Guest Post by Jesse
If for some reason what I write displeases you all that much, if we cannot agree to disagree, if you cannot bear to hear even reasoned criticism of something because you are so emotionally invested in it, then it is probably better not to read it here and feel all put out. Can you not bear to know that some people do not agree with you? Well, there seems to be a lot of that going around.
But it is not reasonable to expect me to change my conscience, pervert my own reason, and dishonor my own commitments just to please you or flatter your choices. There are many places where you can obtain that kind of validation, and can find even your basest emotions affirmed, and a catharsis achieved.
But after a time you may not be able to bear reading or hearing anything to the contrary. And that is a story and a sign in itself. I can remember a time during the early days before the Iraq war that I could not bear to watch anything but Fox News, because I wanted to believe so badly in what we were doing, even though it did not make sense, it did not hold together.
I got caught by surprise. I had been known for my skepticism, and had made most of my successes by piercing through the veils of lies in business and the markets. I think I fell for this because we were emotionally vulnerable; 9/11 was not an abstraction for our little town, on a commuter rail line to the City. My wife was caring for children in case their parents did not show up to take them home from school that afternoon.
And with time it was revealed to be a delusion based on falsehoods. And I have an obligation not to allow myself to fall into that sort of self-deceiving trap again. Especially if I wish to continue placing my money in the markets, although that is less of a consideration these days. Now it is all about commitment to something greater than myself.
I write what I do because I believe it, and have come to it by thinking for myself, not because I want or get anything from you. I accept nothing from anyone for any of this. I am discharging a pledge I made long ago out of gratitude, and thankful recognition of His tender mercies.
And if that is not enough for a person to speak their mind with reason and careful civility, well then, it is a brave new world we are creating indeed.
Yes, sure. Speak your own mind. That is the first part of a dialog. Then after you have spoken your own mind you have to let others speak their minds and then you all have to think about what everybody else said and finally, all of you will change your minds just a little bit. That is how things are done. That is the only way things are done.
Noble sentiment, but that is not the only way things are done. That’s how it should be done, but many, if not most, people close their ears to notions they disagree with. That’s especially the case with leftists, who seem to believe anyone who disagrees with them is evil, but those on the right end of the political spectrum are often guilty of this, too. Often, as soon as I read something I perceive as socialist, I’ll stop reading; “Not worth my time.” I should read all the way through to understand how they think–or rather feel–as a way to gauge my own logic and biases, but I get impatient with their nonsense. I’m guessing most who visit this site are the same.
Yeah, I agree with you Bob. There is just so little time and it takes a lot of time to read the little bit that we find each day. You have to do triage on your inputs or you will need to be at the computer 24 hours a day. And then, when do find time to mull over that which you have found? Now you know why so many people just want the MSM to tell them what to think. They, and us, are inundated with information that most are ill equipped to evaluate.
I don’t comply, I just do it. – the Beer Bitch