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Competence is Moral

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“From the fact that people are very different it follows that, if we treat them equally, the result must be inequality in their actual position, and that the only way to place them in an equal position would be to treat them differently. Equality before the law and material equality are therefore not only different but are in conflict with each other; and we can achieve either one or the other, but not both at the same time”  ― Friedrich A. Hayek, The Constitution Of Liberty When competency is discarded for diversity, can there be true morality?  Based on the forced diversity quotas that were imposed, it appears that those in power favor emotional inclusiveness over equality in opportunity only (that is, not equality of outcome). “In December 2013, the FAA began its new hiring process, discarded its long use of the difficult cognitive-assessment test, and implemented instead a new, unmonitored, take-home personality test — a Biographical Questionnaire.” (Pendley) This can
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Conscious Conviction

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“Before Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1962, he was an angry, relatively young man. He founded the ANC's military wing. When he was released, he surprised everyone because he was talking about reconciliation and forgiveness and not about revenge.” - Desmond Tutu Any victim of  abuse knows the weight of powerlessness  They know what it is like to swallow a bitter pill.  One’s faith in reality is crushed in an instant.  In some cases, one is reminded day in and day out.  Knowing the severity of such crimes, society has set in place preventative measures through the legal system.  These laws are supposedly derived from the inborn empathy of healthy individuals.  However, the main purpose of such laws is simply to keep society functioning smoothly, not with the goal of following a god-given set of principles.  This is where religion and law come to diverge. Many of the world’s major religions share a similar framework of morality based on merit and sin.  Although it may be comfo
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The Rhetoric of Intuition

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“Some virtues, when they become fashions, also become exaggerated. Just because nobody likes a judgmental attitude does not mean that there isn't a sort of spoiled, self-righteous hypocrisy when one man obsessively commands other men not to judge without knowing the circumstances without himself, too, knowing their circumstances behind their judgments.” ― Criss Jami, Killosophy   Within the realm of online conversation and debate, you may have heard the pejorative known as “virtue signalling”.  It essentially refers to any overt display of moral superiority in an attempt to gain unearned approval or to avoid any form of nuanced discussion.  This is especially relevant to issues within the political spectrum that come down to individual choice, whether it’d be pro-life versus pro-choice, for the second amendment or for gun control, and so on.  When tackling such accusations, it’s easy to become invested in such labels and slander the opposing side using the same emotionally-c
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The True Nirvana

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“To awaken to the absolute view is profound and transformative, but to awaken from all fixed points of view is the birth of true non-duality. If emptiness cannot dance, it is not true emptiness. If moonlight does not flood the empty night sky and reflect in every drop of water, on every blade of grass, then you are only looking at your own empty dream.” - Adyashanti It was once said that all worldly desires must be abandoned in order to attain the highest truth. You look to the ascetics who’ve subjected their physical body to the most extreme of conditions.  You look to the monotheistic religions and see passionate, devout followers looking to a savior for a promised heaven.  You look to the Buddhists travelling on the middle path to end all suffering.  You look to the atheists who, in their objectivity and empiricism denounce such pursuits as all but wishful thinking.  Yet, one basic human desire acts as the backbone to all these paradigms, and that is the need for existential c
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Red versus Blue, Bloodshed or Truth

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"Political conflict rests to a very large extent on a universal ignorance of consequences, as the people are benefited by any particular act or policy are rarely those who struggled for it, and the people who are injured are rarely those who opposed it." - Kenneth E. Boulding In a political landscape known for its conflicting ideologies, it is difficult not to give into dogmatism and group think.  The human ego craves for external validation, willing to go to great lengths to prove the validity of its own worldviews, usually at the expense of others.  Obviously, this refers to anyone who is seen as a supporter of the opposing side of the political spectrum, whether true or otherwise.  One of the established norms around the idea of adulthood is the shift from the “irrational” emotion-based paradigm to the more “rational”, empirical worldview.   Unfortunately, this dualistic concept creates needless hostility around issues that require much deeper analysis and nua
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The Responsibility of Purpose

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"A man said to the universe: Sir, I exist! However, replied the universe The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” ― Stephen Crane, War Is Kind and Other Poems Purpose, the promised light at the end of the tunnel. The hazy vision that justifies the struggle, So they say. What do we when the path is not clear? We buckle down in blind faith out of fear. Looking to the “messengers” to tell us why we’re here. But wait... The inner voice calls to us in moments of doubt. When the mental chatter becomes so loud, We have no choice but to shout, About the never-ending questions of what is “allowed” In the eyes of those we call “the system”. But what is this system, if not our own unfiltered face? Our own shadowed darkness that we denounce as “the other” And yet we believe that embracing truth as our brother Will instill meaning into our being, and in doing so we will have all to gain While turning a blind eye to our egos’ shared pain And when
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The Human Condition

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“Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman--a rope over an abyss.  A dangerous crossing, a dangerous wayfaring, a dangerous looking-back, a dangerous trembling and halting.  What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal: what is lovable in man is that he is an over-going and a down-going.  I love those that know not how to live except as down-goers, for they are the over-goers.  I love the great despisers, because they are the great adorers, and arrows of longing for the other shore.  I love those who do not first seek a reason beyond the stars for going down and being sacrifices, but sacrifice themselves to the earth, that the earth of the Superman may hereafter arrive.”  - Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra When we face the moment in which we question our intentions in following a certain truth, our ego is at its most vulnerable point.  One of the most interesting dynamics in the human psyche is the clash between the lower and higher cons
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