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RE: Clayboyn's Curation Corner 3/8/18
Many thanks for curating my post. I'm also still formulating my ideas around what it means to be a good or moral person. I had the post in mind for a few days and then found a quick half hour to just put it out. The Havel connection sort of came to me at the last minute, but since I live in the Czech Republic, I think it's a good fit. Havel is a great figure in the Jeffersonian tradition and his approach to morality and citizenship deserve more attention. They named the Prague airport after him and try to sweep aside his influence, but his words live on.
Again many thanks and I look forward to our dialogue on these and other issues.
I feel that morality is so subjective that even those trying to be a good member of society are all operating from such varied perspectives that it's almost impossible. It seems there is always some required compromise between personal morality and societal expectations. Factor in that most people don't ever really identify as the bad guy and we end up with a lot of conflicting and self serving ideologies. It's an interesting thing to ponder on though. Thanks for writing a great post!
I see your point. The gun debate in the USA throws this issue into stark relief. Also watching Star Wars Last Jedi recently I laughed at the simplistic division into good and bad .. if only it was so easy. But then again a part of me feels that maybe it is. When a society has more social cohesion and tradition, expected moral values are upheld. This is why conservatives cling to the past. But then they elect and back a completely amoral figure like Trump because of tribal allegiance. By doing this any moral standard is forsaken. The globalist left (and by globalist I'm not being anti-Semitic, rather I mean globalist both economically and culturally) seek new moral principles of a multicultural society that is constantly evolving and shifting. The presence of the internet creates even more data and uncertainty in the system. But ultimately I believe we are evolving a global consciousness and with it a new morality. On one hand it is subjective, yet on the other it's like Star Wars .. are you on the dark side or not? See, easy. :)
Personally I would like to see a paradigm shift away from the competitive style society we have into a more collaborative society working towards common goals and interests where we don't have people homeless, starving, and unable to get medical treatment or basic human needs met while others live in extreme excess. I also realize that my perspective of abundance is very different than others and I can't expect everyone to agree, but hopefully the world can change when presented with alternatives to what has become the norm.