A reflection? You want a reflection?
I’d reflect on the Proposition 8 protests, but to be honest, I only went because everyone else was going. I know the protests won’t change California state law, nor should it. The motion was passed in a free and democratic manner, which is the most characteristic value of this nation, and if the majority of Californians want to block gay marriages, then that’s their prerogative. Of course, I don’t agree with that preference, and I’d say that most arguments against its legality are lame excuses for religious-based opposition or sheltered discomfort, neither of which should be written into law. But these are risks taken under a democratic system, so if one wishes to change the current policy through legal means, they should speak in a language the voters can understand. It’s a technique that won Barack Obama the presidency. Also, I got rained on, so I think God’s position on the issue is pretty clear.
I’d reflect on class this past week, but sustained praise of myself and my group would be haughty and arrogant. I mean, I’m certainly not going to criticize our presentation, since we’re being graded on this. But with regard to poverty, I see it as a necessary evil. It has existed as long as trade has, as scarcity is the basis of economics. As long as one person has more than his fair share, there will be those who have less. Marxist as that sounds, it is nevertheless useless to try to “eliminate” poverty, since there will always be a goods discrepancy. Until people are ready and willing to institute an Orwellian society where everything is mechanized and all needs are provided for artificially, people should accept that poverty exists, and understand why they place where they do on the wealth spectrum.
I’d reflect on Krista Tippet’s Q&A session on Wednesday, but I found it rather unstimulating. Her answers attempted to give deference to every religious practice, and as a result revealed nothing new about inter-faith dialogue. Her book, as well, was too muted to be of any use, and acted more as a testament to her various interviews than a manifesto on dealing with the worldwide religious divide.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Why is poverty a necessary evil? There will certainly not be universal and absolute financial equality, but those who comprise the lower class do not necessarily have to be impoverished.
I do not argue that there will be people who have less. My point is that, ideally, even those who have less still have enough. I disagree with the assertion that poverty is a necessary evil.
Though man is ideally self-sufficient, it does not work out this way in practice worldwide. There are a multitude of reasons why a group of people may not be able to satisfy their own needs through production or trade. They may live under a repressive government, or ecological conditions may change, but there have always been groups that have been unable to make ends meet, and as a result have been phased out by evolution. Whereas this was acceptable throughout most of human history, today it is seen a poverty, a curable ill, if only for the simple reason that humans as a species produce enough total to fill everyone's basic needs. However, taking the principles of personal ownership, sectarian mentality, and self-interest, there is no reason to expect that such resources would be used to cure poverty around the world. Besides, if we did, it would upset the evolutionary cycle of man and put an even greater strain on first-world production capabilities in times of crisis, which is something I'm sure they wouldn't want to deal with unless incentive were given.
Post a Comment