Narrative is selective truth. It is the little patches of reality that contribute to a cumulative purpose. Narrative is always in the eye of the beholder, for he selects which parts of reality he considers important for his own purposes.
Tag: change
Everyone Deserves Freedom to Speak
If you can’t handle allowing the other side to have their say, it may be a sign your own views are too weak to withstand competition.
“But Gregory, Why on Earth Do You Need so Many Passports?”
Since it is not practical (and in most cases impossible) to exist beyond the influence of nation-states, the next best option for the exceptional person seeking to expand his identity is to embrace multiple nationalities.
The Role of Money for Greater Personal Happiness
Money is humanity’s imperfect attempt to objectivize countless subjective valuations. Value exists only in the opinion of the individual beholder. It is a measure of personal happiness. What makes one person happy will not work the same for another, even in identical circumstances. It is natural for everyone to seek out the actions, ideas, and items which aid them most according to their own valuations.
The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For
Our lives are spent building up to more important moments, later, the moments when we’ll be happy. But when those moments come, we’re not happier. In fact, we’re already looking ahead to the next big moments: an upcoming trip, a big project being completed, meeting up with friends, getting that great thing you ordered online, finding your next favorite book, meal, drink, experience. What if that wonderful moment we’ve been waiting for is this one, right now?
Questions For Anarchists That Are Harder Than They Like To Admit
One article type I’d like to spend time exploring on this blog are those questions that people commonly throw at Anarcho-Capitalists as critiques of their system.
Anti-Drug Hypocrites
Nothing is as hypocritical as a cop smoking tobacco by the front door of the police station. Unless it’s a smoker or drinker who isn’t a cop yet still supports the War on Politically Incorrect Drugs.
The Shifting Balance of Gender Roles in Rwanda, and the World
I’m listening to an Invisibilia podcast called “Outside In”. So far it is an okay podcast, but there are some underlying gender ideas that I find problematic, but that should be somewhat obvious in its own presentation to someone with a critical mind.
Letting Go of Social Change
So much of anarchism, and radical politics in general, seems to be about envisioning an ideal society, strategizing about how to get there, and charging forth on that mission. For me, I don’t really believe in that. I mean, yes, envisioning an ideal society (or two, or three, or three hundred) can be fun, and strategizing about how to get there can be an enjoyable way to pass the time, but in the end I simply do not believe it.
Life Isn’t Perfect, and Neither is Justice
I readily admit that some crimes are so heinous, full restoration is impossible. A life taken cannot be restored. Innocence lost cannot be reclaimed. Life isn’t perfect and therefore neither is justice. These facts are equally true in a retributive system of justice as they are in a restorative one. A murder victim is no less dead because his killer is executed by the state. A rape victim is no less victimized because her killer is locked in a cage for a decade. Retribution is popular because it feels good. Hurting someone who hurt us satisfies a primal urge. That doesn’t make it right.