Author Topic: Quote Digest  (Read 149036 times)

Mystik3eb

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« Reply #15 on: January 06, 2006, 02:04:09 am »
I have one favorite quote, it's by my grandfather.

Quote from: Francis Scannell
Make all your mistakes in pencil.

Radical_Dreamer

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« Reply #16 on: January 06, 2006, 04:00:02 am »
Quote from: George Patton
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.


We need to remember the good people do, not simply the tragedy of their deaths.

Quote from: Richard Proenneke
This is here and now. Something I'm sure of. How can heaven be any better than this?


Richard Proenneke is the man. If you live in Oregon, Washington, or British Columbia (probably Alaska, too) they run a documentary he made all the time on public access. I've also read "One Man's Wilderness", taken from his diaries. For those that don't know, Richard Proenneke decided to go live up in Alaska. So when he was 51, he packed up, found a site, and built a cabin. Himself. Using only hand tools. He is one of the greats; he had a dream, and he achieved it. He didn't rely on others to the point of allowing them to be a possible intereference, he just went out and did it. This quote is when he is near where he built his cabin, with his friend, a religious pilot.

Quote from: Richard Proenneke
One life at a time. If there's another one-well, that's a bonus. And I'm not so sure of that next one.


The trouble with death based belief systems is that by de-emphasizing this world, you shut yourself off to so much beauty. Proenneke is a reminder to me to see the amazing glory of this world, and to live in it, be a part of it, and revell in it. If there is a next life, I'll deal with it when I get there.

Exodus

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« Reply #17 on: January 07, 2006, 05:33:57 pm »
The only one that really comes to mind is a comment Seth MacFarlane made after being questioned about narrowly escaping death by missing one of the flights involved in the 9/11 attacks he was scheduled to fly.

Quote from: Seth MacFarlane
The only reason it hasn't really affected me as it maybe could have is I didn't really know that I was in any danger until after it was over, so I never had that panic moment. After the fact, it was sobering, but people have a lot of close calls; you're crossing the street and you almost get hit by a car . . . this one just happened to be related to something massive. I really can't let it affect me because I'm a comedy writer. I have to put that in the back of my head.

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« Reply #18 on: January 08, 2006, 03:00:50 am »
Omar Rodriguez:
Quote
“Don’t take any advice from anyone! I think every person intuitively knows what works for him or her. When you do something and it feels good, keep doing it. I think that’s the most important thing. Everybody is an individual, and everybody has a different thing that works for them, and nothing at all is ever wrong!”

kennyj2003

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« Reply #19 on: January 08, 2006, 04:32:41 am »
Quote
Tis better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for who you are not

Tonjevic

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« Reply #20 on: January 08, 2006, 10:18:47 am »
That is so untrue. Whoever said that is a philisophical moron.
Consider it thus: To be hated, is REALLY horrible. To be loved is REALLY great.
To not pretend is kind of alright because of less stress. And to pretending can become a little stressful.
People in society these days, and even in ages gone by, can spend thier whole lives pretending, and being comfortable and happy.
Politicians, for instance. Although they pretend and are hated, but you get the gist of it.

Radical_Dreamer

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« Reply #21 on: January 08, 2006, 09:34:24 pm »
Quote from: Tonjevic
That is so untrue. Whoever said that is a philisophical moron.
Consider it thus: To be hated, is REALLY horrible. To be loved is REALLY great.
To not pretend is kind of alright because of less stress. And to pretending can become a little stressful.
People in society these days, and even in ages gone by, can spend thier whole lives pretending, and being comfortable and happy.
Politicians, for instance. Although they pretend and are hated, but you get the gist of it.


Have you been both? I have, and as bad as being hated is, it's still better to be hated honestly than loved dishonestly. Whether it's for who you aren't, or for what you are, love without honesty is meaningless and hollow.

Lord J Esq

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« Reply #22 on: January 08, 2006, 11:33:42 pm »
Quote from: Radical_Dreamer
Quote from: Tonjevic
That is so untrue. Whoever said that is a philisophical moron.
Consider it thus: To be hated, is REALLY horrible. To be loved is REALLY great.
To not pretend is kind of alright because of less stress. And to pretending can become a little stressful.
People in society these days, and even in ages gone by, can spend thier whole lives pretending, and being comfortable and happy.
Politicians, for instance. Although they pretend and are hated, but you get the gist of it.


Have you been both? I have, and as bad as being hated is, it's still better to be hated honestly than loved dishonestly. Whether it's for who you aren't, or for what you are, love without honesty is meaningless and hollow.

I agree with Tonjevic. If you have the choice, seldom to never is it preferable to choose people's contempt rather than their admiration. Playing other people's emotions is just a tactic, one that, in a pair of able hands, works to your advantage. Who cares if the people are warranted in their beliefs or not? Who cares if the You they know is the You you are? Unless you've got self-confidence issues, it doesn't matter why people feel about you the way they do, and, thus, the better they regard you, the better it is for you, period. There are exceptions, but the general rule is obvious.

Radical_Dreamer

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« Reply #23 on: January 09, 2006, 12:01:06 am »
Quote from: Lord J esq
Quote from: Radical_Dreamer
Quote from: Tonjevic
That is so untrue. Whoever said that is a philisophical moron.
Consider it thus: To be hated, is REALLY horrible. To be loved is REALLY great.
To not pretend is kind of alright because of less stress. And to pretending can become a little stressful.
People in society these days, and even in ages gone by, can spend thier whole lives pretending, and being comfortable and happy.
Politicians, for instance. Although they pretend and are hated, but you get the gist of it.


Have you been both? I have, and as bad as being hated is, it's still better to be hated honestly than loved dishonestly. Whether it's for who you aren't, or for what you are, love without honesty is meaningless and hollow.

I agree with Tonjevic. If you have the choice, seldom to never is it preferable to choose people's contempt rather than their admiration. Playing other people's emotions is just a tactic, one that, in a pair of able hands, works to your advantage. Who cares if the people are warranted in their beliefs or not? Who cares if the You they know is the You you are? Unless you've got self-confidence issues, it doesn't matter why people feel about you the way they do, and, thus, the better they regard you, the better it is for you, period. There are exceptions, but the general rule is obvious.


Except that people base their expecations on the you they percieve. By allowing the deception to continue, all you are doing is setting you and the other person up for a fall that will come later, so that you can feed your ego now. It's dishonest, cruel, and ultimately benefits no one. If you want to manipulate people for your own personal gain, that's your buisneuss, but you cannot base a personal relationship of any sort on lies.

Lord J Esq

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« Reply #24 on: January 09, 2006, 12:11:23 am »
Quote from: Radical_Dreamer
Except that people base their expecations on the you they percieve. By allowing the deception to continue, all you are doing is setting you and the other person up for a fall that will come later, so that you can feed your ego now. It's dishonest, cruel, and ultimately benefits no one. If you want to manipulate people for your own personal gain, that's your buisneuss, but you cannot base a personal relationship of any sort on lies.

Dreamer, you're adorable! If only life were as straightforward as that, eh?

Edit: I finally got around to responding to the rest of the stuff in this thread:

Quote from: Daniel Krispin
Real name... hmm... well, on the internet, my realest is probably the old Guardian of Ages I used to go by. Or the Greek version of the name I now use on some, which is Alexaion. I should probably change it to that. Why do you ask? But Daniel (very grimly meaning 'God is my judge' in old Hebrew... ask Legend, I think he'll confirm that; it goes along well with my fatalistic quotes, eh?) is what I go by for now.

Our names are important. They are the symbolic seat of our identity, and don't think that doesn't shape the way we think! I always have to catch myself from calling ZeaLitY by his real name when we chat online, because he prefers "ZeaLitY," whereas I am tempted to go for the center. My username might be "Lord J Esquire," but Josh is more sincere.

Quote from: Daniel Krispin
Quote from: Lord J esq
Quote from: Julius Caesar
“Libenter homines et id quod volunt, credunt.”

“What men wish, they like to believe.”

Wait... are you certain that's the right tranlation? I might just be seeing things, but isn't liber freedom? It almost seems more like 'What will give men freedom, they credit.'? But I'm probably wrong. As I said, Latin is not exactly my thing yet.

Libenter means "willingly," or "with pleasure." (I even checked the Latin dictionary to be sure.) The Latin grammar orders sentences differently than they do in English, but as best I can make it out, the most literal translation is "What men wish, they willingly believe."

Quote from: Mystik3eb
I have one favorite quote, it's by my grandfather.

Quote from: Francis Scannell
Make all your mistakes in pencil.

Ah, there is a whole beautiful class of quotes like this! I think the one that I like the most is:

Quote from: Stephan Grillet
Keep your words sweet -- you may have to eat them.

That's one I have to keep in mind. It's hard being forceful without stepping on anyone's toes. It's an art!

Quote from: Radical_Dreamer
Quote from: Richard Proenneke
One life at a time. If there's another one-well, that's a bonus. And I'm not so sure of that next one.

Yes, hear hear! Well said! Let me put the same idea another way:

Quote from: Leon Uris in [i]Trinity[/i], pp. 275, “The Booley House”
“I’ve always theorized,” Mr. Ingram said, “that when we do get to heaven we’ll find it a rather decent place. Our earthly wants and woes will be lifted forever. However, one must consider that, with all the billions of souls there, the administration of the place must be staggering.” […]

“For example, transporting the souls in and out of purgatory. Someone must register them all and keep track of them just to see if they are qualified to stay. I’m certain that everyone will be assigned to a job of sorts, one he or she likes, but the organization of the place has to be tremendous. After one is there for six or seven centuries all the contentment might get a little dull.”

Obviously, we hadn’t heard this assessment of heaven from Father Lynch and had supposed that everything would be done up there by magic. Mr. Ingram’s dissertation on the logistics of running heaven was certainly a revelation.

“To get to my point,” he said,” it seems that we have to have moments of turmoil to contrast to moments of peace in order to truly understand and appreciate that peace. What we have captured this moment in this meadow is an instant of peace. Right here and now, this is paradise, do you agree?”

“Aye, it’s paradise,” Conor said.

“What we have confused is the belief that heaven and paradise are the same. So long as we are capable of moments of paradise here, we ought to cherish them, because we may not find paradise in heaven.”

“Bravo,” Miss Lockhart said.

“You’re right,” I said, “heaven can’t be any better than this.”

After that I played the flute again and we all sang some Scottish songs led by Mr. Ingram.

It's bad enough that people will waste their whole lives waiting for the next world. What's worse is that they'll ruin other people's lives on this world for the same reason. That's ones of the things that drives me so up the wall with these fundamentalist Rapturists whose ideological policies amount to "Let's destroy the world and slaughter our neighbors since God is going to nuke this satanic dump anyway!" Some prophecies are self-fulfilling!

Radical_Dreamer

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« Reply #25 on: January 09, 2006, 03:16:58 am »
Quote from: Lord J esq
Quote from: Radical_Dreamer
Except that people base their expecations on the you they percieve. By allowing the deception to continue, all you are doing is setting you and the other person up for a fall that will come later, so that you can feed your ego now. It's dishonest, cruel, and ultimately benefits no one. If you want to manipulate people for your own personal gain, that's your buisneuss, but you cannot base a personal relationship of any sort on lies.

Dreamer, you're adorable! If only life were as straightforward as that, eh?


While it may be a bit of an over simplification, it's basically true. This is the voice of experience talking, not some lofty philosophical idea. I've been in both places, and I know what I'm talking about.

Mystik3eb

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« Reply #26 on: January 09, 2006, 04:05:30 am »
I do agree with RD, here. I've been in situations where I started getting positive attention and "love" because of something that was false or misunderstood. Before I realized the nature of what people loved about me, sure, the feeling of being loved was indeed fantastic. But once I realized the truth, it ate at me like those nasty worm-leeches in King Kong.

As for being hated for who I am: oh well! One of the most important lessons we humans need to learn in order to eventually reach that stage of life called "happiness" is to realize the things we can't change, the things we can't fix, the things we just have to live with. One of those things, I've learned with much despair recently, is that people will dislike you no matter what you do. Not getting over this fact will get you nowhere but in a dark corner until you learn to ignore it and press on, maybe even let it support you by fueling you somehow.

Allowing the love of things undeserved to grow around me is like poisoning myself.

Lord J Esq

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« Reply #27 on: January 09, 2006, 05:54:06 am »
Quote from: Radical_Dreamer
Quote from: Lord J esq
Quote from: Radical_Dreamer
Except that people base their expecations on the you they percieve. By allowing the deception to continue, all you are doing is setting you and the other person up for a fall that will come later, so that you can feed your ego now. It's dishonest, cruel, and ultimately benefits no one. If you want to manipulate people for your own personal gain, that's your buisneuss, but you cannot base a personal relationship of any sort on lies.

Dreamer, you're adorable! If only life were as straightforward as that, eh?


While it may be a bit of an over simplification, it's basically true. This is the voice of experience talking, not some lofty philosophical idea. I've been in both places, and I know what I'm talking about.

I do not blame you for being naïve to the pragmatic depth of our world. To truly embrace such an understanding without becoming a cynic requires a Machiavellian audacity that would overwhelm most people's integrity. Not to imply that such a fate would befall you--you're one of the most respectable people on the whole Compendium--but that perhaps it is a mountain steep enough that you do not wish to climb it, or have never even thought to look high enough to see its rewarding peak.

Let me put it in words you already know, so that I am not telling you anything new, but merely repeating wisdom that is already your own: Life is not a fairytale. We do not all live happily ever after. Justice is seldom served. People are cunning, and passionate, and this puts them into conflict with one another regardless of their intentions. There is no such thing as good behavior, for the term implies that a behavior can be judged outside of its context, and this is an absurdity that few people bother to appreciate. Instead, I offer the real truth: We can only act in accordance with our convictions, or against them.

This places the emphasis on becoming creatures of good character. If random acts of "good behavior" are no longer our moral god, then we must turn to the more difficult work of evaluating our motives. Suddenly we are revealed to live in a world where ends and means are indistinguishable. We see that life has no chapter breaks, no punctuations. The story continues on. And therefore if we are going to be sincere in our passions, and humble in our capacity for ignorance, then we must act in our own interest with the confidence of knowing that we are acting true to ourselves. So goes the continuation of life as we know it.

With that logical framework in place, it is simply a matter of looking at the dilemma and choosing the better alternative. To the extent that our convictions are noble, we must always seek to empower ourselves. And to the extent that our species is noble, we still must always seek to empower ourselves, counting on humanity's innate goodness--its penchant for discovery, for imagination, its indomitable drive--to overwhelm the corruption of those whose intentions are not noble after all. This is manifest in everything from the rule of law to the common courtesies.

Which, then, is the more empowering? I say that to gain the favor and trust and love and respect of others is surely superior to the alternative, which invites their ire and suspicion and hatred and contempt. There are certainly exceptions where the latter is preferable, but the general rule seems almost painfully obvious: If we are made to choose between these two extremes--as the original quote under discussion indeed compelled us to do--we must choose people's love.

In a surprising way, it hardly matters if that love is well-founded or not.

Someone might say that ill-gotten love is going to collapse in on itself like a house of cards--indeed, that is one of the two main objections that you and others have raised thus far. But I say this is an extraneous factor in the equation. If choosing people's love over their hate is amended with the condition that this love, simply by its virtue of being misguided, is doomed to fail, then there is no dilemma after all: On one hand we have people's contempt, and on the other hand we have the same. But if the love is sustainable, then we should choose it, and maintain it as necessary.

Indeed, Radical_Dreamer, the case you are proposing is less interesting than the case I am proposing. Supposing that this love can be extended indefinitely, that it will not fail simply because it is misguided, then perhaps you can better understand my position. Garnering the love of the people is just a tactic. It serves us. It serves us individually. It serves us all.

Is this to the detriment of those who give you their love? That depends on who you are. But I like to think, opposite the Christians, that ours is not quite so miserable a species, and that we continue to grow over time. And I tell you this, in absolute frankness: It is this very mechanism which I have described, that allows leaders to lead. If ordinary people understood that their leaders were answerable to the pragmatic concerns of the real world, rather than ideology alone, they would the lot of them be up in arms.

=)

Quote from: Mystik3eb
I do agree with RD, here. I've been in situations where I started getting positive attention and "love" because of something that was false or misunderstood. Before I realized the nature of what people loved about me, sure, the feeling of being loved was indeed fantastic. But once I realized the truth, it ate at me like those nasty worm-leeches in King Kong.

Radical_ Dreamer made the best case for the first major objection I have seen; you make the best case for the second (and final) such objection. However, this one is easily refuted. Follow along, if you will:

As I mentioned before, we mustn't let issues of self-confidence overwhelm our zeal to make good choices. I recognize how hard this can be to live out in practice, but it nevertheless remains true. If people give you their love for a false reason, and you are uncomfortable with that, such that you feel unable to continue in the deception, then that is a character flaw: something to be repaired!

In life we are often faced with being unpopular. But, contrary to popular opinion, social validation will not make you complete. (I believe that was a quote in my list earlier in this topic.) If we submit our decision-making authority to our fear of being unpopular, we surrender our identity to the void. Do not do it!

Mystik3eb

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« Reply #28 on: January 09, 2006, 04:09:12 pm »
Quote from: Lord J esq
As I mentioned before, we mustn't let issues of self-confidence overwhelm our zeal to make good choices. I recognize how hard this can be to live out in practice, but it nevertheless remains true. If people give you their love for a false reason, and you are uncomfortable with that, such that you feel unable to continue in the deception, then that is a character flaw: something to be repaired!

In life we are often faced with being unpopular. But, contrary to popular opinion, social validation will not make you complete. (I believe that was a quote in my list earlier in this topic.) If we submit our decision-making authority to our fear of being unpopular, we surrender our identity to the void. Do not do it!


Have you ever seen Fawlty Towers? It makes me think of that. Allowing the untruth to grow like that only makes the fall harder and harder in the end. It may never come in our lifetime, if we're damned lucky, but when the truth is revealed...there'll be a harsh reaction, and the closest colleagues or descendents of this person will suffer.

Try going through a lie being discovered. Have you ever? Doesn't it feel like the pleasure during the lie wasn't worth it? If not, then I suppose you are "stronger than I am", as you say. But I don't find honesty a character flaw.

Radical_Dreamer

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« Reply #29 on: January 09, 2006, 10:33:21 pm »
Quote from: Lord J esq
I do not blame you for being naïve to the pragmatic depth of our world. To truly embrace such an understanding without becoming a cynic requires a Machiavellian audacity that would overwhelm most people's integrity. Not to imply that such a fate would befall you--you're one of the most respectable people on the whole Compendium--but that perhaps it is a mountain steep enough that you do not wish to climb it, or have never even thought to look high enough to see its rewarding peak.


The way you word this implies to me that you do not understand or do not wish to acknowledge that I am not speaking from abstract, romanticized notions, but rather, my own life experience. It also seems from your statements that the "reward" you have achieved through your Machiavellian audacity is simply a sated ego.

Quote from: Lord J esq
Let me put it in words you already know, so that I am not telling you anything new, but merely repeating wisdom that is already your own: Life is not a fairytale. We do not all live happily ever after. Justice is seldom served. People are cunning, and passionate, and this puts them into conflict with one another regardless of their intentions. There is no such thing as good behavior, for the term implies that a behavior can be judged outside of its context, and this is an absurdity that few people bother to appreciate. Instead, I offer the real truth: We can only act in accordance with our convictions, or against them.


Extreme moral relativism. Remember that, it'll come back up soon.

Quote from: Lord J esq
This places the emphasis on becoming creatures of good character. If random acts of "good behavior" are no longer our moral god, then we must turn to the more difficult work of evaluating our motives. Suddenly we are revealed to live in a world where ends and means are indistinguishable. We see that life has no chapter breaks, no punctuations. The story continues on. And therefore if we are going to be sincere in our passions, and humble in our capacity for ignorance, then we must act in our own interest with the confidence of knowing that we are acting true to ourselves. So goes the continuation of life as we know it.


By ignoring the difference between ends and means, you abolish the concept of justice. In this world view, there is no right, no wrong, just success and failure. One and zero. It's a short-sighted way to live, and like all short-sighted mindsets, ultimately foolish and self-destructive. Without any need to consider anything outside of how you want to achieve your goals, you leave a trail of burnt bridges behind you; bridges you may find yourself needing to cross in the future.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "humble in our capacity for ignorance", please clarify. If you are suggesting that humility is a noble goal, that seems incosistent with your goal of receiving dishonest affection and admiration.

Quote from: Lord J esq
With that logical framework in place, it is simply a matter of looking at the dilemma and choosing the better alternative. To the extent that our convictions are noble, we must always seek to empower ourselves. And to the extent that our species is noble, we still must always seek to empower ourselves, counting on humanity's innate goodness--its penchant for discovery, for imagination, its indomitable drive--to overwhelm the corruption of those whose intentions are not noble after all. This is manifest in everything from the rule of law to the common courtesies.


Noble convictions? How can you have noble convictions, noble anything in your framework? There is no notion of morality, of justice, of anything but effective and ineffective. You cannot refer to your intentions as noble, as nobility is the quality of a high moral character. You then ask us to rely on man's innate goodness; but you offer no proof that man kind is intrinsically good, least of all in a frame work that has no goodness. At this point you might say, "Ah, but RD, I said that there is no such thing as a good act, I made no mention of good people!" to which I respond that when you combined ends and means, you obliterated the difference between a good act and a person who performs those good acts, and therefore neither exists in your framework.

Quote from: Lord J esq
Which, then, is the more empowering? I say that to gain the favor and trust and love and respect of others is surely superior to the alternative, which invites their ire and suspicion and hatred and contempt. There are certainly exceptions where the latter is preferable, but the general rule seems almost painfully obvious: If we are made to choose between these two extremes--as the original quote under discussion indeed compelled us to do--we must choose people's love.


In your frame work, in which there is no such thing as right or wrong, then yes, it is better to be loved dishonestly than hated honestly. But your framework is not internally consistent; and therefore not of use.

In a surprising way, it hardly matters if that love is well-founded or not.

Quote from: Lord J esq
Someone might say that ill-gotten love is going to collapse in on itself like a house of cards--indeed, that is one of the two main objections that you and others have raised thus far. But I say this is an extraneous factor in the equation. If choosing people's love over their hate is amended with the condition that this love, simply by its virtue of being misguided, is doomed to fail, then there is no dilemma after all: On one hand we have people's contempt, and on the other hand we have the same. But if the love is sustainable, then we should choose it, and maintain it as necessary.


To say that it is an amednment is a mischaractirization. If I gave you a block of ice, it would not be an amendment to say that if you let it reach temperatures greater than 32 degrees Farenheit, it will melt. No, it is not an adendum, it is a property. Love relies on honesty. Love without honesty is like ice in an oven: Sooner or later, it will melt away.

Quote from: Lord J esq
Indeed, Radical_Dreamer, the case you are proposing is less interesting than the case I am proposing. Supposing that this love can be extended indefinitely, that it will not fail simply because it is misguided, then perhaps you can better understand my position. Garnering the love of the people is just a tactic. It serves us. It serves us individually. It serves us all.


The case I am proposing is the practical reality of the matter. For people who want a personal relationship with other people of any sort, basically, for everyone but politicians, dishonest love cannot be extended indefinately. It is beneficial to keep the illusion going for politicians, becaus e their goal in life is to use people for their own immediate, and often short sighted, personal gain.

Quote from: Lord J esq
Is this to the detriment of those who give you their love? That depends on who you are. But I like to think, opposite the Christians, that ours is not quite so miserable a species, and that we continue to grow over time. And I tell you this, in absolute frankness: It is this very mechanism which I have described, that allows leaders to lead. If ordinary people understood that their leaders were answerable to the pragmatic concerns of the real world, rather than ideology alone, they would the lot of them be up in arms.

=)


You don't back up your opinion there. You simply state that you like to think that your actions, your using people for your own selfish purposes, with no regard for the effect on the people you are using, doesn't hurt others them. I do not disagree that your mechanism allows leaders to lead. But I do not consider politians to be good people, I do not consider them to be morally consistent, or acting in the benefit of myself or any of their constituents. Politians, and governments are simply a neccisary evil, made neccisary because of people who do not care about the consequences of their actions; politicans among them. You describe a framework that is very helpfull to the Karl Rove's of the world, for the short sighted and the self serving, but not for a sustainable society.

Quote from: Lord J esq
As I mentioned before, we mustn't let issues of self-confidence overwhelm our zeal to make good choices. I recognize how hard this can be to live out in practice, but it nevertheless remains true. If people give you their love for a false reason, and you are uncomfortable with that, such that you feel unable to continue in the deception, then that is a character flaw: something to be repaired!


This harkens back to the first paragraph; your implied goal of a sated ego. Certainly, your framework will acheive that goal, but it is hardly the noble goal you try to make it out to be. What you are asking Mystik to live out in practice is to boost his own ego off of the humility of the ignorance of others. Confidence is not a zero-sum game; if I am arrogant, that doesn't prevent others from being confident, or even arrogant as well. I find it incredibly unsetteling that you consider honesty to be a character flaw. As I mentioned earlier, people hold you up to their conception of you. If you are not a man of your word, if you are dishonest, when that comes to light, you'll find that that love you need to serve your goals will be hard, if not impossible to come by. See? That short sightedness comes back to bite you, snatching away your goals just as you are about to reach them.

Quote from: Lord J esq
In life we are often faced with being unpopular. But, contrary to popular opinion, social validation will not make you complete. (I believe that was a quote in my list earlier in this topic.) If we submit our decision-making authority to our fear of being unpopular, we surrender our identity to the void. Do not do it!


You say social validation will not make you complete, yet is that not the very position you have advocated in this thread? Your need for love, honest or no, is simply a form of social validation, a dishonest and desperate bid for unsustainable ego inflation. You spend this entire post trying to explain why it is a noble goal to achieve popularity, and then at the end acknowledge that to do so is unfullfilling. Not very consistent.