"To clarify, I am all for people individually doing pointless things that make them happy. Just don’t impose your pointless things on others. In short, I am for pluralism of pointlessness."
~ Christopher Stroop.
▼
Monday, August 27, 2018
QotD: "To clarify, I am all for people individually doing pointless things that make them happy. Just don’t impose your pointless things on others. In short, I am for pluralism of pointlessness."
2 comments:
We welcome thoughtful disagreement.
But we do (ir)regularly moderate comments -- and we *will* delete any with insulting or abusive language. Or if they're just inane. It’s okay to disagree, but pretend you’re having a drink in the living room with the person you’re disagreeing with. This includes me.
PS: Have the honesty and courage to use your real name. That gives added weight to any opinion.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNot the best quote.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, doing things you don't agree with doesn't make them "pointless". They may be pointless to you, but possibly not pointless to someone else in a different context. In fact if it makes them happy, there's a good chance it's not pointless - for them. Liberty is not justified by needing freedom to do pointless things, but freedom to do the important things needed to survive and flourish on an individual level.
Secondly, even if something could be objectively shown to be pointless, or alternatively shown to be important - it still wouldn't justify force being used. The key point that collectivists neglect is that 'important' can only be determined by each individual in their context, and giving them the freedom to do that also requires allowing them to make mistakes. The moment force is used to make someone do or not do something , greater damage is done in terms of limiting their ability to think and act for themselves.