Because they believe that kindness is better than cruelty, cooperation is better than conflict, truth is better than lies, reason is better than force, honesty is better than deception, peace is better than war…
Tag: conflict
Is Secession by Referendum Libertarian?
My concerns about group (not individual) secession are over the process of peaceful separation, namely, the referendum. Libertarians have long criticized political democracy — that is, the settling of “public” matters by majority vote either directly or through so-called representatives — as inherently violative of individual rights. By what authority does a majority lord it over a minority? Well, doesn’t this critique apply to referenda on secession?
Both Sides Are Wrong: A Rule of Thumb for Navigating Conflict
You’ll face plenty of conflict in life. You can settle your part in it with the right questions. You don’t have to pick sides, and you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble if you don’t. Instead, pick the complicated truth that doesn’t fit into molds, but breaks them.
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.”
Trust In the Power of Your Asking
Take a chance on the power of your asking. Give your relationships an opportunity to work on the basis of sincerity and sympathy. You’ll have a lot more fun that way. Don’t pull out a fire extinguisher if all you need to do is ask someone to blow out a candle.
Faith in Your Former Reason
To me, faith is continuing to act on a belief you formed using your full logical powers in a moment when emotion tempts you to do otherwise. It’s faith in your own ability to arrive at a sound conclusion, and faith in your former resolve to stick with it even when it becomes costly.
Voluntary Law and Order
People are not all the same, and they make different choices because they have different values, circumstances, and levels of understanding. Sometimes those choices are peaceful and wise; sometimes they are not. So what are the best ways to promote good choices and cooperation while preventing and providing resolution for conflict?
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.
What the American Flag Means to Me
The American flag, the “star-spangled banner” is one of those things whose meaning to me has changed significantly over the course of my life. Once upon a time it meant being a winning nation, the best the world had ever seen in terms of righteousness, justice, freedom, and opportunity. When I saw the flag, those are the ideas that were brought to mind, ideas that I value, and produced the warm and fuzzies deep inside. I admired and waved the stars and stripes with a sense of pride. What the American flag means to me today is very different than what it meant to me as recently as 10 years ago.
Read for Reconfiguration
A book is not a trophy. It’s a tool for personal transformation. For Kafka, “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” Education isn’t a name dropping contest. It’s a paradigm-shifting process. It’s an opportunity to have our perspectives and presuppositions challenged from every angle.