Evolution by Voluntaryism

Nobody asked but …

I recently wrote about how choices in education (not the institution, but the natural process) arise in the individual, only to ripple among the species.  I am not, however, promoting collectivism.  The effects of the ripples are not predetermined, but are redetermined.  Each consequential link in a network has the responsibility to choose the form in which it passes information forward.  If one is a consequential link, one has the further responsibility to pass along true information voluntarily, reducing noise as much as possible.

You cannot avoid being part of a sequence of acts and events, but you can choose the degree of voluntary care you take in your role.  “Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.”

For instance, you can take a stand on your estimation of the beneficial effects (on posterity or the prospects) of the public education system.  Do you consider this system to be focused on good goals which outweigh its negative side effects or to be bent by process toward nondescript goals?  Is your view based on truth?  You are in the stream of cause and effect.  You can choose whether to amplify or to suppress the ripple.  This is your voluntary act.

— Kilgore Forelle

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