Up and down

Another disappointing attempt. How will I ever learn this stuff if all I focus on is where I've come from? I have big dreams. The world is such a small place with everyone grabbing.

The Sun will raise tomorrow, I'll get up up and I pray I'll keep moving.

What Price Moral Agency?

We pride ourselves in our moral integrity. We are proud that we don't cheat, lie or defraud. We tell ourselves we would sooner suffer physical harm than deny the truth that are dear to us.  We carry on about our liberty. In the US we are conditioned to know we have rights. Most of can list them and a few actually get the list right.

How much would you sell your vote for? How much money would it take for you to pose as another person to take a test in their name? How much would you demand to bear false testimony? Don't get distracted by the criminal punishments. You can buy your way out of jail.

The number would be very large for most of us. We like to think no amount would be sufficient. But think. If a nefarious briber offered you a billion dollars, would you? After all with that much wealth, you don't have to care what others think. How about a million. That's about a lifetime's income for each of us. You needn't care what others think of you with that much in the bank.

"But wait!" you say. "It's not all about money". Perhaps not. So what happens if we add respect and power to your bribe? What if no ill comes to you as a result of your dishonorable act? Would you change you mind?

Is it moral integrity if it has a price? Does moral integrity have a value?

In my faith, the creation story tells us that before the creation of the Earth, even into a begining-less existence before mortality we had two traits: capacity and agency; we could become something greater and we could choose what we become. It was us the first that caused us to come to Earth and the second that made it meaningful. We believe that God cannot take these from us and remain godly, neither can we take from each other without coming under condemnation. Our purpose is to live a life choosing the better, greater things of our own choice. We believe that the greatest tragedies for a life is to cease growing and to give up our power to choose to someone else. We believe we shouldn't give up our agency for any price.

On that foundation, let's look at a scenario. An eighteen year old from a family of very modest means has a desire to improve herself, to further her education with a college program leading to a degree. This person looks around to choose a college which will provide this to them. The cost does matter, the family doesn't have much means to finance it. So colleges with a low tuition offset by scholarships and grants are preferred. In searching they conclude that a college subsidized by their faith is the best value for the small amount of money. She applies and is accepted. With one catch. For the time spent at that college, she must give up the right to choose how to dress, how to groom  herself and how to worship.

Should she go to this college, sign the pledge that she will accept other people's choices in these areas? Is her opportunity to go to college worth that much? At what price does she sell (or lease if you must) her moral agency?

Our phobic life

When entrepreneurs tell their stories a common thread is that they didn't start businesses to get rich. The successful do gain wealth but they say it was never their goal. In fact, many sell their newly successful businesses to other more mundane managers just as they are growing quickly. They have found that what really gets them excited is creation of a new thing or a new relationship.

We're not all entrepreneurs, they are an uncommon skill set but we are creative in unique ways most of which won't make us rich, powerful or famous. That bit of wisdom is merely a comment on how screwed up our economic lives are, not on the value of the creations. After all, if you create a song, a poem, a painting, a decoration, a bauble or a curious mind in just one person isn't that success?

In six decades of more or less regular breathing, a few lessons have penetrated; one being that almost everyone is born curious and creative. Tragically the majority have it trained out of their active lives by inflexible parents, jealous peers, an eduction system that values uniformity, socialization and a work world that wants to determine ones value by a short list of qualities. A few persist with the motivation, courage and originality they were blessed with and make our lives the better for it. How much better would it be if more did?

What is it that kills the curiosity and creativity? Mostly an abundance or fear and risk avoidance. We live our lives as we would walk through a mine field. We carefully consider every step, searching for anything unexpected that might be a threat. We carefully step only where others have already stepped. It's called risk avoidance behavior. It comes from fear, the message of our primitive lizard brain. In simple animals it keeps the animal alive, but how many creative lizards do you know? It  may control their lives but should it control ours? We live in a world where we are extremely unlikely to become prey or starve to death because we don't find our own food.

Keeping in mind that our inner lizard has some vestigial usefulness such as keeping us from walking in front of buses or falling down manholes, we need to put the fear out to the center of our views and stop living like phobic neurotics. Be creative. Take risks. Be curious. Live.