Musings

There are a couple of points I wanted to give as... articles of faith.

For lack of a better term. 

It's just that I could probably write ten or twenty lengthy blog posts about them and still feel like I failed to capture the essence.

First point: God wouldn't pit us against each other. 

Second point: God's rigged everything.

Okay, yes. I'm being provocative with that second point. Bear with me.

I say He (or She) has rigged everything because I think if we're honest with ourselves and pay attention to that quiet inner voice... we will only truly be happy when we're doing His will. 

That sounds worse than it did in my head. (I don't mean people will be unhappy if they don't follow a fundamental interpretation of their religion. In fact, if following that interpretation makes them feel like they can't be their true self I don't think it's His will at all. He wants us to be our glorious, messy, multi-faceted selves. Even maybe, sometimes, our petty and spiteful selves. Lemme bookmark that for another time though.)

Hmmm.

It's more like - eating a healthy and balanced meal versus pigging out on Halloween candy. 

Yes, sweets are addictive. And tasty. As are a lot of junk food. But when you overdo it you just don't feel right.

Whereas a more balanced meal will leave you satisfied and full, but not overly stuffed.

You can learn to prefer the sweets and junk food, ofc. (And everyone is different, so I'm not even going to try and say what the proper balanced diet is for anyone else).

In the same way, people can learn to prefer dominance and power. After all, it sure beats being on the receiving end.

But this isn't about condemning people for wanting power, so much as saying that the quest for power can be like a junk food addiction.

And I don't think the worst examples of this are actually very happy with themselves.

Oh, they might be able to fool themselves most of the time. Spend money on lavish and decadent parties, sleep with a ton of people, spend a ton of money on disinformation and misinformation.

But I suspect, if there's ever a quiet moment where they're alone with their thoughts, that there's a lot of fear and dissonance underneath the glamour and glitter.

You. Will. Not. Find. Happiness. Playing. King. of. the. Hill.

Though you may find happiness mastering a skillset that can make you king of the hill.

So anyways.

God has it rigged. You won't be happy creating a society based on oppression, even if you're in the 1%. You may fool yourself, escape the reality, ignore it, and pretend it isn't there. You may convince yourself that you deserve your privileged position. That anyone not in a similar position doesn't deserve to be because they're too lazy, stupid, or incompetent. 

You can tell yourself that any evidence to the contrary is manufactured by people trying to steal what you have. Dismiss all the arguments and evidence that might threaten that position...

Not so much because you're a terrible person, really. It's... human. 

Very human, really. Who would want to say that they don't deserve a position of wealth and privilege? Who wouldn't feel attacked?

The problem, I think, is less that rather natural human reaction... and more the way it keeps people from searching for those win/win solutions.

Because I think, if we're all true to ourselves, that we won't find ourselves in conflict with each other. (Point one, above).

That my quest to be my best self and your quest to be your best self is a good thing that we both benefit from. Not something to be afraid of or threatened by.

That is why I think every example of mastery and excellence enriches all of us. Whether that's in sports, art, medicine, governance, or anything really. 

We should want a society that helps people achieve a level of mastery in whatever they're drawn to.

Not one where a few people make billions while the majority suffer mind numbing, low paying work in which they are constantly worried about whether one bad month will ruin them entirely.