# Need some advice, debasing personal beliefs in the face of money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2016, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826 "2016-02-01T08:10:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Al-Khemia\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9e8a1a/32.png) [@The\_Al-Khemia\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Al-Khemia_King)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/1 "2016-02-01T08:10:49Z")
This is probably going to seem stupid to some, but it’s a general question that should be thought about on the basis of the question, not the circumstances for asking it. I was offered a job as a web developer even though I have zero experience in the field. The bossman knows this and hooked me up with some employees to point me to resources to learn in time before the job actually opened up. This will probably feel like a train collision to the face for a lot of people so take a deep breath. I don’t like where technology is going. At all. I think it would have been better to have not discovered it but here we are. Now I’m not Ted Kaczynski, folks. Although he had the exact same line of thought, I think people are generally good if not sometimes daft, so I’m not going to go terrorize the populace for it. Other men great and small despise technology too. Simply put it’s the model of technology that I believe is the reason for the push toward a Utopian society, which is hugely immoral and dehumanizing. A documentary called “The Net” by Dammbeck can give my foundations of my point here. Having a society based on machinist, atomist philosophy is flawed because that current model of tech is flawed at a fundamental level. I do believe there is a desperate need for some reform in sacred ideology and am currently trying to pull together ancient Egyptian resources and old Christian resources, along with general history. Obviously this would take a lot of time to properly form a coherent thought about anything constructive. Simply put this job offer is all I really have going for me as far as independence goes, but my heart and passion lies in theology, philosophy, and contextual history, which will not get me a job in the near future if at all. Please try to understand where I’m coming from. I’m too hung up on it and can’t make up my mind. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/2 "2016-02-01T09:20:58Z")
Take the job and stick to your beliefs. Do a good job and you might make changes that really matter. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/3 "2016-02-01T10:21:26Z")
> [@The\_Al-Khemia\_King](#): > > I don’t like where technology is going. At all. I think it would have been better to have not discovered it but here we are. Could you be a little more specific here? “Technology” is [older than the human race](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Paleolithic). Technology isn’t “dehumanizing”; technology is the most quintessentially human thing there is. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/4 "2016-02-01T12:59:51Z")
Without technology, you would’ve had to physically leave your house, climb up on a lamppost on a public street somewhere, and scream your philosophical quandary at a bunch of complete strangers. How great is it that you can do so while sitting in your underwear eating Funyuns? ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/5 "2016-02-01T13:22:09Z")
Funnyuns are evil and must be stopped. The true snack of the programmer messiah is Doritos. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/6 "2016-02-01T14:06:23Z")
Unfortunately unless you are born into wealth you are going to have to support yourself somehow. Your employment does not preclude your passions. Consider this: you state you don’t understand the field and you fear what the technology is doing to humanity. Ignorance breeds fear. If you spend the time to learn about it you will better understand your enemy, or you may understand it’s not your enemy at all. Either way learning and experience are both good things which will help you no matter where your passions take you. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/7 "2016-02-01T14:17:37Z")
> [@The\_Al-Khemia\_King](#): > > . . . properly form a coherent thought about anything constructive. This, I believe, is your main task. And who is the moron who hired you? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/8 "2016-02-01T14:34:18Z")
OP’s question is one many have. Two Dopers have already given good answers including > [@2gigch1](#): > > Unfortunately unless you are born into wealth you are going to have to support yourself somehow. Your employment does not preclude your passions. > > Consider this: you state you don’t understand the field and you fear what the technology is doing to humanity. Ignorance breeds fear. If you spend the time to learn about it you will better understand your enemy, or you may understand it’s not your enemy at all. > > Either way learning and experience are both good things which will help you no matter where your passions take you. But to remind us that this is the oh-so-preciously “intellectual” SDMB, other views are on display as well: > [@panache45](#): > > This, I believe, is your main task. > > And who is the moron who hired you? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/9 "2016-02-01T14:51:33Z")
What technology are you unhappy with? The internet? Electricity? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/10 "2016-02-02T03:18:22Z")
Take the job. Refuse to do significant parts of the job on religious grounds. It worked for Kim Davis. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/11 "2016-02-02T04:12:53Z")
There’s no reason why enjoying money can’t be one of your personal beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/12 "2016-02-02T05:19:54Z")
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, **The Al-Khemia King**. While you may find prompt and excellent answers to questions about history or technology here, this is not a forum where issues of a more philosophical nature can be discussed intelligently. Call attention to ecological dangers of widespread GMO and you’ll be accused of wanting to starve billions of people. Express concern that some technology can be dehumanizing and you’ll be instructed to live in the forest with only the fires you can make from flint-rock sparks available for artificial lighting. Although they claim it is a “liberal Board”, propose that the capital gains marginal tax rate on those making more than $5 million be increased from 20% to 25% and a vocal minority will tell you that that will cause all the innovators and job creators to renounce their citizenship and flee to Germany, Taiwan or Somalia. So … do you have any questions about ancient history? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![DooProcess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DooProcess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooProcess)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/13 "2016-02-03T20:31:21Z")
Is this job offer possibly with _Levy Pants?_ ---
**Author:** ![Lowdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Lowdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lowdown)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-advice-debasing-personal-beliefs-in-the-face-of-money/744826/14 "2016-02-03T22:42:32Z")
Take the job. Do what you want to do when you’re not at work. You’ll find that having money makes that easier.