Nod Over Coffee

Back on a soapbox. I'm still perturbed that the idiot (I'll call him Blogger X) that posted "all men cheat, women need to 'get over it'" and that other racist comment he made, thinks and really truly believes he is right. He had posted a blast saying that his "religion is realism." However, it just put a blaring spotlight on his ignorance.

I can only suppose he is referring to Naive Realism, in which he looks at the particular culture he moves and breathes in and believes that that mess is "reality." However, he needs to read up on his philosophy. Perhaps he skipped that in school? Naive realism is shot down with arguments from conflicting appearances (see Bertrand Russell's "The Problems of Philosophy"). Here's a borrowed example: "The same object may appear differently to different people, or to the same person at different times. The apples may appear to be red in the daytime, but at dusk they are a shade of grey. Therefore, the apple cannot be really (or inherently, or objectively) red, but only appears red under certain conditions of perception."

Of course, Blogger X could also be a Direct Realist - claiming that his senses, what he personally sees, hears and feels - give a direct awareness of the external world. For instance, he would see a stick submerged in a glass of water and see that appears bent. He would believe that because he sees the stick as bent, that it is bent. However, this is not true...if he goes beyond what his feeble eyes perceive and pulls the stick out...voila! It was an illusion and the stick is not bent.

There are dozens of types of "realism" but none fit what he was trying to proclaim. And that, in a nutshell, is that dishonesty is the norm and it should be acceptable. It is a divorce from a thing we call Conscience. This is what offended me most about what Blogger X wrote. We, as a society, cannot subscribe to this philosophy.

ACTII posted a blog recently called "America is Slowly Dying." In it he wrote:

It immediately reminded me of the fall of the Roman Empire, which is widely attributed to moral decay. (The economic factors amidst the decay, I believe, were an offshoot of that moral decay).

I recommend stopping by ACTIIs blog - you never know what you'll find - social commentary, humor, poetry, and things that make you go "Hmmm?"

People like the ignorant Blogger X breathe in that different air and accept pollution. Unlike ACTII who sees the change, sees the decay and is alarmed by it - X embraces it. Blogger X sees the decay as a justification for dishonesty, for immorality, for self-centered gratifications. He further seeks to justify himself by trying to gather to himself others, steeped in a culture of deceit and disrespect, to accept that this is reality...and settle for it. I read a woman's page recently who seemed to find it politically necessary to be accepting and tolerant of this decay, sniffing that bad air cautiously but feeling she'd better get used to it. The female blogger sees there is no escape, therefore, goes for the politically correct, "anything goes as long as it doesn't effect me" attitude. And then you have ACTII, who is raising the alarm that all is NOT as it should be. I believe that HE is a better sampling of the world at large.

In 1994 Josh McDowell published a book entitled, "Right from Wrong." He says, "Something tragic has happened to the moral and ethical foundations of our young people. Our new study shows that an alarming 57% of our youth cannot state that an objective standard of truth even exits!"

He also says with hope, "It is not too late to reinforce the crumbling foundations of our young people." I believe there is hope - because 43% still believed that truth exists.

We need to understand and defend things like truth, respect and honor, or we will go the way of the Roman empire.

Think about what the decay of morality has led to. Oh, I could make a list here of ways it has hurt our society, (I almost did) but it would be more effective if you just stopped and thought about it yourself for a moment.

In a study on happiness in the world, it was found that at the top of the list of intangible factors which bring a high happiness quotient are stability, family life, good health, financial security, home ownership, a happy marriage and children. These were followed by control over life, interesting job and leisure time. Other factors characterizing happy people are personal appearance, getting enough sleep, faith, personal hygiene and taking holidays.

If you want to be happy look at that list -- stability is a main ingredient. And what is stability? Stability is firmness in position, steadfastness, constancy, as of character or purpose. Something you can put your trust in. And what is trust, if not a reliance on the constancy/stability of a person/condition?

Can one have a happy relationship without trust and respect? No. Can one have job security without a situation of trust and respect? No.

In a world were trust is scoffed (i.e. "all men cheat, get over it"), in a world where there is no honor or respect, there cannot be true happiness. I must point out here, what is honor? It is honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and action; it is high respect for the worth, merit or value of a person/ideal/rank.

We can easily look around us and see that there has been an attempt by the media to kill off things like respect, trust and honor and sell us immorality instead. Where has it gotten us? An increasingly depressed world (where anti-depressants are the top selling drugs). A world where men and women feel their trust in relationships is expendable and they'd better get used to the idea? A world where kids can't count on their parents to teach them to love, respect and honor themselves and those around them?

So back to Blogger X...he says that his views are realistic, but I say they are not. I say he is steeped in a social circle of immorality and seeks to justify his actions and thus feel better about himself. When he is saying "all men cheat, get over it", he is saying more than that. He is say that morality doesn't matter, that respecting and honoring others doesn't matter; he is flagrantly thumbing his nose at the self-worth of any human being other than himself; he is saying" let the world go to hell in a hand-basket, let's all go along for the ride." And it scares me that people with that frame of mind are walking around in this world, caring not who they hurt...

As surely as there is a north and a south - and any compass will attest to that, there is right and there is wrong and our very consciences will tell us that. When we refuse to tolerate the wrong and speak up for the right, we make the world a better and happier place.

Respect, honor and trust. They start with each one of us. Self-respect goes a long way in promoting honor and trust. As does respecting others regardless of gender, race, size, religion.

I remember having the Golden Rule pounded into my head as a child, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Endorsed by all world religions, it is based on consistency and reciprocity. "What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others." is found in the Analects of Confucius. From Hinduism, "Wound not others, do no one injury by thought or deed, utter no word to pain thy fellow creatures." And from Islam we can read, "The most righteous of men is the one who is glad that men should have what is pleasing to himself, and who dislikes for them what is for him disagreeable." In Matthew 7:12 Jesus says, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

I take a look around me, and yes, while I do see moral decay working its way into every facet of society, I still see many people working at following that Golden Rule. I see people like ACTII who appeal to the collective conscience of our country. I see hope. :)

~o~

Today should be a day off from working out, I haven't decided yet. I spent HOURS at a bridal shop with my daughters. We did get my oldest the perfect dress, veil, etc, etc. It wasn't as awful as it could have been. There was a time when I'd have rather gone to the dentist than shopped with her, but thankfully she is much easier on me these days.