"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
Defending Freedom and the Free Society
This essay is an effort to get to the roots of the present situation, to determine, if possible, some of the causes; and to suggest, in the light of this analysis, the nature of the remedy. The dislocations which meet the eye most immediately appear on the economic and political levels, but they stem if the analysis of this paper is correct from aberrations at the deeper levels of ethics and religion.
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Right... throw down the yoke of government, but tie the yoke of Jesus penis around your neck. Connotative dissonance. Look, I certainly agree that any society to minimally function requires a simple, base ethical code. Nature made us social animals. In that fact lies the best and worst. The best in the sense that we can work together to create security, and well being. The worst in that this biological assertion of conformity can be harnessed to not only destroy well being but hand the society over to a small hierarchy that are masters to differing degrees.
"We may behave decently out of habit, but ethical theory—by its very nature—must be grounded in a theology, or cosmology, if you prefer."
I don't. This might be hard for you to believe but I operate without any ethics based in the make believe. I use REASON and mutual empathy to conduct myself in a manner I deem most beneficial. There is no magic involved. The real question is "Can you operate like me?" Are you capable of controlling yourself?
"A belief in the impossibility of ethics because the universe is a moral blank is an instance of the truism that every code for conduct is a deduction from a judgment based on faith as to the nature of things."
Your assertion here is that one can not hold a ethical position while knowing ethics are man made? There are moral or ethical nihilists out there and one is commenting right now. At the root of my understanding is that nothing means anything except to yourself. Outside of your value placement on anything from life to spinach... it means dick all to the universe.
I espouse science and the embracing of reality. No eternity or happy goodness to look forward too. Maybe upon the accepting of this little nugget, we could get on with living and creating the best possible experience.
I'm sure you think the prior text is vulgar. So be it. I will leave you with this quote that centers my thinking and reminds me to enjoy life. Take care.
"To exist is equivalent to an act of faith, a protest against the truth, an interminable prayer. As soon as they consent to live, the unbeliever and the man of faith are fundamentally the same, since both have made the only decision that defines a being."