Thursday, June 14, 2012

Judge What I Do, Not What I Say

I usually view my own liberalism in a pretty positive light. But every once in awhile, my mind is clouded by a paranoid doubt, fuelled by a lifetime of social brainwashing, that leads me to question whether the sort of people who think liberty is equivalent to anarchy may be right - and that I may be heading down a bad path to becoming a dangerous person because I don't adhere to a conservative moral code. But the one thing that always saves me from that pit of despair is the knowledge - which I see evidence for everyday, all around me - that conservatively minded individuals are constantly committing atrocious evils I wouldn't be capable of even were I given the opportunity, and they're getting away with it, because those acts are justified by those same conservative morals (see: slavery, lynchings, spousal abuse, gay bashing, bullying, slut shaming, clitoridectomy, honor killings, etc.).

Well, you know what? To those people I just want to say, "fuck you!" What does it matter what our beliefs look or feel like, regardless of whether we're liberal or conservative? What matters is how we treat other people. So I don't want to hear your petty arguments about what acts my beliefs might lead hypothetical evil people to commit, when evil people of all beliefs commit evil acts (by the very nature of their evilness), and with the understanding that, like the similar case that just because some people justify their evil acts with bible passages doesn't mean everyone who follows the bible acts evilly, that just because somebody might use my liberal beliefs to commit evil doesn't mean that I intend to behave the same way, or that there is no good in those things I believe in, that some others have perverted and corrupted to suit their evil designs.

To simplify my point, it doesn't make a damn difference whether you support monogamous relationships bound by the institution of Christian marriage, while forbidding premarital sex, or if you intend to have a dozen wives, sampling each one before you marry her, or if you want to rent access to your body to strangers on the street, or if you engage in ritual orgies around a bonfire in the woods late at night, or whatever else you believe in or however else you choose to live your life. What matters is how you treat other people. And if you treat people poorly, what the hell difference does it make that you're "a good Christian" who values "the wholesome virtue of chastity"? You're a bad person. But if you treat people well, then what the hell difference does it make if you believe that people should be allowed to fornicate openly in the public square? You're a good person. And fuck anyone who tries to tell you differently just because your beliefs are 'weird' or, worse yet, 'disgusting'.

5 comments:

  1. So true.
    I did a lot of no good- things in my life, or you could say I did little with my life, until maybe 15 years ago.
    It lead me to think that I wasn't worth living at some point, when I was crawling out of the self inflicted shit.
    But, one of the things that saved me was that I realised that I was always good to people. They still love me, too.
    I only ever harmed myself.
    Never feel bad about your beliefs or free spirit.
    I can imagine that must be a lot harder in a country like America.
    Here in Belgium, people generally are more liberal.
    Hell, I live only a two hour drive from Amsterdam, what a luxury of 'freedom' we have here...
    :-))
    It's funny to read your blog, it is as if I could have written it myself.
    If I would be a better writer... and a more structured thinker. ...
    "-))
    XXX

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  2. I'm happy you like my blog!

    It's rather ironic, that America is supposed to be a country that's all about freedom, but having lived here all my life, I don't see it. Granted, I don't have experience living in an environment that REALLY isn't free, like a dictatorship or what have you, but just because there are places in the world with LESS freedom, doesn't mean the amount of freedom we have is enough.

    I'm frequently reminded of one quote from the hippie movie Easy Rider from the '60s - "people talk about freedom in this country, but when they're faced with real freedom, they get scared".

    Anyway this post was mostly a rant inspired by my reaction to how judgmental people are in this culture. Everybody's so quick to judge, especially people that aren't like them. It breeds a very conformist environment where it becomes extremely difficult to stand out as an individual - because you don't get praised for doing it, you get ridiculed for not falling in line with everyone else...

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  3. I'm so glad about your reaction.
    I was scared I did it again, insulting 'Americans and America'...
    I am known for my America- jokes and remarks at some places.
    And some of them don't see it's funny...
    I won't start it here. It's too easy.
    And you are prove that even in America, there are some real free spirits!
    Shit, I did it again anyway... sorry! :-))
    Yes, I love your blog, you are a very clever and good writer!
    Oh, and super sexy and handsome too, of course. :-))
    Keep it up!
    Signed, Your newest fan, Nadja

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  4. Thank you! :-)

    I do a lot of criticizing America and Americans myself, occasionally to the point of frustration for some of my friends!

    That's one of the important freedoms we DO have in this country - the freedom to criticize our own country. In fact, I look down on people who refuse to exercise that freedom in the name of "patriotism". Considering the origins of this country, it is far more patriotic to criticize the way it is run than to blindly accept those machinations in a misguided show of support.

    What I don't accept is when people discriminate against Americans simply for their being American. Because, as you have acknowledged, not all Americans fit the stereotype, and it's not fair to judge poorly those who don't, just for their nationality.

    But, as far as criticizing the sort of American attitudes that rightly deserve to be criticized (and they are not few), I'm all for it!

    And above all, I think it's healthy to cultivate an ability to laugh at oneself when the situation warrants it. :-)

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  5. Exactly!
    People who can't laugh with themselves are the problem of this world.
    And they are everywhere.
    EVERYWHERE.
    Still, I love all people. ( Well, almost...)
    That's why I think I am permitted to laugh with them and tease them sometimes, too.
    Everybody equal for 'the law'.
    :-))
    See you!

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