A Dangerous Mix

Human beings have a strong affinity to fit in, to be part of a group larger than themselves of those who feel the same as they do. Any observer of human nature or of history can recognize this as a trait which we all are susceptible to. In general this is beneficial as it leads to organization and cooperation of people, which was necessary to accomplish the many great achievements in our society. But this same drive, when applied to idealism and beliefs, can lead to a divisiveness and irrationality that can undermine a modern society's operation.

 Today it takes the form of two major aspects of people’s lives: politics and religion. Unfortunately in society today these two things are combined into a single ideal. Where politics should be the discussion of the operation of a nation, based on bettering your life and the lives of those in your society, it has been more and more infected by the belief that politics should be an extension of a person’s moral beliefs. Often such strong moral beliefs are inevitably based in religion or spirituality.  The idea that any human being on this Earth knows the true way a society should be run seems absurd. Many, many leaders in history have told their public that they know this supposed truth and then tricked them into given them wide ranging powers over the free lives of individuals. The most common source of this truth is a higher power, the idea that God decided to tell a select few people how to run society. The other source is a perversion of science, when someone dictates that their select pseudoscience can save a nation and lead it to glory (the obvious case of this would be the Nazis). It does not make sense to assume that anyone does know the exact way a society should be run for it is much too complicated. A good example of this is the current total confusion over the economy, the main reason for this being no one completely understands how it works. Perhaps one day when we possess the computing power to completely simulate (and get a simulation that is exact) we will be able to say we know how to run it better, but until that day we must rely on what scientists, engineers and businessmen rely on day in and day out: rationality and pragmatism.

 Yes we have basic human rights which must be upheld, and although this can be thought as a type or moralism, most people on Earth can agree on the basic fundamental human rights. We do not need to come up with them, as the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights already has. Beyond those tenants we must rely on observation of society, and a pragmatic approach of applying those policies which improve human life for all of those in a society and ignoring those which do not. This means leaving behind beliefs which may be a luxury for those living in a perfect society and perhaps even allowing some human vices legality, but always applying policies which cause the least harm. This idea of lesser evils and least bad options differs from the ideas which have preceded it, in that it is based rationality and disbanding personal beliefs for the greater good. Perhaps once we’ve abandoned our partisan beliefs and stop fighting with each other over the ideal way to run society and just compromise and agree to run society as best we can, we’ll all be a little better off.

 -DG

Constitutional Violence

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed"

Unfortunately most people, if asked where the above statement is from, what it means and what impact it has on them, would not be able to answer correctly. Most would likely say it sounds old, maybe even outdated. What exactly is a "well regulated militia" and in what way is it necessary to the security of a modern free State, such as the United States? Of course this statement is in fact very old and certainly outdated. States now attempt to possess a monopoly on violence in the military and para-military (police) and any militia would likely be violently suppressed. Yet this statement still has a huge impact on life in America and is fanatically supported. This statement of course is the Second Amendment to the United States Bill of Rights, an article of the US Constitution, and the reason for the current proliferation of guns and their lack of government control.

Today I read about not one, but two terrible attacks on innocents using firearms, resulting in a total of almost 30 people being shot and killed. As a human being I’m appalled at the level of violence. Of course this is not the first, nor the last case of individual psychopaths attacking the innocent population, and I am not proposing anyway to control such psychopaths as it is probably not possible in a free society. What I am rejecting is the defence of the current amount of gun control in America today. The man who went on a shooting spree in Alabama recently had 5 different firearms including 2 assault rifles. Just the fact that a citizen could possess even one assault rifle seems so absurd that I have a difficult time believing it; until of course I read about a man shooting up a neighbourhood with one. Weapons like assault rifles and handguns were designed for the sole purpose of KILLING HUMAN BEINGS. These are not guns used to kill animals - in fact it is illegal in some areas to hunt with assault rifles because it is seen as inhumane. Thank God the deer are protected.

 Guns have no place in modern society. States that work best possess a monopoly on violence and do not allow civilians to police themselves in "self defence." Weapons specifically designed to kill human beings should be outlawed and under no circumstances should they be allowed in public. They serve no desirable purpose and only pose a danger to the many good natured citizens who just want to live in peace. The Second Amendment is a 250 year old relict of time when America was a wild frontier, when the founding fathers saw an idea of a free state with little to no government. This was a time before police. Before professional armies. Before high-tech handguns and rifles and a time when you may even have to hunt dinner on a regular basis. Anyone who reads the amendment sees how completely irrelevant it is today. How much more violence can be allowed in sake of tradition, self defence and the general paranoia and culture of violence that unfortunately exists in much the neglected United States?

 

-DG

 

First Twitter, Now Blogger

As my title indicates I first established myself in the world of Twitter recently. I am now the lucky recipient of a half dozen email-updates to my mail box on the lives of 2 friends who I have not spoken too in months. As you may guessed I have not been "blown away" by Twitter and its updates, but luckily I had low expectations.  I am a person who believes Facebook is a benefit to my life and has allowed me to stay in touch with old friends, find the addresses and dates of parties and of course found out which of the people I went to highschool with are married and/or pregnant. Twitter however does not seem to provide much benefit. Twitter rather just supplies me with only the inane and compulsive aspects of Facebook (and MSN Messenger) such as status updates. No doubt this does fill a compulsive need of many addicted to "crackbook," one of which I, and everyone else who uses it (whether admittedly or not) have succumb to every now and then. I'd rather not see proliferation of this one aspect of internet social networks, as it is basically a vice, not dissimilar from gambling. Of course all I can do is just not participate and hope to dissuade other people from trying it out, especially those who I know are prone to this sort of vice.

As you may also guess from my blog title this is also my first blog -- ever. I see blogging as a great thing to anyone who does it on a regular basis as writing is something that most people should do more. I started blogging to practice my writing skills and to keep them sharp during my temporary hiatus from school, and I hope someone will read them too (more than just Katie?).

I'll stop now to make sure to leave some for my next entry, likely very soon. Stay tuned for my next rant on...

 

-DG