I find myself wondering if I need to watch more TV or go to more movies. I am not sure that I have any clue to the raw material that makes up modern thinking. My personal opinion is that I am better off that way but how do I understand my fellow Americans?
It is so easy to think other people have values and priorities like we do. They don’t. That is sometimes what makes like interesting. Other times it is what makes life maddening. The differences can be as simple as the impossible reality that some people like liver and onions. I have a child like that. I would blame it on my wife’s French blood but she doesn’t like liver.
People see the world differently. I know someone who is more than a little bit color blind. He can’t tell the difference between pink and gray. Purple fits in that same category. It is a simple thing but it means he will make different choices than I would. There are also entire nuances of life that he will never know.
Some are brought up with different values. Consider the difference between a guilt culture and a shame culture. In one you are guilty for breaking the rules because you broke the rules. In the other you are only guilty if you are caught and the main shame is that you failed to get away with your criminal behavior. It makes a difference in your entire scope of ethics and everything downstream from those standards.
These kinds of differences are what are pulling the country apart. The moral framework being taught today is a do-your-own-thing approach that puts each individual at the throat of their neighbor. Maybe it is time to introduce something simple, like the Ten Commandments. Or we could even start with what Jesus gave as the greatest commandment,
(Luk 10:27 KJV) And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.It would be a good place to start.
Maybe I don’t need to go to movies. Maybe I should stick to what I know.
homo unius libri
I'm sticking with Biblical morals. Today's cultural approaches are waaaaay too messed up!
ReplyDeleteSince Blogger is playing games I will answer as an unknown. Today's mess is only beginning. At least we have read the book and know how it ends.
ReplyDeleteGrace and peace