Conversation of Our Generation

Why is language important? Well, it's a way of conveying meaning, and when it's used for masquerading meaning instead, that's deceit. Today, too many people misuse language or twist the meaning of words to forward ideology.

A great thing to go on is Oscar Wilde's Important of Being Earnest. The story focuses on a dishonest man, living a double life, who is trying to become "Ernest." No, not become an earnest man, but to take the name earnest to win over a lady.

We're in a world where virtue is virtue signaling, or what you say you think, not what you do or actually think.

Speaking YOUR truth is what is true, but facts that can be verified through citing data is simply "YOUR opinion."

In other words, we go by the name Ernest, but are in fact a two-faced liar.

Individual: This can make you afraid to speak. You don't know if you should be honest or hide who you are. It's tough to navigate this world because there is no guiding light of truth since everything is manipulable. But, there is something you can do.

Think for yourself. That's all we can do to protect ourselves from this monster that we've allowed to creep into our daily lives. Read, research, discuss, and verify. Look for multiple sources and conflicting viewpoints. Think in a complicated way and disregard slogans.

Culture: The "newspeak" in Orwell's 1984 is here. However, it is not government acting as big brother putting you in a room and torturing you. It's the culture. We've censored ourselves with political correctness, which is newspeak. It is the mobs on Twitter telling us that gender is an ever-moving goal post. It's not tied to sex, now it is and both are malleable. The sexes are different, but equal. Then they're the same, and now they're different again.

Winston doesn't break when he admits that 2+2=4. It's when he says that 2+2 is whatever Big Brother says it is that he looses himself. He surrenders objective truth in favor of ending his torture.

Economics: This area is rife with terms that confuse people because their unfamiliar with it. It's easy for people to tell any tale of an economy to people who don't know what the metrics mean. A few examples:

Unemployment- This excludes anyone who isn't looking for work. So, you can lower unemployment by creating jobs and keeping the number of people not looking for work the same or by keeping job numbers the same and increasing the number of people not looking for work.

Capitalism- This is not a system that simply benefits the rich or creates class divides. It is a system where property rights are preserved and people own the fruits of their labor. The reason it's created major inequalities over the last 200 years or so is because capital had to condense to create efficiencies necessary to be profitable. Since the Industrial Revolution, we've needed economies of scale. I think we are going to see a shift there.

Socialism- This isn't "sharing." Sharing is done freely by one's own choice, not coercion. Socialism requires that the government nationalizes industries, forces redistribution of wealth, and sets controls on prices. Effectively, the government administers and oversees the entire economy.

My first episode of the podcast talked about the collusion being floated around and why it's absurd. Now, the report has come out and only the people who kept their heads throughout this process woke up the day after the results came out no different than any other.

The reason? They did not put their faith in princes, neither Trump nor the media.

Individual: We must not fall in with the people, but assess our world for ourselves. It is important to observe people's actions, get the facts, consult your beliefs, then make a determination on what those in power have done.

Like Machiavelli, we must detach from the personality of the prince and assess their behaviors as well as the results. To learn more of my thought on how to assess politics check out this article.

Culture: The culture makes idols out of our celebrities. We do not merely admire their talents on stage or on screen. We turn them into golden calfs.

This is dangerous for not only ourselves, but our culture at large. After Barbra Streisand's tweet, I fear that this will cost us our society if we do not fix it.

Politics: Faith in princes is the same as giving a hall pass without a time limit to the class clown. When afforded leeway, those in power will use it, which is why we should be vigilant. Instead of being swept away by celebrity or personality, focus on what people's reactions are to understand what's being done.

Machiavelli notes how to control the people and influence them, so this is nothing new. By understanding where we are, we can carefully watch those in power and restrain them to their office.

Modernity has done a lot to improve the circumstances of billions of people around the world. Free markets, personal liberty, science, and art have done amazing things for humanity in the last several hundred years. There is a cost, however, that must be addressed.

Individual: Modernity, especially through the progress of science and the doing away of religion, gave way to a denial in many to the inherent value of an individual. It leads to utilitarian thinking and corrupts the idea of an individual. Instead of pursuing virtue through the lens of right reason, we seek solely to delay suffering and partake in pleasurable things.

Philosophy: We've made philosophy into ideology. Instead of balancing different ideas in one's own mind, we're trained to think of the world through ideology. Think about your job. Could you entertain an idea about it and decide that it's not the best course of action and choose another option? I'm sure you can due to training. But a lack of training in how to discuss complicated ideas has led to an inability to entertain foreign philosophies. It has also become taboo to put forward fairly moderate ideas or ideas that have been around for millennia. This is another sign of pride or ego getting in the way of a search for Truth.

Culture: Radical individualism has broken societal institutions that promoted a good culture. We've lost the family, community, church, and other institutions that we could take part in that give us a sense of something greater than ourselves. Now, our culture suffers from a lack of meaning and is sold either radical collectivism as a reaction or a doubling down of radical individualism. We saw this throughout the 20th century with the rise of socialism and communism (but I repeat myself) and the rise of "The American Dream."

Religion: Separation of Church and State was meant as a separation of these into two distinct institutions where they could have a dialogue. It was a check on either's power so they became harder to corrupt. If one entity held both religious power and state power, it was nearly invincible and this could lead easily to tyranny. We've used this as a weapon against religion, which has given the state total control and allowed it to devolve into tyranny.

It's Lent, and this is a time of fasting for Catholics, but it's also a great time to learn what it's like to simplify life. We can learn which things in our lives are making us go crazy without realizing it. With so many distractions and complicated systems, a little simplification can really help.

Technology: This is where we go astray personally so easily. Every social media, app, TV, and new tech draws us in. We become like zombies. Instead, we should learn to use tech, but to not let it use us. When you're opening social media apps out of habit, it might be time to switch it up. I've found podcasts and audiobooks to be helpful at keeping me from wasting time on my phone, but still have to control that.

School: I think the education system is a monstrosity. There is very little logic to the things people do in school, and it's a lot of complicated requirements that often lead to a lot of debt, but no job.

Economy: Based on innovation, the economy will inherently become more complex. In a global world with 7 billion+ people, you can't have a simple system of trade. The only way to simplify this is to go back to the days of an economy subsisting of the local town people and their trades. However, we can reduce complexity by alleviating unnecessary burdens.

Today, both sides of the isle take too much as true on their own side and dismiss any point the other side makes off hand. We need a middle ground. We need people who question whatever is said by those in power, and work to verify what people say.

Individual: The search for truth begins with the question, "why?" In order to grow and learn, we have to seek the answers to questions. We must ask them of ourselves and of others in a search for truth. This is our only guarantee against the narrative of the powerful and of society.

Philosophy: To seek truth, we must question. Socrates taught people how to think by questioning their propositions until their logic broke or they got to the base assumptions with the line of logic in tact.

Society: Our culture and our society could use a questioning mind. We see something we disagree with and don't analyze it, but call it "fake news." We see things that we agree with and don't question it. As we as individuals begin to ask questions and seek proof of assertions and opinions, in search of truth.

Today let's dive into the thing our society needs: humor. What makes things funny? Why is humor in short supply in our culture today?

Individual: I think humor is good for the soul. I like to say, "If you can't laugh at it, you can't live with it." Humor is a way to remind oneself to be humble and to find joy in it. It opens people up to the reality of the world around them.

Community: A community can bond together based on a common sense of humor. It would allow people to come together and have the ability to not get hung up on problems.

Society: Our society has a lack of a sense of humor. The award shows, comedians, and people all over can't allow themselves to be honest about comedy. Our society has no ability to laugh at things or enjoy humor. I think a little humor and humility could go a long way.

Today there are two quotes of the week to show you two prevailing views of the Truth. One is that it is something that exists outside of ourselves and is able to be conveyed through honesty. The latter is that it is something to be created and moulded by our words. Today we will walk through why I take the view on truth that I do and the benefit you come to when you do so.

Philosophy: The first view of Truth is that it is a description of reality. This says that it is an asymptote towards which we can move by using our senses guided by logic and reason. We can move toward it through many avenues like philosophy, science, and art.

The second is that truth is subjective. This means that it is malleable. We can change the truth by imposing ourselves on it or by lying in order to make that truth. I think this is no more than a fun mental exercise, but I'll attempt to explain the issues.

Individual: Objective Truth acts as a judge and allows you to continually grow towards perfection. Taking on that task allows you to grow and to go as far as your circumstances allow.

Subjective truth allows you to think of the world however you want. This only becomes an issue when your view of reality has to face reality. The only thing one can do is crawl further into oneself or break away and accept reality.

Religion: Often, religion requires Objective Truth. I cannot think of one that is subjective though some are more pluralistic. Many of the long-standing religions have made advances in science in the pursuit of Objective Truth.

Society: A person who rejects reality will have a tragic life. A society that does the same will create such tragedy that we could hardly imagine. Sadly, this has happened multiple times, so we need not imagine. All we have to do is look at the 20th century to see the results. I think our society needs people to defend the fact of Objective Truth and seek it in good faith. That's the only way we restore sanity.

President Trump declared in his latest State of the Union that, "America will never be a socialist country." This is a positive declaration by a president who has often flirted with too much intervention in the economy. It's also especially important in a time when socialism is becoming popular. I guess it's time to address socialism and its problems in light of current events.

The issue with socialism that's often missed is that it degrades the individual. It makes the collective more important than the individual, which is backwards. Not to mention, socialism's real effects are softened by unclear language around what it truly is to make it digestible.

Individual: Socialism degrades the integrity of the individual. It discounts your inherent value. When you're not forced to rely on yourself, you lose the ability to define your path in life. Capitalism allows you to build a life and enter into mutually beneficial situations. You have to help other people and provide value to other people to receive value in return.

Community: What you find at the community level is the same. In a socialist society, everyone expects others to take care of problems because they weren't raised to take responsibility. Capitalism creates a society that forces people to create value before receiving it. If that system focuses on creating virtuous people, then it can sustain people who can't help themselves at that time or for their whole life.

Society: Politics that are supported by a socialist system expand government and force out the individual. It creates a society that is angry and envious, or vice versa. It's like a chicken and egg situation. Capitalism does the same thing in reverse. It makes people content and congratulatory, when it's truly a free market, because people recognize that they make their own success and what others achieve is their own.