My beliefs
What I was taught to believe
I was raised a Christian in the Anglican faith. I went to Sunday School, and was altar boy for many years. I had no reason to question my faith, as it seemed to serve me well, answering any quesions about life and death that I may have. All I had to do was try to live by its teachings, and all would be well.
When I became an adult, my church attendance dropped away, and became an annual event, but I was still a believer. Eventually church attendance stopped altogether, but I still believed.
I didn't start to question until I was about 30. Until then, there were more important things to do in life. When I was 29 I commenced work at a Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Authority construction camp. I was to remain with Snowy for five years, and spent that time trying to understand what the hell was going on in this world. And out of it, for that matter. I tried to study religion, philosophy, science and politics. I watched all the ABC TV programs, read Readers Digest and anything else I could that might answer the questions running around in my mind.
And I became one very confused person. All the beliefs about life that I had taken for granted came falling down around my ears.
All this worldly wisdom was once the unamiable heresy of some wise man.
Henry David Thoreau
What started it
I'd had this vague feeling when I got to Snowy that I was searching for something. Moving around had satisfied my curiosity for a few years, but I had tired of that. There was something else I was yearning for. I realised many years later that it was the need to develop a personal philosophy to give my life some meaning.I was lying in bed one night when it occurred to me that if I had been born just a few years later, I may have been conscripted into fighting in Vietnam. To fight Communism we were told. We were told that the Communists were intent on world domination, and that if they won in Vietnam then the other South East Asian countries would fall like dominoes until we would eventually be fighting Communism at the doorstep to Australia. That was the infamous Domino Theory. But I didn't even know what Communism was! I thought I'd better find out. Until that point, I'd accepted without question everything our Liberal - Country Party Government had told us, even though I had always been a Labor voter. Because Dad said that working people voted Labor. But that was about the sum total of my political knowledge. I had no reason to distrust our Government, as they were Australians, and would always do the right thing by their fellow Australians. Wouldn't they?
So what was this Communism that was so bad that our young had to be killed defending us from it? I had some vague idea that Communists didn't believe in God, but that didn't seem reason to kill them, or be killed. So I bought books, read Time and Newsweek magazines, and watched the Current Affairs programs. I also talked to workmates who had come from European Communist countries. Much to my surprise many had no problems with Communism, and planned to return to the Communist countries they had come from. They said that their health system was free, and everyone had a job under Communism. So why were Aussies being killed fighting this thing called Communism? Something didn't add up.
Then I talked with some of the older workers who had come from Communist countries. Their opinion of Communism wasn't very high at all. And I watched the newsreels as the Russian tanks went into Prague. Hmmm.
Then I met Sam. He must have been around 70, although he told Snowy he was 55 when he started. He said he was Irish, but had lived in the Phillipines for many years after the war. I never knew whether he was telling me the truth. But he did show me a Time Magazine he had brought from the Phillipines. He said you would never be able to read anything like that in Australia. It contained an article by an American columnist called Drew Pearson. And Drew Pearson had listed his ideas of why Kennedy had gone into Vietnam, and there was nothing there about fighting Communism!
According to Drew Pearson the reasons why Kennedy went into Vietnam were:
1. Kennedy was still smarting from the Bay of Pigs fiasco.
2. He, as a Roman Catholic, was influenced by American Roman Catholic Cardinal Spellman's antagonism to Communism.
3.South Vietnam was ruled by Roman Catholic dictator, Diem.
What was all this about religion? I had thought that we were defending our country against the downward sweep of a world dominating Communism. And Jack Kennedy wouldn't take his country into war for reasons as frivolous as this, would he? Were Australians really dieing fighting a religious war they knew nothing about? This was all too confusing.
Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
Henry David Thoreau
The light dawns
The realisation came as a shock. These politicians, who parents had entrusted with the lives of their beautiful children, were fools!
Never again would I take them at face value. Especially when I learned years later that the leader of the Country Party had justified our prescence in Vietnam as an "insurance policy". The "thinking" of these fools was that if we followed the U.S. into Vietnam, then the US would feel obliged to defend us at some future date if we were ever attacked. And the premium paid for this insurance policy? The lives of over 500 of our beautiful sons, some of whom were conscripted into fighting a war they never understood. And the lives ruined of thousands more who would be physical and emotional wrecks for the rest of their lives. To say nothing of the millions killed in Vietnam in our name, and 54,000 U.S. soldiers, many of whom were conscripts. And all for nothing....
And the final proof that we should never have been in Vietnam? We lost. And all that those Vietnamese people did was just get on with living their lives. No falling dominoes. No nothing. Just the taking control of their own country which is all they had ever wanted to do. And all that we had "achieved" was the needless loss of millions of lives, including 500 of our own precious sons.
I suppose it was the final loss of my innocence. But it was also the dawning of my realisation that we are on our own in this world. That we never, ever, trust our leaders when they appeal to our patriotism, mateship ideals, and other emotive tools they use to mask their true intent. When the politicians volunteer their sons first, then I might listen to them. I know that will never happen.
And to think I've lived to see Australians being told the same lies justifying our presence in Iraq that we were told when we went into Vietnam. And with the same outcome. I wonder how they sleep at night...
The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs, is to be ruled by
evil men." -- Plato -(429-347 BC)
Pointless
Even though I wasn't around during the time of the Vietnam war, I am often confused at how such a war came to be. I believe that there is no viable reason at all for a human being to die a violent and untimely death - and yet to die such a death not really knowing what it is you're fighting for in the first place? When I was at school, there was such focus on both of the world wars, and I can recite facts and dates and names for both of them. However I don't recall ever being taught about Vietnam and why such a war came to be - despite Australias involvement. It all just seems so pointless and such a stupid waste of human life; but then, I guess all violence and killing is such a waste of human life, regardless of what war is being fought. Perhaps the reasons for war don't even matter, just the absolute pointlessness of it all does. I often wonder if what is happening in Iraq will turn out like Vietnam - no-one really understanding why it started, what people were dying for, what the aim was.I am enjoying reading your posts!
Rinny
Good to hear from you. Glad you are enjoying the posts. I am enjoying writing them.To their credit, Former Army Minister, Malcolm Fraser, and former U.S. Defense Secretary, Robert MacNamara admitted after the war that we were wrong to go into Vietnam. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
Iraq sickens me, and it is with a sense of frustration that I look at the unconcern of most Australians as to what is going on there. I have some theories on that too, but that is later in the blog.
Have a good one.
Edited by snowy on 7/6/2006 at 3:38 PM
The journey begins
It was clear that my world view wasn't really my worldview. It was a world view inluenced by people with whom I had come into contact. And it had been found wanting. But I was finding that there were so many worldviews to choose from! Which was right?
I tried reading the New Testament. I prayed so hard when my brother-in-law got Hodgkin's Disease. He recovered, thanks to a new chemotherapy treatment, but I wondered if it was my prayers. Then I wondered why prayers didn't work for the poor soul in the next bed to him, and I couldn't really answer that. But I tried. I talked to a workmate who was very religious, and went along to see an American evangelist at his church. I prayed with my friend. But I finally had to admit that it just wasn't doing it for me. Whose side was God on during the Second World War? And would Jesus really approve of the slaughter in Vietnam?
So my religious beliefs were discarded. Not willingly, as they gave me answers to questions that I no longer had answers for. But what use was that if I no longer believed the answers?
So I tried Philosophy. And I read Bertrand Russell's "Why I am not a Christian". He said it was because no-one could answer the question "Who made God?". Who indeed.
I tried to read Plato's "Republic". Nearly forty years later, I'm still trying to read it. But one thing I did understand, and that was Plato's cave analogy. We are all like people in a cave, forming our opinions from the shadows we see cast on the wall of the cave. But the true light casting the shadows is outside the cave, and we never see it. All we ever see is the shadows, and we think that is reality. How wise were these early philosophers. I was to learn subsequently that the Bible had been rewritten in an attempt to incorporate the wisdom of the early Greek Philosophers. The word of God, or the word of man?
For what are the classics but the noblest thoughts of man? They are the only oracles which are not decayed, and there are such answers to the most modern inquiry in them as Delphi and Dodona never gave. We might as well omit to study Nature because she is old.
Henry David Thoreau
My world gets bigger
My interest had been aroused by an article in the Readers Digest on the size of the Universe. The mind boggling figures of just how big the Universe was, and just how insignificant our little planet was in it began to put things into perspective for me. Why ever would God go to all the trouble of creating a Universe for human beings to sin in? That was the final clincher for religion for me.
I looked at the planets, the moon, the stars, and the galaxies, and marveled at how wonderful and mysterious it all was. I read books on cosmology, and the search for life in the Universe, and became aware of how precious this gift of life is to us all. And how precious is every instant of our time on Earth. How foolish to waste our time on frivolous pursuits. And how foolish to kill our fellow human beings. The horror of Vietnam became even more unbearable especially as the reasons for it became less credible.
Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines.
Bertrand Russell
So much to do, so little time..
And you have to make your choice as to what to spend those precious moments of your time on earth doing. It is true that much of that time has to be spent on the drudgery of survival. The value of this drudgery is measured by our fellow humans in terms of money. Far more important to me is the value of self worth one places on oneself, and only the individual can determine that for him/herself.
We are all human beings who come into the world the same way, and go out the same way. And we are all equal, no matter what the supremicists may say. Equal in the sense that no human has the right to take another human's life. The problem arises when we see the survival of other humans as being a threat to our own. Humans have used this basic fear to their advantage to exercise power over other humans since civilisation began. We must acknowledge that it will always happen, and learn to recognise it when it does, and learn how to deal with it. The stupidity of the invasions of Vietnam and Iraq come to mind.
We are all concerned first with survival, and some never go beyond this first step. For some, every waking moment is filled with thoughts of accumulating wealth. And when the time comes to die, they can point to their accumulated wealth, and say that they have had a successful life. We all differ in our mental and physical faculties, so our time on earth is governed according to the mental and physical hands we were dealt, together with the nurturing environment in which we were raised. The values we learn in this environment serve to point us in a certain direction in early life.
But at various points in life, the thinking person has to reappraise these values, and discard those that no longer are appropriate to that person. Similarly, new values must be acquired in order to give meaning to one's existence. Only then, can one begin to be truly free. To my way of thinking, once an individual has accumulated enough wealth to provide for his/her needs , then any further time spent on the pursuit of wealth is a waste of precious moments on this earth. Thorsten Veblein had it right with his Theory of Conspicuous Consumption in his "Theory of the Leisure Class". As did Henry David Thoreau in his "Walden".
My parents lived all their lives in a small country town. They came from farming stock, and manual skills were all that were necessary for them to have a fulfilling life. They lived healthy active lives into their eighties, before both succumbed to cancer. For most of their lives, any information about the outside world came to them through newspapers and/or radio. In the last few years of their lives, they had T.V. So, did they have good lives? I think so. They remained believers to the end, and never questioned their faith. They never had need for sleeping pills, antidepressants, or tranquilisers. They lived their lives according to what gave it meaning, and then died. Along the way, they never knowingly did any harm to anyone else, and raised my sister and I. Yes, I think they had good lives. But would that have been a meaningful life for me? No, but that doesn't mean to say it wasn't a meaningful life.
The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Out of the darkness
And so I stumbled along for a few years trying to make sense of it all. Then one night at a friend's place, I saw hanging on the wall some words saying in part:no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
It was, of course, Max Erhmann's wonderful "Desiderata".
How simple, and yet so true. We are a part of this glorious universe. We always have been; we always will be. Not in our present form, certainly, but the universe is in a constant state of transformation, so why not us? Why should we be any different to any of the other forms of life on this planet which share a common ancestry with us? It is true that "The universe is unfolding as it should". I will be forever grateful to Max Ehrmann for his words which I consider the wisest ever uttered.
This was the personal philosophy that I had been seeking. I have tried to live by it ever since, and have never found it wanting. Sometimes my efforts to live by it have been, but not the philosophy. I have passed it on to my beautiful children. They have no need of it yet, but in years to come, when they begin to question why things are as they are, it will serve them in good stead. No doubt they will develop their own philosophies, but I am sure that Desiderata will be a launching pad for them.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Max Ehrmann - Desiderata
From human centric to universe centric
The priests had enjoyed thousands of years of power over other humans by setting themselves up as the interpreters of Plato's light outside the cave. Even kings had to bow to their power. When science challenged the power of the priests, they first tried to suppress science (see Galileo) Then when science prevailed they decided that maybe they'd better accommodate science before they lost all their power. But it is an uneasy truce, and the Christian Right still tilt at old windmills that they see as a challenge to their self appointed authority as God's interpreters of the light. There will always be some who will prefer Faith over Reason. And there will always be some who will use their positions as interpreters of this faith as a means of power.
I suppose my beliefs could now be best described as humanist, although I hesitate to put any label on myself. I believe I am a part of a wonderful universe that I will never understand. I cannot believe that there is some all powerful super human deciding who will live eternally, depending on their acts on earth. The universe doesn't really care, and will just keep on unfolding as it should. I do not need the threat of eternal damnation to develop a moral code that I will try to uphold to make my time on earth as happy and productive as I can. That this striving for happiness must take account of other creatures, including humans, is self evident.
I have no problem with other humans living according to their various faiths, so long as I am accorded the same courtesy and respect for my beliefs. Killing other humans because of religious differences, and/or attempting to inflict religious beliefs on them through legislation is repugnant to me, and I make no apology for resisting such people in any way I can. And if I can puncture the balloon of hypocrisy surrounding these people, then I will do so at every opportunity.
If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated.
Voltaire
Lessons of History
I have given my three beautiful children copies of the book. I hope it is as helpful to them in their lives as it has been in mine.
This all came together for me towards the end of my five years at Snowy. I now felt confident that I could re-enter the world outside armed with my newfound knowledge.
Politics
I will never forgive the Liberal-National Parties for sacrificing our young in Vietnam as the price for a supposed "insurance policy" that guarantees that the U.S. will defend Australia in the event that we are attacked at some future date. Apart from the immorality of lying to us while sending our young off to their deaths, the "insurance policy" argument is just plain stupid. No country goes to war unless it feels that it is in its own best interests to do so. If the U.S. felt that it was in its own best interests not to defend Australia at some future time, then it would not defend it. The U.S. is not going to be swayed by the fact that Australia's politicians were stupid enough to blindly follow them into Vietnam. So when the Australian Labor Party said that they would bring our troops home, then it confirmed my life long support for them.How wonderful it was to see the election of the Australian Labor Party in 1972! And how illuminating to see the subsequent disgraceful behaviour of the "born to rule" Conservative parties. Parliamentary conventions that the ALP had always observed were thrown out by the Coalition in their desperation to regain the power that they always assumed was rightfully theirs.
And the behaviour of the Australian media was an education as well, as they fell over themselves to do the bidding of their Coalition masters. Finally, the ALP was brought down by an alcoholic Governor General who became just another Labor rat. And Australia went back to sleep for seven long years.
It is true that the world is run to suit the extremely rich and powerful corporate world. Because of their power, and control of the media, they are able to manipulate democracies by controlling the information that flows to the common people. And it has got worse. One only has to look at the disgraceful manipulation by the Murdoch media worldwide. Their connivance with the most stupid President the U.S. has ever had was instrumental in the early overwhelming public support for the invasion of Iraq.
It has to be said that these people care nothing for the lives of the common people. And they have even reinvented Christianity to line up with the interests of the rich and powerful. Thus the enthusiasm of the Conservatives for the fundamentalist Christians who disgrace themselves by doing the bidding of the rich and powerful in the name of one of the most gentle persons ever to walk this earth.
It's Time
I have often heard many people lament over the "spendthrift" ways of the Whitlam years. It's a shame, because even though I wasn't around to witness them, I feel that Gough Whitlam was perhaps one of the best Prime Ministers this country has known; if not for sticking to a budget :-), then for his willingness to listen to the public. My mother still hums the "It's Time" campaign song to herself !As a young labour supporter myself, I hope for a time to come when "progressive" change for our country doesn't occur at the expense of the people who reside in it.
Onya Rinny
I wonder if those who accuse Whitlam of being spendthrift had any problem with the money that was (wisely?) spent by the Coalition on our "insurance policy" in Vietnam. The Whitlam government changed this country forever for the better, and would have done much more good if given the chance. It was an exciting time to live through after the horror of the Vietnam years.
Take an active interest in politics, Rinny. You owe it to yourself to stay informed. I join with you in hoping for a return to a more gentle, caring society.
Where we're at
It's all about survival, both physical and intellectual. I think the Maslow needs heirarchy says it best. It makes more sense to me than anything else I've seen. I think that individual worldviews are formed according to the Maslow layers.
The more greedy and acquisitive among us never attain the fifth layer. I'll call them "Conservatives" They are also more likely to see physical survival as the sole reason for being in this life. Other humans are rated according to their usefulness in this quest for physical survival. Therefore, if other humans can be cheated of their labour, or sacrificed in war, they have fulfilled their purpose in life, which is to ensure the survival of the Conservatives. They are also more likely to see religion as a means of manipulation of their fellow humans, as well as the means to an everlasting survival after death.
Those who attain self actualisation (or liberals) are more likely to see a higher purpose in life than the accumulation of wealth, or exploitation of their fellow human beings. They are more likely to see their time on earth as being about physical/intellectual survival, and see man made religions for what they are. They are more likely to see co-operation as the means to survival on this earth rather than the exploitation favoured by the conservatives.
So, liberals must face the problem of avoiding exploitation by the conservatives. Knowing your enemy is a good place to start.
Because the conservatives see the accumulation of wealth as the reason for being on this earth, they devote all of their time to this purpose. They are not capable of self actualisation, so do not "waste" their time in pursuit of the intellectual activities favoured by the liberals. But this accumulation of wealth gives them a powerful weapon to use to control the information flow used for decision making by the masses who are preoccupied with the business of survival. Therefore, information favourable to the conservative cause is fed in a constant stream, while information favourable to the liberals is either suppressed or ridiculed. This is the situation confronting those of liberal persuasion throughout the Western world today.
In Australia, the Liberal-National Party commitment to Conservatism is evidenced by their disgraceful Industrial Relations legislation which destroys the hard won rights of working people, to the advantage of the employers. This upward redistribution of wealth has continued unabated for ten years.
The enthusiasm of the Liberal-National Party for sacrifice of other peoples' lives in the war in Iraq is justified as an "insurance policy" to protect their "born to rule" mean spirited hides. The incentive to exploit the oil of that unhappy country is an added bonus.
Other examples of their lack of concern for fellow humans is abundant. The infamous Immigration Department bears witness to that, as does the treatment of David Hicks, and persecution of gays. The list goes on, and on.
So, what to do about it? The liberals must use their accumulated wealth; their intellect.
So, what to do about it?
Much to the chagrin of the Conservatives, the anarchy of the Internet has deprived them of their most cherished power; the control of the information flow to the masses. Murdoch is doing his best even now to retrieve the situation, but even he and his billions will not be successful. And liberals have grabbed this opportunity with both hands. The proliferation of liberal sites has ensured that a more balanced information flow is available to those who seek it. But what of those who don't seek it; the masses? They are still influenced by the conservatives in control of the media. Nightly they are fed sanitised news through T.V. which is specifically targeted to subconciously influence their votes in favour of the Conservatives.Therefore, the liberals must also seek to influence by the means available to them, acknowledging that the task is formidable, but they must try. They must:
1. Flatter the Conservatives by imitating the methods employed by them to impose their will on liberals.
2. Challenge conservative views at every opportunity by whatever means available. Some courageously do this in the media, even though far outnumbered by Conservative talking heads doing the bidding of their masters.
3. Write letters to the editor. These letters serve a two fold purpose in that they reinforce the views of liberal thinking people, and also present different points of view that can be used by them in their own efforts to counteract the Conservative propaganda.
4. Compare the thinking of liberals with that of Jesus Christ. The Conservatives have reinvented Christianity to reflect the values of the Conservatives, whereas the moral code preached by Jesus was quite the opposite. Christians need to have this glaring inconsistency pointed out to them. While the values preached by Jesus are more in keeping with those of liberals, it is the Conservatives who have cynically used Christianity as a means of subjugating the masses.
5. Join a political party that best reflects liberal values, (NOT Liberal!!!) and where it doesn't, act to change it so that it does. We still have a democracy. Use it.
6. Join school committees to combat their use by Conservatives to impose Fundamentalist Christian views on school children.
And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them. Thus it happens that whenever those who are hostile have the opportunity to attack they do it like partisans, whilst the others defend lukewarmly, in such wise that the prince is endangered along with them.
The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
Great Blog
Thanks
Summing up.
I'd like to go through Max Ehrmann's Desiderata that he wrote in 1927. His beautiful words have helped millions to a more fulfilling life, and I hope they work their magic for you also.
- Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
- If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
- Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
- Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
- Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
- Be cheerful.
- Strive to be happy.
........................................................................................................................................................................................................
A Short History of Nearly Everything
So, in retirement, I spend a lot of time learning about life and the universe. I find it to be a fascinating exercise, as the more I learn about this marvelous universe we live in, the more fascinating it becomes. And, it has been my experience that the more I understand the universe, the more I understand myself. After all, I'm part of it. And as I better understand myself and my place in the universe, so does a sense of peace and calmness replace the chaos within.
Books are my favourite source of information. I am presently trying to read Stephen Hawking's "The Universe in a Nutsell. " It is very heavy going. So, I have gone back to again reading Bill Bryson's, "
This really is a marvellous book written in plain language for those of us seeking to know more about the universe and ourselves. It is available in paperback. I thoroughly recommend it.
It seems to me
We are humans on planet Earth. We share this planet for a few years with other life forms. Then we all die. Our planet is but one of billions in the Universe capable of sustaining life. One day it will die too.
So, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. It is an arrogance to assume that the universe was created for the benefit of humans.
2. Our first obligation in this life is to survive.
3. We can choose whether to compete with other humans for survival, or to co-operate.
4. Conservatives believe that they are better equipped both physically and mentally to survive, and choose to compete. That is why they favour war, both class war, and war against other nations. They also favour religion as a means of subjugating the masses. Much of their time is spent in convincing the masses that the conservatives' interests are the same as the masses they exploit. They are intolerant of those who question their right to do so. They have control of the mass media, and use it to promote their interests.
5. Liberals (small l) recognise that we are not all born physically or mentally equal, but do not accept that is a reason for rational humans to exploit fellow humans. They believe that our survival is best achieved through co-operation. That is why they do not favour war, either class war, or war against other nations, except as a means of last resort. They do not devote as much of their lives to the pursuit of material wealth as conservatives, and therefore have time to pursue more spiritually rewarding interests. This means that they are less likely to favour organised religion. They are more likely to be tolerant of diverse life styles. As they do not have control of the mass media, they are at a disadvantage in combating conservative propaganda.
6. So, we must choose whether we wish to be conservative or liberal, and live our lives accordingly.
That just about sums it up, I think.
Just one more thing; the Liberal Party in Australia is not a liberal party according to the description above, but a conservative one. Someone had a strange sense of humour when naming it.
Survival
But for some of us, the religions become increasingly irrelevant. It seems to me that a moral code that is enforced by the threat of eternal damnation is not a worthwhile moral code at all. A moral code should be developed for oneself because it is the right thing to do if one wishes to live a meaningful life. So the concept of "sin" bothers me, and is one reason why I no longer subscribe to organised religion.
I acknowledge the comfort that religion brings to its believers in the absence of anything better to believe in, and I have no interest in persuading them to believe otherwise. To do so would be an arrogance that I hope I do not possess. I do however take exception when I see those who hold such beliefs imposing them on me.
I look at the world in which I live, and all around me I see life. If evolution is true, and I have no reason to believe it isn't, then I share a common ancestry with all those life forms, human and otherwise. They are my extended family on this Earth, and as such I feel an obligation to that family. They want to survive too.
So, I need to develop a moral code to take account of the rights of that family, as well as my own.
I see the farm animals and the fish, and arrogantly assume that their purpose in life is to feed me, thus ensuring my survival. I see humans killing other humans with a similar arrogance, justifying the killing in the name of survival. And I think to myself that these same killers would also kill me if it meant they would survive. These members of my extended family.
So, I guess I'll just have to make some exclusions in my moral code if I am to survive. I don't need to act morally towards those humans who don't act that way towards me. Because it's all about survival, you know.
And as for choosing between a good steak and the rights of my extended animal family, sorry guys, I just can't overcome my ancestral survival instincts. Weak excuse, I know.
Thoughts on a Friday night.
I don't spend a lot of time on regrets. You play the cards you're dealt in life, and sometimes the hand you hold isn't much, and all too often we don't play those hands very well anyway. We are but humans after all, stumbling along through this life, trying to understand what the hell it's all about, and berating ourselves for the stupid bloody mistakes we seem to persist in making.
But I will permit myself one regret, and one only. And that is that I never learnt music. I did teach myself to play the harmonica, and a button accordion. But I never learnt music. So, I made sure that my kids had the opportunity to do so. Their teacher was a little old lady who lived around the corner. She only charged a token amount. She prepared them for eisteddfords, knowing full well that they would never make the effort required to win one. But she tried. Because she loved music. And she loved our kids. She was one of those rare Christians, who actually tried to live as one. No wonder the kids loved her. She's gone now. If there is a Heaven, Mrs H. then I know you'll have made it.
I'm sitting here listening to Chopin. And the thought comes to mind. Just why do we like music? Everyone does. It is the one thing that unites every human, albeit in different forms. As always, I consulted Wikipedia, and this is what they have to say:
- The broadest definition of music is organized sound. There are observable patterns to what is broadly labeled music, and while there are understandable cultural variations, the properties of music are the properties of sound as perceived and processed by humans.
A more conservative definition would be: Music is harmonious sound created by the playing of instruments or use of vocals as a whole or individually. It is a direct expression of human emotions designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music is designed to be felt unlike sound which is heard.
So, there's that word "emotions" again. It seems to me that emotions are what makes us enjoy life, or otherwise. Maybe it's time I went back to Wikipedia to find out more about emotions.
Could it be that our emotions are actually the way we communicate with the cosmic conciousness? I have always had this feeling that there is something beautiful and mysterious reaching out to us, but we have just not discovered how to respond....yet.
Maybe music is the language of the universe. How wonderful it would be if it is.
The Meaning of Life
I've highlighted in red the ones that make most sense to me. I'm not saying the others don't make sense, just not "most" sense for me.
Maybe others would like to use the list to refocus their lives.
What wikipedia has to say about it.
"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives, most in the context "What is the purpose of life?" Here are some of the many potential answers to this perplexing question. Many of these responses could be shown to overlap in many ways:
Survival and temporal success
- ...to live everyday like it is your last and to do your best at everything that comes before you
- ...to accumulate wealth and increase social status
- ...to advance natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race
- ...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future human
- ...to compete or co-operate with others
- ...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance
- ...to die having succeeded in your purpose
- ...to gain and exercise power
- ...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
- ...to live
- ...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction (alike to number three)
- ...to protect one's family
- ...to pursue a dream, vision, or destiny
- ...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially
- ...to see how long humanity can go on, before it destroys the Earth
- ...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate
- ...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means (see life extension)
- ...to complete your list of life goals
- ...to find something to believe
Wisdom and knowledge
- ...to be without question, or to keep asking questions
- ...to try to discover and understand the meaning of life
- ...to expand one's perception of the world
- ...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers
- ...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes
- ...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom
- ...to understand creation
- ...to satisfy the natural curiosity felt by man about life.
Ethical
- ...to express compassion
- ...to follow the "Golden Rule"
- ...to give and receive love
- ...to live in a way that you don't harm yourself and don't harm your environment
- ...to work for justice and freedom
- ...to live in peace with each other, and in harmony with our natural environment (see utopia)
- ...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
- ...to serve others, or do good deeds
Religious and spiritual
- ...2 Thessalonians 1: 11, 12 says our instructions from God as Christians is to be like Christ and to be worthy of his calling by doing what Christ would do (W.W.J.D.)
- ...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
- ...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
- ...to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land
- ...to become like God, or God-like
- ...to be rewarded for your deeds
- ...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. God)
- ...to be a filter of creation between heaven and hell
- ...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
- ...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
- ...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
- ...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment and atonement
- ...to understand and follow the "Word of God"
- ...to worship, serve, or achieve union with God
Other
- ...to be emotionally fulfilled
- ...to find true love
- ...to live, love, and laugh
- ...to achieve self-actualisation
- ...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")
- ...to find a purpose, a "reason" for living that hopefully raises the quality of one's experience of life, or even life in general
- ...to live, and enjoy the passage of time
- ...to have fun
- ...to participate in the inevitable increase in entropy of the universe
- ...to make the conformists' lives miserable (see nonconformism)
- ...to participate in the chain of events which has led from the creation of the universe until its possible end (either freely chosen or determined, this is a subject widely debated amongst philosophers)
- ...to relate, connect, or achieve unity with others
- ...to resolve all problems that one faces, or to ignore them and attempt to fully continue life without them, or to detach oneself from all problems faced (see Buddhism)
- ...to seek and find beauty
- ...as there is no intrinsic meaning to life, to each individual, the "meaning of life" is whatever he/she decides it is. In that sense, every point above is potentially valid.
- ...an answer to the question "What is the meaning of life?" is that it is just simply being able to ask the question, "What is the meaning of life?" (see Sri Sri Ravi Shankar below)
- ...to determine a set of goals based on an individuals belief in the meaning of life and work towards the attainment of those objectives.
- ...to make life as difficult as possible for others
- ...42
- ...a combination of any of the above.
No purpose, and therefore...
- ...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
- ...just a series of events
- ...just nature taking its course
- ...the wheel of time keeps on turning
- ...the cycle of life
- ...whatever you see you see, as in "projection makes perception"
- ...there is no purpose or meaning whatsoever (see nihilism)
- ...life may actually not exist, this is all a surreal dream.
- ...to live in fear of possible events that may happen after life ends.
- ...have fun while it lasts.
- ...the purpose of life is balance.
How wise was this man?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato%27s_allegory_of_the_cave
Plot
Imagine prisoners who have been chained since childhood deep inside a cave. Not only are their limbs immobilized by the chains; their heads are chained as well so that their eyes are fixed on a wall.
Behind the prisoners is an enormous fire, and between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway, along which shapes of various animals, plants, and other things are carried. The shapes cast shadows on the wall, which occupy the prisoners' attention. When one of the shape-carriers speaks, an echo against the wall causes the prisoners to believe that the words come from the shadows.
The prisoners engage in what appears to us to be a game - naming the shapes as they come by. This, however, is the only reality that they know, even though they are seeing merely shadows of images. They are thus conditioned to judge the quality of one another by their skill in quickly naming the shapes and dislike those who begin to play poorly.
Suppose a prisoner is released and compelled to stand up and turn around.
His eyes will be blinded by the firelight, and the shapes passing will appear less real than their shadows.
Similarly, if he is dragged up out of the cave into the sunlight, his eyes will be so blinded that he will not be able to see anything.
At first, he will be able to see darker shapes such as shadows and, only later, brighter and brighter objects.
The last object he would be able to see is the sun, which, in time, he would learn to see as that object which provides the seasons and the courses of the year, presides over all things in the visible region, and is in some way the cause of all these things that he has seen.
(This part of the allegory, incidentally, closely matches Plato's metaphor of the sun which occurs near the end of The Republic, Book VI.)
Once enlightened, so to speak, the freed prisoner would no doubt want to return to the cave to free "his fellow bondsmen". The problem, however, lies in the other prisoners' not wanting to be freed: descending back into the cave would require that the freed prisoner's eyes adjust again, and for a time, he would be one of the ones identifying shapes on the wall. His poor eyesight would severely impair his ability to name the shapes, and thus the other prisoners would dislike him to the degree that they have no trust in him and thus take his attempts to free them with murderous aggression.
(The Republic bk. VII, 516b-c; trans. Paul Shorey).
Symbolism
Each aspect of the allegory has its own symbolism. Plato had a great interest in politics and sociology, which are reflected in the allegory. The symbolism of the aspects are explored below:
First, Plato establishes the sun as the source of true knowledge. He then says that the prisoners who sit in the cave represent much of humanity. We sit not knowing the truth; however, as Plato relates, philosophers (freed men) will begin to attempt to loosen our chains.
Plato then explains that the chains are representatives of our society and our outside influences. They serve to stop us from questioning and help divert our attention onto different aspects of our lives. In order to maintain power the authoritarians cannot have the prisoners (us) turning around, so they have us concern ourselves with trivial matters instead.
In the analogy we can see that the guards are also representing authority figures that want us to see only the reflections of reality. We can consider them as the government for example. They are people in power who want to stay there; they want the prisoners to remain exactly how they are. They keep us fixed in the state of eikasia.
The cave in which the prisoners sit is our bodies. Our bodies stop us from seeing true reality as they concentrate us on matter. True knowledge which would shine on everything would come from the sun in this analogy, but our caves stop it from reaching us. Plato believes that the soul is trapped in the body, and if we can travel with our soul to the exit of the cave, we can see true reality.
Plato goes on to say that if a prisoner were to break out of his chains and turn around, he would be dazzled by the fire initially, but he would be able to see what was going on and exit the cave. He says that this is a difficult and scary process. He would be defying the guards, his parents, his social influences and his normal way of life. Plato also states that normal prisoners simply do not want to break free. It is too difficult and too scary. They are satisfied with their empirical comfort and do not want to leave.
Upon exiting the cave, the philosopher-prisoner sees the world’s true reality thanks to the sun. His words however cannot describe what he sees and when he returns to the prisoners he has the difficult challenge of explaining it to them. Very few will turn their heads. How can the philosopher explain what he has seen when the prisoners’ language only describes what is seen in the cave?
Plato says that we cannot describe the divine as our language is also based entirely on experience. Every word stems from an aspect of human experience. However, despite being far off from breaking out of the cave, we can attempt to loosen the chains by questioning what we are told.
Emotions
They make us happy. They make us sad. Because they are throwbacks to our instincts of survival. We get a job promotion, we're happy. We get fired, we're sad. We find a soulmate, we're happy. We split, we're sad.
So, should we not listen to our emotions? Then we'd not be sad. Or happy. Just...here.
No, we must listen to our emotions. Because that's what gives our lives meaning.
Otherwise, we're just....here.
Where to from here?
I believe I am part of a glorious universe. I always have been. I always will be. I do not know what that universe is. I will never know in this lifetime. I do not believe there is some super human watching over me, who will judge my actions on this earth. I believe the universe is about much more than that. I do believe that I should follow a moral code that takes account of my actions on other life forms on this earth.
My reason for being is first to provide physical and emotional support for my family. My other reason for being is to further my quest for knowledge of the universe within me, and beyond. To do this, I need to depend on other humans for my knowledge, as well as my observations of my fellow creatures and the universe. I need to discern for myself what I accept to be true, and what I believe to be false.
I must be aware of those who seek to influence my world view for their own ends. That said, I must also be aware of all that is beautiful in this universe, and resolve to share that beauty with those who seek it also.
That is what I believe.
Where we're at
There is a universe. A minuscule part of that universe is a planet called Earth. That planet has life forms that have evolved over millions of years. The life form that has evolved furthest mentally is called man. Man is motivated both by conscious and subconscious thoughts. Man is capable of both rational and irrational thinking. Irrational thinking results from the millions of years of evolution where the subconscious mind dominated man’s actions which ensured man’s survival. This subconscious mind caused reflex actions where man was forced to defend himself against other life forms who were also seeking survival. This included the actions of other humans.
As man discovered the benefits of living in a society, some of the subconscious thoughts had to be overcome, as they were not conducive to survival in a society. This included killing another human, stealing from other humans, and indiscriminate mating between man and woman. Religions were developed to give supernatural punishment to those who could not suppress these subconscious actions. These subconscious actions were now called “sins”.
Society recognised the need to look to some human who possessed strength of character, and then gave up individual power to this super man, in order to gain the benefit of collective society power. These super men were possessed of great power in society, and there was frequent overthrowing of these super men by those who desired the power. This resulted in weakened societies. Societies eventually resolved to overcome the problem by making the super man position hereditary. They called him “king”. Society then became orderly, as a pecking order of humans evolved, all demanding obeisance from those lower in the pecking order, and all pledging allegiance to those above them in the pecking order. In return for this pledge, those higher in the pecking order would confer benefits and protection to those lower in the pecking order.
The threat of supernatural punishment meant that the religions became extremely powerful, and eventually challenged the power of the kings. This was resolved when the king and the church amalgamated their power for the benefit of both, and the king was given supernatural powers as the Supreme Being’s representative on Earth. The churches would control the masses, while the king would confer high status on the churches in the pecking order.
Over time, those lower in the pecking order became more educated, and resented the absolute power of kings and churches. The kings were forced to allow democracy, which gave the illusion of power to the masses. Those in possession of extreme wealth became the true rulers of society.
As the wealth multiplied, a group of super rich people emerged who eventually controlled the world. They controlled governments, economies, warred with other countries over that country’s wealth, and controlled the information flow to the masses. Such, that the illusion of democracy could be maintained, but the wealthy still controlled the world, no matter which political party was in power.
And that’s where we're at.
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