Editor’s Break 117 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: getting a parking ticket, finally, after six months of food delivery; his grandmother’s improving situation; an article he wrote in March of 2008 on what the country should do about the illegal immigration problem; and more.
Day: December 4, 2018
On Prejudice
On a fundamental level, prejudice means “to form prior judgment” and we are all prejudice toward some things. I have already formed the judgment that tigers are dangerous prior to meeting one along my jungle path, for example. When our prior judgments concern other people based on the color of their skin, this is called “racial prejudice” and is generally frowned upon within the society that currently occupies the same continent as myself.
When Feelings Aren’t Right
There are a lot of times when my feelings about something differ from what I know to be right. I admit it. One instance where this happens is that I feel negative about a big influx of people from other countries and other cultures. Which is why I understand where the anti-“illegal immigrant” people are coming from.
How to Get Good at Dealing With Massive Change
We all go through times of massive change: a divorce, death in the family, change of job (or loss of job), moving to a new home or city, turbulence in your relationships, political chaos, and all kinds of uncertainties and demands on your time and attention. It can be overwhelming and distressing. But what if we could get good at dealing with all kinds of changes? It would open us up in times of change, so that these times can be times of deepening, growth, and even joy.
“Far Too Easily Pleased”: My Generation and Justice
Justice and restoration for the marginalized people of our culture has (rightly) become a cause many of my fellow young people are championing. But I can’t help but feel frustration sometimes. There’s something that feels terribly “off” about some strains of this impulse, which shows up in the virtue signalling and “social justice warrioring” that comes along with the impulse for justice.
Philosophical Tools: In-Group Preference
As humans, we seek familiarity, commonality, comfort. We seek people like us with whom to relate. It’s only natural. We develop in-group preferences, not a bad thing, but interesting. The reason I find this interesting is that I’ve developed my own theory on in-group preference. I call the dichotomy: Quantitative in-group preference and Qualitative in-group preference.
Gratis is Not Great
Almost every psychologically normal human is delighted to here about products everyone can enjoy free of charge. “The schools are free!” “Health care is free!” “Lunch is free!” According to basic welfare economics, however, gratis goods are almost automatically inefficient. Unless the marginal social cost of the product miraculously happens to be zero, setting a price of zero leads to socially wasteful behavior.
A Place of One’s Own
A very good friend recently had a life-altering event. And it did not just change things going forward. It changed past, present, and future. Not only does it make him reconsider, wondering what his final role is in this neck of the universal woods, but it has profound implications for me, too.