3 reasons I can't be truly happy

Great Debates
21

[QUOTE=Mangetout]
Yes, but you know this, so you could be, I dunno, thinking about other solutions that might actually work, to some extent. There’s no point hoping for something you know for sure won’t happen, or indeed complaining that life sucks because it can’t happen. I mean, it’s a shame that I can’t levitate, but there’s no bloody point moping about it.
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[/QUOTE]

But there’s no way it could happen without something magical doing it. Science can’t ever truly conquer death and suffering. The only way it could happen w/o a supernatural being would be if science did complete conquer all death and suffering, and then we instituted laws saying that all crappy people will be killed.

Yeah, I’ll get to work on that.

22

[QUOTE=xkcd]
Sounds good, I’ll use drugs to distract myself from reality.
[/QUOTE]

As opposed to the tremendously productive wallowing in the most negative aspects of “reality” that you’re doing now?

23

[QUOTE=xkcd]
Convinced I’m an atheist yet?
[/QUOTE]

No. I’m barely convinced you’re a high school graduate. I don’t understand why you care what I think, anyway. Haven’t you got more pressing things to worry about? I don’t want to distract you from your hand-wringing.

24

[QUOTE=xkcd]
But there’s no way it could happen without something magical doing it. Science can’t ever truly conquer death and suffering. The only way it could happen w/o a supernatural being would be if science did complete conquer all death and suffering, and then we instituted laws saying that all crappy people will be killed.
[/QUOTE]
Yes, but you know this can’t happen, so there’s no point complaining or wishing. Perfect solutions rarely emerge, but that doesn’t mean none are possible that might be adequate.

25

I was walking at night and I came across a man crawling around on his hands and knees, in the pool of light cast underneath a lamp post. I asked him what he was doing. “Looking for my glasses” he replied.
“Where exactly do you think you lost them?”, I asked.
“Down that alleyway over there”, he replied, pointing.
“Wouldn’t it be best to search for them in the alley?”, I enquired

He said; “No, it’s far too dark down there, I’d never find them”.

26

[QUOTE=Uvula Donor]
No. I’m barely convinced you’re a high school graduate.
[/QUOTE]

This ain’t the Pit, Uvula Donor.

… and off to GD we go.

27

If you want change in this world, you have to do it yourself. You may be atheist but I don’t see how you are any different from the percentage of religious folks who truly, truly believe “Let go and let god.” (By this I mean the people are not willing to do anything for themselves but wish God to accomplish everything, make life perfect, etc.) Even the Christians say “God helps those who help themselves”, and I’m an atheist and think the only way this world will get better is through our own efforts.

As for your point about suffering, someone else mentioned you are enormously black & white in your thinking. Not all suffering is bad. Yes, I wouldn’t wish slavery on anyone, but I happen to know that some personal suffering did build character and make me stronger and definitely a different person than I would have been.

Other than that, welcome to the boards. Nice user name. It is nice to hear ‘Yahweh’ and ‘Allah’ for once, too.

28

[QUOTE=xkcd]
I feel the suffering of all the ‘good’ people in the world b/c my own unfair suffering in the past has now made me hypersensitive to all good people’s suffering. I feel the pain of them all; I am unable, as most of you are, to brush off their pain by saying ‘shit happens’.

Feedback?
[/QUOTE]

I’ll offer you some feedback..

I find that in an incredibly complex and seemingly unjust world, one has to look to those rare inspired individuals who have shared their wisdom gained through navigating life’s difficult challenges. The answer is right here…

[QUOTE=Sergeant Hulka]

Lighten up, Francis.

[/quote]

Have a nice day! :slight_smile:

29

[hijack]You’re not the xkcd, are you?[/hijack]

30

[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold]
You must be able to brush it off to some extent. I mean, if you felt everyone you heard of’s pain as if it were your own, you’d go insane. Anyway, my advice is, work with what you’ve got.

(Are you named after the webcomic, by the way?)
[/QUOTE]

Unless it was counterbalanced by feeling everyone’s joy.

A hint to the OP people don’t come in good or bad. Sometimes they do good things and sometimes they do bad things.

31

[QUOTE=McNew]
Welcome.

And the result would be its own hell. There has to be conflict for good and bad to even exist. A world with no bad would provide no basis for the good to be perceived as good, and the lack of conflict would drive most people insane. So, all due respect, please don’t wish for it because I don’t want to live in that world. I like this one, warts and all, because the pleasure I derive from living my life is at least somewhat dependent on the fact that there is bad in the world, and I’m managing to avoid it.
[/QUOTE]

Your right, of course. Because, like, in the Matrix, the first version by the Designer was a utopia, and these people just didn’t buy it. So they woke up in their battery soup, all the “What the EFF?!” Then were immediately liquified and fed to the next batch. And then the next version of the Matrix they, like, had to write the “shit happens” back in so the enslaved humans would be all like, “Ahhh, my pissed girlfriend cut off my penis, cuz she found out I cheated. THAT’s more like it! If this were a Matrix, I wouldn’t wake up now.” Which is irony because it was the Matrix, and he still has a penis… or DOES he?!

In all seriousness, McNew is right. You’re burdening yourself with a wasteful philosophical standpoint. All that said, IMHO it’s sort of an immature outlook on life you’ve got yourself there. We’re all in the same boat. We all suffer and die. Some people suffer way more than then anyone deserves. “good” and “bad” are subjective terms. And humanity is still very young in terms of the bigger picture. If we can manage not blowing ourselves up, or ruining the earth, perhaps one day, everyone can hold hands and sing rainbow songs and use Skittles™ as currency. But let’s not hold our collective breaths. No point to life, just live the one you were given. And death itself isn’t so bad. Just… nothing. Horrifying as it sounds from this side, on the other side, you won’t feel a thing. I promise.

32

[QUOTE=xkcd]
Convinced I’m an atheist yet?
[/QUOTE]

My theory is that you’re a theist who’s trying some sort of reverse psychology to try and get the atheists here to admit to…something. I’m not sure what, but good luck with all that.

33

Here’s what gets me through life:

  1. Throughout all of history, people have suffered. It’s just they way things are. After reading A Fine Balance, I learned that poor and suffering does not necessarily mean unhappy. Many privileged people have feelings of guilt about there position. It is much better to be thankful than feel guilty.

  2. We can only control our own patch of ground. We are not responsible for suffering going on in other parts of the world. Get involved with a local charity. Be helpful and positive with your friends. Make your personal growth your lifelong passion and don’t beat yourself up when you stumble.

34

[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar]
My theory is that you’re a theist who’s trying some sort of reverse psychology to try and get the atheists here to admit to…something. I’m not sure what, but good luck with all that.
[/QUOTE]

I was thinking the exact same thing. Well said.

Are you fooling yourself in some way? You’re not quite sure what to believe, so in you’re flailing, you’re reaching out all woe-is-me style?

35

[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar]
My theory is that you’re a theist who’s trying some sort of reverse psychology to try and get the atheists here to admit to…something. I’m not sure what, but good luck with all that.
[/QUOTE]

I’ve seen people do this before - in both directions, but I don’t think the OP is one of these people. I should clarify that my post asking "are you sure you’re an atheist’ was rhetoric in response to rhetoric.

XKCD: A million years from now, none of this shit will matter or be remembered at all. Why fret about it?

36

So a ‘good god’ and you, would see eye to eye on just who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’.

Maybe the people who suffer in this world are BAD PEOPLE and the people who prosper are GOOD PEOPLE.

Maybe we need to define ‘suffer’ and ‘prosper’. The fact that you have electircity and, I’m guessing, running drinkable water, IN YOUR HOUSE, puts you on the prosperous side of the world. Should a Good God smite you and give your place to some kid from Africa?

OH, but YOU have unjustly suffered and that gives YOU special insite to the WORLD! YOU know the difference between good and evil and you know who should be killed for the Greater Good.
That fact that we all die forever? How does that mean you can’t enjoy life now? It should mean you should really try to enjoy it while it lasts. You can sleep when you’re dead.

Look, you don’t feel other people’s pain. You feel it, it’s yours. You do not have a special power that others do not but you could probably use a little help in the mental health department.

The reason you can’t be happy is that, right now, you don’t want to be. You find every excuse in the book to be unhappy and you will be unhappy until you stop making them and go talk to a doctor about your unability to be happy. We can’t really help you here.

37

[QUOTE=xkcd]
Hey SDMB, I’m new here. I’m an atheist. How’re you?

Anyways: the three reasons I can’t be happy are

1.) The Suffering of the Good (SOTG)

2.) the Prospering of the Bad (POTB)

3.) In the end, we all die forever

Pardon my acronyms, it’s a quirk of mine.

I don’t like how millions of ‘good’ people suffer every day, or how millions of ‘bad’ people prosper each day. And I don’t like that I’m going to die forever someday, as will all other ‘good’ people.

I can’t be truly happy until a good god (obviously that doesn’t refer to Yahweh or Allah) flies down to earth, destroys the ‘bad’ people and makes the world into a paradise where all the ‘good’ people live forever with no pain and death. Is that too much to ask?

I feel the suffering of all the ‘good’ people in the world b/c my own unfair suffering in the past has now made me hypersensitive to all good people’s suffering. I feel the pain of them all; I am unable, as most of you are, to brush off their pain by saying ‘shit happens’.

Feedback?
[/QUOTE]

You have feelings for others, and this is good. It would be well to develop those feelings instead of suppressing them. Some have questioned if you are an atheist, sort of like “no true Irishman” thing. If you say you are an atheist, then you are an atheist, only you can know that for sure. But I do have good news for you, your consciousness will live after the death of your body. We now have research showing evidence of this fact. As for the true good God, He is here, within you, and around you. Always has been. So cheer up, after the dust settles, if you want to know more, post your questions.

38

[QUOTE=xkcd]
I can’t be truly happy until a good god (obviously that doesn’t refer to Yahweh or Allah) flies down to earth, destroys the ‘bad’ people and makes the world into a paradise where all the ‘good’ people live forever with no pain and death. Is that too much to ask?
[/quote]

Well, yes, because it’s helpless and childish. Even people who believe in an active God who will do those sorts of things don’t believe you should be sitting around, unable to feel happiness until that takes place.

Fortunately for you, that probably is not possible, and even if it is, it’s even less likely that it’s possible on a constant basis.

I’ll ignore the ‘what’s good and what’s bad?’ question for a second and skip to this: the point of doing good, I think, isn’t to get rewarded and avoid suffering. I mean, everybody wants to be rewarded in some way for doing good things, but that’s not a reasonable expectation of what the rewards could be. Similarly, why do you have a need to see bad people punished? Do you believe that doing good is a burden? If so, I’d suggest getting over yourself. Do you think that seeing those people punished would prove that you are good and they are not? I’d suggest having some confidence.

As far as death goes… sorry it bothers you, but that generally goes away with some experience and consideration. And I don’t think it should have any impact on how you actually live.

39

[QUOTE=xkcd]
Convinced I’m an atheist yet?
[/QUOTE]

Why? Are you in a foxhole?

40

[QUOTE=lekatt]
You have feelings for others, and this is good. It would be well to develop those feelings instead of suppressing them. Some have questioned if you are an atheist, sort of like “no true Irishman” thing. If you say you are an atheist, then you are an atheist, only you can know that for sure. But I do have good news for you, your consciousness will live after the death of your body. We now have research showing evidence of this fact. As for the true good God, He is here, within you, and around you. Always has been. So cheer up, after the dust settles, if you want to know more, post your questions.
[/QUOTE]

It must be nice being you. You know, ignorance is bliss. :wink:

No offense, but there is no ‘god’ or ‘afterlife’. Absolutely all evidence points to the fact that when the brain dies, the consciousness program dies with it. Now I"m sure you’ll tell me about how the body gets 2 ounces lighter at death, huh? :smack: