The preeminent marriage counsel I was given was in the form of two words: “Yes, dear.” I was told that these two simple words would prevent and/or solve every conflict. Grandpa was only half-joking.
Category: One Improved Unit
Limit Your Self-Censorship and Tell the World Your Truth
I am increasingly of the mind that people should self-censor less about the many opinions they hold. It shouldn’t matter how radical or crazy or weird they are, too. Let every opinion find the light of day. How else can we learn about them, talk about them, discard them, or adopt them?
Be Brave Enough to Roar Your Truth!
Two songs in particular give me goosebumps when I consider their implications in the life of a voluntaryist: “Brave” by Sara Bareilles, and “Roar” by Katy Perry. Everybody should find the bravery to roar their truth to the world, in every way they can!
Should We Be Our Children’s Friend?
You always hear so-called parenting “experts” say something to the effect that, “parents are not their children’s friend,” and “children need their parents to be a parent, not a friend.” Now that my commitment and focus is on raising my children peacefully and respectfully, I can say that this advice as absolutely bananas. Hear me out.
The Illogic in “The Needs of the Many…”
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one).” This is always presented as a logical statement, and therefore cannot be argued against without committing logical fallacy. But I don’t think that’s true. Here’s my attempt.
Blaming the Victim, or Digging for Wisdom?
As a man dedicated to stopping the widespread abuse of children, I am very much an ally in this particular fight (“Me too.”). I don’t deserve to be attacked like this. These people don’t know me and the work that I do. They don’t know the trauma I’ve suffered and its long-term effects, effects that I deal with every day of my life. They were wrong to do what they did, but they are not alone in carrying responsibility.
Does it Matter Who’s at Fault? The Responsibility is Always Yours
I’m reading Mark Manson’s “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck,” and the entirety of Chapter 5 is focused on this idea: “There is a simple realization from which all personal improvement and growth emerges. This is the realization that we, individually, are responsible for everything in our lives, no matter the external circumstances.”
Does Action on Behalf of Another Tend Toward Abuse?
When the goal is my own, internally motivated, I will behave according to my own values for respectful and peaceful cooperation. When the goal is not my own, externally motivated, I will at first behave according to my own values, but resistance may soon have me acting contrary to those values. Why is this?
White Privilege is Definitely Real
I believe in white privilege in a very significant regard. The privilege that I speak of is so significant that it’s had the power to allow millions of my fellow whites to lift themselves out of a countless number of circumstances and to reach the highest levels of social, political, and economic class. For those who don’t have this privilege, it’s kept them mired in internal and external conflict, convinced that without this privilege they can never achieve the same levels of whatever class as those who have it. And the thing is, they aren’t wrong.
The Danger of Tribalism on a Large Scale
Seeing more latinos in my area, or more Africans, Arabs, Indians, Asians, Eastern Europeans, et cetera doesn’t bother me at all. I see them as my fellow human beings. However, I do think it would be incredibly easy for me to view them as the outgroup and be bothered by their presence. I think that’s due to my evolution as a member of a tribalistic species.