My main concern on this subject is that a lot of people with a desire for power are getting too much of it by drumming up paranoia about things that aren't really issues and making us blind to the most crucial matters. They convince us that we need them to fix things that don't really need fixing, and so we let them have that power and lose our free agency. Society's moral compass has been largely ignored and put aside, so people are more open to a new, more appealing set of "morals" set by people who are no better than ourselves and only want power over us. If this keeps going, we will be about as free and happy as a mouse who got conned into a trap by a free piece of plastic cheese.
So, let's start with the question of morality. Did I ever write a note about the "Virtues vs. Values" essay by George Will? Anyway... A lot of people complain about religious virtues and the seemingly unnecessary and out-dated restrictions that come with them. Well, let's review some basic human rights: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Not too hard to remember... They shouldn't be anyway. Well, the old morals generally protect these. Don't kill. Don't steal, etc. The idea is this: If we're going to have our rights protected, we have to take responsibility and follow a certain code. When these rights are protected, some people are a little restricted from doing whatever they want, but society in general is more free and safe. It takes a certain amount of self-discipline to follow a code, and that means we have to change ourselves from our natural state. That is the meaning of virtue. Having a virtue is becoming something, acquiring character. Having a value is just believing one thing is more important than another, not necessarily working to become something.
Where was I going with this? Ah, yes. I think society in general has become rather lazy lately. It's hard to change and discipline yourself and take responsibility for things. Acquiring virtues and character is a long process. So to feel good about ourselves, without having to work too hard, we talk about values. As I said, values could be anything. It think the people who want power, partnered with mass media, have dictated a set of values for us to follow so that they can get that power over us. They use lots of tactics. They label the old virtues that would keep us free as old-fashioned, or else try to eclipse them with "fairness", warm-fuzzies, or paranoia. The result is a spaghetti noddle mess of twisted morals.
For instance [clears throat]:
They freak out about touching an egg of an endangered eagle species, but at the same time, they yell "free choice!" for abortion.
They freak out about global warming and force poor people in third-world countries to use the most expensive -- but green, mind you -- power sources so they can't afford better, more efficient medical care and better living conditions.
They shout "equality!" and come up with a health care system that has never worked for ANYONE. (We're all equally doomed. But we're EQUAL. That's all that matters. Oh, and the government is taking care of everything for you. They know what's best. All you have to do is pay more taxes.)
Are you seeing any parallels here? Let's be all warm and fuzzy and eco-friendly. All we have to do is play down the value of... What was that? Oh yeah. HUMAN LIFE. ...And the government takes over what life is left. So what happened to morality? Wasn't the goal to make human life better and to reduce the mortality rate? Oh, no. That would never do. That means less power and gain for those who are benefiting from these sort of things. Remember, the world is going to END because of the evil humans and their industrious filth! Aaaaugh! (Now if you actually take a close look at scientific evidence, global warming is in no way linked to our CO2 emissions. Global warming cycles actually cause the ocean -- the main source of CO2 -- to release more of it. It's the reverse of what the media is telling you. But that's very inconvenient for guys like Al Gore, so keep it quiet.)
You know, this reminds me very much of the Dark Ages. That's when we mere mortals were considered as low as worms -- except for the elites, who had "Divine Rights" and knew how best to run everybody else's lives. (Let me tell you a secret: THEY'RE MORTAL TOO. Shocker, I know.)
So this brings me to the thing that got me all excited and wanting to write this out. It's rather random, I know. A friend recommended the show Dr. Who to me, so I found a couple of old episodes online just to see what it was like. I came across a series about a dangerous robot that was being used to steal plans and parts for a weapon of mass destruction. This robot was the tool of a group of scientists who wanted to take over society and force everyone to live in the way they thought was best, because they thought they knew better than anyone else how they should live. They called themselves the Elite. Here is an interesting exchange between the Doctor and Professor Kettleworth. The Professor was the creator of the robot. For awhile, he had decided he didn't want any part in the group anymore, but then he went back to it.
The Doctor: Tell me one thing, Professor Kettleworth. Why?
Professor: For years I've been trying to persuade people to stop spoiling this planet, Doctor. Now with the help of my friends, I can MAKE them.
The Doctor: Aren't you forgetting that in science as in morality, the end never justifies the means?
-Dr. Who Episode 75: Robot, Part Three
It may sound terribly old-fashioned and cheesy, but it does give you something to think about. Now, this was a group of scientists who knew their stuff, but they still could not justify killing people and forcing the remaining ones to live a certain way. What about a bunch of politicians, who really don't know their stuff -- except rhetoric -- who want to tell us how to live... and eventually... who should live?
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