
First off, any small pig would be honored to have you as a neighbor. Secondly, Kliban does seem like another rare but wonderfully special smart-ass.
ReplyDeleteAs far as comparisons go, I must compare your thoughts to the lyrics of La bamba—it all sounds good but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Furthermore, as you have pointed out, we live in a collective. That means we are obligated to know of life's benevolence and kindness as intimately as its greed and evil. We must know the failings, frailties, strengths and compassions of all humans—from individuals to small groups and societies. Most importantly, we must know our place in the melee. And to define ourselves holistically we must compare all that we are to all that was, all that is and all that is possible.
Yes, we are always traveling at the speed of self-preservation and desire, but we must always temper our individual movement with the acceleration of humility. We must act upon individual self-interest only after it has been filtered through the sieve of life-humbled morality.
As a final note, I don't quite understand your suggestion that you will "not necessarily" stay moral. Is morality a choice only for those who see themselves as unbound by societal rules and restrictions? Is it ever okay to choose immorality simply because of one's circumstance? If so, I must declare mistrial and admonish the jury for their asininity.
8 deadly sins........the "Vax"
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