Right now (as I write this and later when you read it) there is a person being buried in a swallow grave who was killed in a horrible manner. There is also a child who is spitting up blood as his organs liquefy. He will die in pain. There are acts of genocide going on. There will be no justice for the victims. Ever. Given enough time the perpetrators of acts of genocide may come to seen as heroes and representative of great cultures. Just as past perpetrators of acts of genocide are seen today.
We live in an amoral universe. To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing is good or evil, only thinking makes it so. The world does not care. People will continue to live in abject pain and misery until the humans wipe themselves out. There will be no reprieve for the hundreds of millions suffering today. They will continue to suffer and then they will die. That will be their lot in life. Suffering and death.
But I live a comfortable life. I do not have to worry about another ethnic or religious group burning down my home, raping my family, and killing me. To me this kind of suffering is just an academic issue. I do not suffer from hunger pains. I care about these people, but not enough. I do not donate to point of lowering my own social status. I am not even willing to take the small step of selling my TV to provide food for starving people.
How many luxuries do you have? How many could you save by giving up these luxuries?
There’s terrible stuff going on in this world, surely. There always has been, and if my personal reading of human history and human nature is correct, there always will be.
But the world is also full of hope, and love, and kindness, in far greater abundance than you can imagine. The more you get out and interact with the world, and people, the more you see that side of the human condition as well.
How you reconcile that apparent dichotomy is up to you, and indirectly up your spiritual leaders, teachers and guides, of whatever persuasion.
As for me, I prefer to embrace the good and the positive, while maintaining a healthy awareness of the darkness present in the world.
Two and a Half Inches, the question of my own selfishness and of how I am able to make the very real suffering of others so academic as to spend money frivolously, is central to me. I don’t know how I can let others suffer while I just buy more stuff.
I do more than I used to, but I don’t inconvenience myself very much.
Listen, if he comes back in here ranting and raving about Objectivisim and The Fountainhead then you have to deal with him. Jesus Pete, that would be like giving whiskey and car keys to teenagers.
People die, the world is mean, cold and heartless. Film at 10. Now back to Survivor…
Really, if it all bothers you that badly, then do something more than you already are.
Actually, I don’t believe you care about these people at all. I believe your OP is pure grade-A horseshit, written solely because you think it will get a reaction. You think weeping crocodile tears over the suffering in the world and cursing your own inability to be more selfless means anything at all?
If you want to help the world, give your computer away and don’t get another one.
I think the philosophy of Existentialism might be the most appropriate philosophy for you. You get to define your own existence for both the good and bad that you can contribute. In your case Two and a Half Inches of Fun, that might mean providing a good living to midget hookers. We all have our strengths that we can contribute to the world.