Pushing Little Old Ladies

If one man pushes an old lady in front of an oncoming bus and another man pushes an old lady out of the way of an oncoming bus, to borrow Bill Buckley’s famous puncturing of moral equivalence arguments, it will not suffice to say that they are both the sorts of men who push old ladies around. - Jonah Goldberg

Details matter. It's called the whole truth.

If The Handle Fits

Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle that fits them all. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Never trust a liar in any way.

Augmented Post

Sometimes I have more to say:

Self-development is a higher duty than self-sacrifice. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Self-sacrifice is not a duty. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

For some act to be a "duty" it must be something which you are obligated to do. You are obligated to not harm other people, or take their property (steal), or otherwise abuse them. These are duties.

You have no duty to marry, join the military, go to church, work for nothing, or anything else. You may choose to do these things because they benefit your life but they certainly are not obligations.

Self-sacrifice is the cornerstone of biblical ethics. According to the Bible it is a "duty" to sacrifice yourself to others. It may be this is the the core reason we have continuously lost Liberty in this country. As soon as you accept self-sacrifice as a duty then you have allowed others to determine what you are required to do. If those making the decision are part of your government, you (and your fellow countrymen) have lost some of your Liberty. If that chunk of Liberty is too large folks will object to the loss. As of yet though, they have not blamed the core responsibility for the attempted action against individual liberty - the idea that self-sacrifice is a duty.

Duties

Self-development is a higher duty than self-sacrifice. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Self-sacrifice is not a duty. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

Right Conduct

Laws control the lesser man... Right conduct controls the greater one. - Mark Twain 




Sorry Mark, but laws don't control (or protect) anyone. Philosophy does; that's why it should be taught in the schools. Laws only determine who to punish.

Inner Treasure

Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness. - George Sand


Giving, losing and acquiring can be done morally, honorably and fairly if you have, and live by, principles with the same values. If folks want to call it kindness, I'll let them. 

Voyage

Money motivates neither the best people, nor the best in people. It can move the body and influence the mind, but it cannot touch the heart or move the spirit; that is reserved for belief, principle, and morality. - Dee Hock 

Let moral courage launch you; morals guide you; morality keep you on the path; and principles be the foundation of your judgement.

Moral Courage

It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare. - Mark Twain


It really makes little sense that we are more afraid of what people will think of us than what they will do to us......

Moral Distinctions

Punishment is now unfashionable... because it creates moral distinctions among men, which, to the democratic mind, are odious. We prefer a meaningless collective guilt to a meaningful individual responsibility. - Thomas Szasz


A society without moral distinctions is amoral at best; immoral at worst.


(Other posts on Morals)

Honor

Honor is self-esteem made visible in action. - Ayn Rand


I ran across this quote the other day and it started me thinking. First to define Honor in dictionary terms:

Dignity. Reputation. Dignified respect of character springing from probity (integrity, honesty),  principle, or moral rectitude (moral uprightness). 

It seems to me we don't use the concept or the word much these days. When was the last time you heard a politician use the word about themselves or a colleague? If they did I think they would be judged as "impractical" or "naive." I myself have been told many times "Oh, come on be practical" when trying to argue a point on moral grounds. The implication is we cannot know what is moral or not so we judge whether to do something on its practicability. So let's see where that takes us if we assume Miss Rand is correct.

If honor is self-esteem in action would you not assume that not acting honorably would damage your self-esteem? Note that I am using the word "self-esteem" in the "self-respect" sense not in the sense it is sometimes used where it refers to an unwarranted or undeserved self image. Isn't any damage done to your self-respect a slippery slope to personal disaster? Think about this the next time you decide to do something because it is the "practical" thing to do. Perhaps you should consider if it is the honorable thing to do.

Pragmatism

Bragging you are a pragmatist is the same as bragging you are unprincipled. - Lyle


(Other posts on Morals)

Alliance With Evil

It is a power stronger than will. Could a stone escape from the laws of gravity? Impossible. Impossible, for evil to form an alliance with good. - Isidore Ducasse Lautreamont


Even the smallest part of evil is evil.


(Other posts on Morals)

Augmented Post

Sometimes I have more to say. From a previous post:

Skepticism, like chastity, should not be relinquished too readily. - George Santayana 

Voters; news media; investors looking for a quick buck; advocates of the latest doom and gloom scam are prime examples of people who throw out their skepticism when faced with a charming personality.

I've thought a lot about why people are so inclined to sign on with the latest doom and gloom scheme (Y2K, overpopulation, Armageddon, etc.). They have been around forever but with the communication explosion their proliferation seems to be going at a faster pace. I originally thought it was like gossip- "I know something you don't know so I'm special." Now that everyone on the planet has instant communication with everybody else, people still sign-on to these schemes. I recently came across the following theory and I present my take on it here, not as Truth but as a thought to consider.

Most of us go abouts trying to improve our lives and the lives of our family. This is self-interest and it is what made this country great and gives us an ever increasing quality of life. On the other hand we are taught from the day we were born that the ultimate moral goal is to be perfectly altruistic (mother Teresa). This places a dichotomy in your personality, the result of which is quilt. You are supposed to feel guilty because you are successful and because of that guilt you need to pay alms to make amends for your sin.

The latest is the Global Warming scenario (Oh, I forgot, we are now supposed to say "Climate Change" because the evidence is pretty clear we are not warming). We are supposed to feel guilty, especially the developed world, and need to make amends by denying that which made us successful and the rewards it brings. Change light bulbs, buy a tiny car, use less, conserve more; not to save your hard-earned money but to amend for the fact you can afford things which make your life more pleasant. The science behind the scenario is not important - it can be bad and lead to flat out false predictions - but what is important is that you assuage your guilt. When the predictions prove to be blatantly wrong there is always another Doom and Gloom scheme to take its place.

So if you are like me these false predictions are troublesome and a diversion from reality. The solution then would be to remove the dichotomy and that can only be done by having an integrated set of morals. Do not  feel guilty for doing things in your self interest (and I don't mean to go out and cheat your neighbor - that would be in contradiction of your moral value of honesty). Let others do the same. Encourage and admire those who are successful (morally). Be generous when you can - as opposed to altruistic because you ought to be. You have committed no sin so you should feel no guilt.

Infinite Thought

Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought, at least, you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and depth; that there are no walls nor fences, nor prohibited places, nor sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought. - Robert Green Ingersoll 


Sometime while you are exploring the vast expanses of thought, think about how, when and why individual morality should put up fences in this great field.

(More posts on Thinking) 

What is Duty?

The man who prefers his country before any other duty shows the same spirit as the man who surrenders every right to the state. They both deny that right is superior to authority. - Lord Acton

"Duty" is someone else's concept of what is right for you to do. If you are a child you have a duty to do as your parents say because you lack knowledge. If you are an educated adult, do what you know to be right, not what someone else decided.

Vigilance Required

It is philosophy that makes man understandable to man, explains human nobility, and shows man the proper road. The first defect appearing in any nation that is headed toward decline is in the philosophic spirit. After that deficiencies spread into the other sciences, arts, and associations. Philosophy is the escape from the narrow sensations of animality into the wide arena of human feelings…In general, it is man’s becoming man and living the life of sacred rationality. Its aim is human perfection in reason, mind, soul, and way of life….It is the foremost cause of the production of knowledge, the creation of sciences, the invention of industries, and the initiation of the crafts. - Al-Afghani

It's scary when you read this, and Churchill, and Jefferson, and Reagan, and then look at where Islam, England, the United States have ended up. 'Tis proof that one must be ever vigilant in the competition between good and evil; truth and fiction; rational and irrational - more vigilant than we have been.

Foundation of Morals

The balance of private good and general welfare is at the bottom of civilized morals; but the morals of the Heroic Age are founded on individuality, and on nothing else. - Lascelles Abercrombie

Oh! for the good ol' days!

Why the World is Dangerous

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. - Albert Einstein



Or worse yet; those that make excuses for the evildoers or refuse to define the difference between good and evil.

Compromise Between Food and Poison?

In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit. - Ayn Rand

In matters of morals, half-steps are not an option; compromise is surrender; conciliation is defeat.

Self-Righteous Wind

Vegetarianism is harmles enough, although it is apt to fill a man with wind and self-righteousness. - Dr. Robert Hutchinson

The same could be said of any zealot but the wind may blow in a different direction.