The worlds of philosophy and politics intersect at innumerous junctures in life. There are politics surrounding philosophy just as there is philosophy surrounding politics. One could say that to think about philosophy effectively requires this secondary knowledge, as if each practice was struck upon reverse sides of the same coin— yet, talking about politics, especially that within the modern world, tends to repel me.
Trust me when I say this condition of mine does not stem from a misguided feeling of politics being dirty or, by some notion, unpure. The profession of Politika has existed as a framework to showcase the best of humanity in its capacity to reason and advance the race for millenia. I think of the Romans as a good example of this. So— I say this solely for the void to keep; my soul does not sunder to this ineffectual reasoning of one practice being superior to the other. With that said, I believe politics has the greater capacity to support and empower the most manipulative and indecent of humanity. I think of the Romans as a good example of this.
So, with that initial claimant made—if I have a personal detestation of modern political discourse, why am I speaking on modern political discourse⸮
I think I do it for the same reason a Killdeer in hiding will cry out and allow itself to appear as easy prey to a predator that wanders too close to its egg-filled nest. Sometimes, preserving what gives us meaning in life requires us to make decisions that jeopardize our own wellbeing— in this case, the damage of talking about modern political happenings
I suppose I’ll attempt to tackle three main questions with this post:
- What is my political stance
- Why do I have such a strong aversion to politics
- Why create this post + Why create it now?
My Political Stance
To understand where I am now (and how I’ve changed), we have to rewind many years…
I grew up mostly in a low-technology rural bubble within an environment that valued curiosity. Limited access to (and general disinterest in) the daily news program (“Ew, boring adult stuff”, I can hear my younger self saying), led to some interesting side-effects. I had essentially grown up in a pocket of time that existed outside of the hustle and bustle of grander life. At a time when my peers were texting each other on their iPhone 4’s and 5’s, I got to grow up on VHS movies like Jurassic Park, the A-Team, Alien (the list goes on).
I feel now as an adult that growing up with these movies, amongst other things, allowed me to see the value behind different perspectives. I got to see Ellen Ripley as a fierce warrior against the biologically perfect hunter in Alien, and Danny Glover’s character Lt. Harrigan go toe-to-toe with the Predator. When everyone else was making remarks on the validity of women or people of color being as good as anyone else I could point to these characters and think, ‘Well Dutch and Harrigan both won against the Predator and Ripley took on an alien queen’.
Additionally, movies such as the old westerns, or To Kill a Mockingbird, would form the basis of my moral character and instill in my deepest subconscious a seed of good. But I digress.
I had other influences. Growing up, I was taught and would idolize the viewpoint of:
A World Where Gay Married Couples Can Defend Their Marijuana Fields With Fully Automatic Machine Guns
It is (or was) a common Libertarian phrase that spoke to the American idea of ‘dangerous freedom’. While this method of thinking about our governance has fallen out of favor by those who still assume the same title of those who coined the phrase, I continued to take it to heart.
It was the necessary seed to start a younger me down the rabbit-hole of studying and researching these things, finding holes in my knowledge and filling them appropriately.
- I strongly support and value people who choose good.
- I choose to assess people on their moral character, not on details like race, gender, sexual preference, or origin.
- I value political leaders possessing the tenacity to lead all of their people to a favorable future.
- I choose to live in a country of “dangerous freedoms”, where we can drink, smoke, and yap freely, and not be trapped by individuals who want to extend their own broken morals onto others
Why do I have an aversion to politics?
There was an opportunity early in the formation of our modern society to take one of two paths:
One: live as the philosophers of antiquity intended, leading our lives from within, using a basis of good moral character to guide our actions and our relationships with our community, and live according to nature.
Two: Say “fuck it”, and throw good sense to the wind.
I believe that as a society, we presently find ourselves at the second of the two possibilities mentioned: That the structures we have collectively (if not accidentally) formed in the pursuit of maintaining excessive control over the lives of others have provided the modern world with two major, equally ineffective choices in governance. Neither fully capable of forging a new path, or committing to the application of political innovations necessary for humankind to progress.
The world is seen by the masses in binary colors. The world of nuance lost to them. You can be either A., or if not A, then only B. No third choice, no gradient, no spectrum. A… or B. If you’re not a Democrat, you are a Republican. If you are not explicitly Pro-Trans, then you’re Anti-Trans. Et cetera, Et cetera.
I listen to the words of Epiktetos in his manual The Enchiridion. I choose not to deluge my character by engaging in these black-and-white street fights where the opposition will fight in bad faith, make an illusion or faulty Engram of myself to fight, and get everyone riled up.
So why say these things now?
The thoughts of the mind are fluid— aetherial. I could swap my morals depending on who is in charge and no one would know. Something about this bothers me. It goes against my second core value — ‘Accountability for my Actions’.
The motion of harnessing these thoughts materializes them. To change the mind is easy. No accountability needed. But to take the purposeful steps in making those thoughts physical— To allow them to be judged— this shows who we are.
Each pen-stroke is a purposeful action building upon the last to speak on the characteristics of the writer. I now lock these ideas in with the writing.
So whatever happens, I can speak on the nature of my own character. I can say “here I was, fighting the good fight”.
My philosophy for how I treat others is based on a strong desire to be a force of good in the world. I won’t change that.
That is all.
BrandonKeck.NET 