In high school, I guess I could be considered pretty liberal. It's not that I really did anything different like follow Buddhism or become a vegetarian, but I guess my ideas were fairly out there for small town Minnesota. I didn't really care about getting my driver's license and didn't go hunting and supported communism for the longest time. Anyway, I developed some sort of complex as a result of all this, one that made me reject most all ideas that I saw mainstream. I wanted to go around protesting, if I could have found anyone to come with me or if I could think of anything worth protesting. Vive la revolution. That was me, in thought if not in action.
Then I go to college and things change. Things resembling protests and civil disobedience go on around me, and I don't participate. I'm sure there are other reasons I don't join in (things I'd rather do and such), but I've thought about protests more now that they're actually present. This is the philosophy that has arisen from my contemplation. There is an essential problem with protests. You are admitting that you have no power to affect a change yourself and are asking others to do it. Screw that. If you want to make a change, you take responsibility and do it yourself. You don't ask for permission first. If that particular action is illegal, you get yourself into a position to make it legal.
Like most all of my philosophies, this one has problems. What if you want to stop something that is wrong and occurs outside of your being? Say racism or sweatshop labor? Fine, you can respect your fellows based on their virtue and treat everyone who works for you fairly, but that is not helping in other situations. What do you do then? The best I can come up with is use reason and engage in dialogue. Hopefully those who engage in these practices will come to understand what is wrong and stop of their own accord.
The Return
9 years ago
Posts
2 comments:
I only wish the world could be that simple.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of people know what they are doing is wrong. The thing is ... they just don't care enough to stop.
Chris:
Good for you; finally, you and I agree on something. I believe that protests are ways to ease a consceince; there is nothing else to do, let's PROTEST. Trouble is, often times, it pushes more people away. So I agree with you. That is why I work and will work so hard for positions of authority. There are many things I would like to change about the world, but I know I can do a lot more within the power structure than outside. No matter what people tell you, one stroke of a legislative pen can have a lot more force than hundreds of paint-streaked protesters holding inflammatory signs.
Again, I'm glad we are on agreement on this issue. Perhaps we can add them to the "Things that make Chris's soul cry." We can add it right under the "People who fornicate on the work study desk..." :)
Pax tecum
--Patrick
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