Post by Makku on Aug 10, 2005 21:27:14 GMT -5
I do not exist to impress the world. I exist to live my life in a way that will make me happy. Everybody else is free to do whatever they feel like doing, for a living or anything. Responsible is Able to Respond, able to answer for the way we choose to live. There's only one person we have to answer to, of course, and that is ourselves. We don't even have to answer to ourselves, if we don't feel like it-- there's nothing wrong with being irresponsible. But most of us find it more interesting to know why we act as we do, why we make our choices just so-- whether we choose to watch a bird or step on an ant or work for money at something we'd rather not be doing. Too long for you?
How about-- I allow the world to live as it chooses, and I allow me to live as I choose. Simple, direct, quotable, and it doesn't answer the question unless somebody takes the time to think carefully about it.
"I want to be loved, I'm kind, I do unto others as I would have them do unto me, but still I don't have any friends and I'm all alone." The Golden Rule simply does not work. How would you like to meet a masochist who did unto others as he would have them do unto him? Or a worshiper of the Crocodile God, who craves the honor of being thrown alive into the pit? Even the Samaritan, who started the whole thing-- what made him think that the man he found lying at the roadside wanted to have oil poured in his wounds? What if the man was using those quiet moments to heal himself spiritually, enjoying the challenge of it? Even if the Rule was changed to Do unto others as they want to be done to, we can't know how anybody but ourselves wants to be done to.
What the Rule means, and how we apply it honestly, is this: Do unto others as you truly feel like doing unto others. Meet a masochist with this rule and you do not have to flog him with his whip, simply because that is what he would want you to do unto him. Nor are you required to throw the worshiper to the crocodiles.
How about-- I allow the world to live as it chooses, and I allow me to live as I choose. Simple, direct, quotable, and it doesn't answer the question unless somebody takes the time to think carefully about it.
"I want to be loved, I'm kind, I do unto others as I would have them do unto me, but still I don't have any friends and I'm all alone." The Golden Rule simply does not work. How would you like to meet a masochist who did unto others as he would have them do unto him? Or a worshiper of the Crocodile God, who craves the honor of being thrown alive into the pit? Even the Samaritan, who started the whole thing-- what made him think that the man he found lying at the roadside wanted to have oil poured in his wounds? What if the man was using those quiet moments to heal himself spiritually, enjoying the challenge of it? Even if the Rule was changed to Do unto others as they want to be done to, we can't know how anybody but ourselves wants to be done to.
What the Rule means, and how we apply it honestly, is this: Do unto others as you truly feel like doing unto others. Meet a masochist with this rule and you do not have to flog him with his whip, simply because that is what he would want you to do unto him. Nor are you required to throw the worshiper to the crocodiles.