Philosophy
Where Emotion and Perception Rule
My degree is in classical philosophy, with a heavy emphasis in Ancient Greek thought. Of all of the courses that I took, none stand out as more impactful than Logic. When use that word, “logic,” a lot without really appreciating just what it is. (I will use an upper-case “L” when referring to Logic in the classical sense.) Logic is a system, very closely related to mathematics, that helps us to process thoughts and positions to ensure integrity and congruence.
Within Logic, there are two general types of formulas: tautologies and fallacies. Tautologies are formulas that are always true, while fallacies are formulas that are essentially flawed and can never deliver a true result. The unique nature about these formulas is that they are expressed with variables, making them completely interchangeable with any subject matter or problem. When you study and understand the underpinnings of these types of formulas, you start to be careful in the way that you construct arguments. This caution is heightened because you wouldn’t want your logical argument to be able to be reconstructed for illicit purposes.
The true benefit that Logic brings to any debate is that it is impartial. It allows for any argument to be processed and evaluated without relying on the innate fickleness of human nature. Emotion can turn on a time, but Logic is immovable.
As we move into a society of screaming and stalking, we are collectively shrugging off an objective referee in favor of emotion and perception. We claim to support science and Truth, and yet we cherry-pick the science that we like and have made truth wholly subjective. This is most clearly illustrated in the idea of someone speaking, “their truth,” as if truth applied unevenly and particularly to each individual person.
Abandoning Logic creates dangers beyond what we imagine in our limited views. Evils like racism or sexism can put on the cloak of moral rectitude because, in a world where there is no Truth, they can easily adapt to pass muster.
We must resist the very easy course of just doing what feels good, and instead engage the full capacity of the human mind. As rational beings, we posses tremendous creative capacities to create. New ideas should be generated, tested, and shared. When we retreat to the recesses of emotion as our sole guide for morality and justice, we are doomed to exist in a world ruled by the irrationality of a pubescent teenager.
Media Anxiety
The midterm elections are concluded. With over 700 days before the 2020 presidential election, the news cycle is running wild with speculation as to who will run, who will be nominated, and who will win. A new Congress will sit in January, and in this lame duck period, conjecture flies about what it will (or won’t) do. The 2016 presidential election continues to be litigated, investigated, and bloviated. The Federal government is getting ready to change top-level leadership, and the antagonism between this Administration and the media continues to fill pages of articles and terabytes of video.
And we haven’t even gotten to talking about anything truly sinister, like geopolitical threats, mass violence, or the next epidemic.
While it’s nice to put the news media up on a pedestal, the truth is, that kind of praise is undeserved. They may aspire to be impartial in their journalism, but it’s hard to get humans to separate their personal views from their work. This doesn’t make journalists bad actors, but it does remind us that as consumers of news, it’s up to us to evaluate bias and draw conclusions.
The fact of the matter is that journalism these days is less of a service and more of a business. Sure, it’s always been a business, but in times past, the public was willing to pay for their news. Not so anymore, hence the cascade of ads all over news websites. Those clickbait headlines? Yeah, they just need you to fall for it so they can get paid. Why do they have a comment section? So that you’ll be on the page longer and they can charge advertisers more.
Journalism is in the fight of its life for survival, and competition is anyone with a computer and access to the internet.
Much like political campaigns, media empires understand human behavior more than any of us could ever hope to know. They do detailed research to identify their ideal client and then mercilessly and shamelessly shape their product to target that demographic.
They also know that the best way to keep you engaged and coming back is to mess with your emotions. If they can get you scared, upset, confused, anxious, or enraged, they’ve got you. Recent surveys are demonstrating that major networks are no longer drawing from a diverse audience, but instead, are megaphone extensions of particular tribes. Conservative, you watch Fox. Left-leaning? CNN. Progressive? MSNBC.
I don’t mean to paint with too broad of a brush. Certainly there are news organizations that do a superb job covering the news and keeping the information flowing. Unfortunately, their business model requires expensive paid subscriptions that keep their quality journalism out of reach for many Americans.
So what’s my point? News, politics, elections, economy. It’s easy to get caught up and miss today.
Today is the thing that matters right now. Anxiety over who will win an election in two years does nothing for you. Between now and the next election what could you accomplish if you focused on you and your family? Do yourself a favor and stop falling into their trap.
Guard Your Joy
There are many reasons to be optimistic in life, especially as an American. We live in comfort and peace. I go to bed at night, not fearing roving thugs, errant artillery shells, or that some secret government agency will come and kidnap me.
The turmoil in the Church has caused much consternation, especially when many of us thought we’d left the worst of it behind in the early 2000s. I have seen plenty of ideas for how we can act out, in civil disobedience, to register our displeasure. Among them are to withhold financial support, stop receiving communion, or even join another denomination. I’m not sure why I should let the failures of leadership on the part of others steal the joy of my faith.
The Catholic Church is built upon the relationship between God and His Church. We have the Sacraments, the Magisterium, and Tradition on which to lean on, not a singular bishop or priest. We should root out corruption and abuse with extreme prejudice, but giving up the gift of faith is not a proportional response.
The same can be said for our political leaders. We have been gifted this thoughtful Republic, this unique system of government that has withstood extreme volatility. The correct response to a political leader that we dislike is not to destroy the machinery of government.
There is much to be joyful and optimistic about. There are many pleasures that we get to enjoy every day, such as the change in weather, the vibrancy of leaves, or even just the taste of ice cream. I’m not going to waste my creative powers and imagination on a buffet of negativity.
We are a Nation, and a Church, with problems, but my joy is mine to surrender. I have so many blessings, including the daily doses of cuteness given to me by my three children. You can give up your joy if you like, but I’m going to jealously guard mine.
The Gluttony of Surfing
I remember a time two decades ago when the Internet was a fun place to be. It was new, exciting, and you could spend hours getting lost in new and interesting content.
The Internet today is mean, ugly, and mostly boring. When I think about the sites that I visit on a regular basis, there are only about three. Three sites in a network of billions. That’s pathetic.
When I do pick up my phone, my time surfing is a wasted. I look for updates and new articles on mainstream news websites or I refresh YouTube for a continuous serving of suggested videos that are of zero interest to me.
I’m starting to see mindlessly surfing the Internet as a form of gluttony. It’s a spiritual sickness that I sink so much time into something that gives me almost no enjoyment. I rarely set down my phone and marvel at the new knowledge that I have gleaned. Instead, like re-watching a TV show for the fifth time, I walk away empty.
Time is a wonderful thing, and how I invest it directly impacts the trajectory of my life. If I can teach myself to stop surfing and to spend that time in other ways, I’ll be much better for it.
Commit Yourself to A Program
What a privilege it is to live in the Modern era. No matter what goal I set for myself, someone has already achieved it, and their method is readily available to me. I want to lose weight, and there are plenty of plans, devices, videos, apps, and coaches out there to help me implement the proven program.
The difficult part is not trying to fix their plan. I always want to modify and tweak the program, as if to say that I know better than the person who developed the program. I might, but they’re also fit and trim and I’m not. Plus, how much time and energy will I waste finding alternatives?
This desire to tinker and fix is a delay tactic, and it’s very human. Instead of making excuses, commit yourself to the program and do the work. We can plan our lives away without accomplishing anything meaningful. Use your energy to accomplish the steps and hit your goal, instead of trying to figure out 100 better ways of doing it.
Quitting Social Media
I remember a time, a decade ago, when the Internet was fun. It was an open, collaborative place where you could find interesting articles and links, follow your friends, find a few laughs, and get a real sense of connection. It’s amazing what the passage of time can do, even a relatively short passage of time. Today, the Internet has become four or five main websites. Those sites are essentially ads, spyware, spam, and garbage.
Late in March, partially due to the unmasking of Facebook, partially due to my declining usage, and mostly because I now have an alternative, I closed my Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter accounts. In the coming days, those profiles will return to dust, the content no longer accessible.
Foolish? Maybe. I fully recognize what I’m giving up. Facebook, in particular, has branched out from a simple way to connect to your friends to a juggernaut of offerings. Groups, messages, businesses, it does it all. But, at what great cost? Will they be able to continue on this scale for another decade? History tells us no. They’re too big to succeed.
If you look at your timeline or newsfeed, and compare it to the personal and interesting updates that used to fill those spaces, you may become despondent. Facebook has become a ghost town for personal updates and a boomtown for multi-level marketing and advertisements.
There’s something very powerful about the concept of a social network. Connecting people across the street, across town, and across the world. Growing up as a military kid, I lost well beyond 99.9% of the friendships every time that we moved. A social network can prevent that loss. The problem comes when these networks have revenue targets to hit and shareholders to please.
I have my alternative. I’ve set up a blog on my own domain name, fully backed up on my computer, and completely portable. If my current host goes out of business, I’ll simply move my content somewhere else. You could do the same with a simple WordPress site. I read news and interesting blogs via an RSS reader, a simple open Internet technology that pulls all of the content into an app. I’m the curator of my own news, pulling in from my favorite sources and companies. I’ve also begun a return to email, sending personal messages to friends and family, at a rate of one per day.
There’s a better Internet out here.
Data Driven
I’m a guy who likes data. I like to see numbers, charts, and graphs. I can understand them and make decisions based off of them. It’s just the way that I am.
Data can be an awesome asset, but it can also be a distraction. When I dive deep into the numbers, I lose sight of my goal. If my goal is to lose 30 pounds (which it is), then knowing my weight loss rate per week is helpful. It can give me a sense of how long it may take me to get to my goal, but it can also distract me from actually doing the work.
My daughter, Lucy, is in the hospital right now. She was born last week, and has had some difficulty transitioning to her new life. She’s making good progress, but her monitoring regime is giving us lots of data points. When all is going well, it feels good. But when she struggles, and her machines alarm, it becomes stressful. It’s easy for me to just stare at the monitor and get tunnel vision as the beeps sound and lights flash. In those moments, I can forget about the amazing progress that she’s made over the past few days, and her overall progress. This is when data becomes the enemy. When I take it in stride, I can see discharge just around the corner.
Data is a wonderful thing, but it can only do so much. All things ebb and flow, and if you become too fixated on the moment, you lose situational awareness. Look at the data in the moment, compare it to the trend, but no matter what, keep after it.
Do it today. And then go out and do it again tomorrow.
I Choose Superhero
Our cities and neighborhoods produce the finest political thinkers, artists, innovators, and pioneers on the planet. Our forefathers pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps and overcame every obstacle. We have fought for freedom, moved beyond adversity, and created the greatest geopolitical force for good in the history of the world.
So why are we all clamoring to be victims? Why do we seek out sympathy and pity? Why is the first thing we give an excuse and the last thing that we give is a complement?
Being the victim is the easiest thing in the world. It explains all of our faults, vice, and laziness.
I’d rather be a superhero. I want to be a success despite my challenges, not because of them. I want to blast through every obstacle leaving nothing behind me. I have to show up every single day.
Winning is reserved for those who persevere. Do the work.
August Ames
Until late last year, I didn’t know August Ames. One day in early December, I was checking in on the treading topics, and clicked her name. She was a porn star who met her untimely demise at the age of 23. Cause of death: suicide by asphyxiation.
In the days leading up to her death, August had stirred up controversy on the Internet for allegedly refusing to film pornography with an individual who had previously done homosexual pornography. The hate and anger that was directed at her was intense. She had been diagnosed with bipolar depression and multiple personality disorder. News reports indicate that she disclosed sexual abuse by her grandfather while she was a minor. Her mother was also bipolar. She spent time in a group home before her teenage years and shared that she had a terrible relationship with her father.
If you’ve read any of the personal stories of those who have participated on-camera in the pornography industry, August’s story doesn’t really stand out. She fits the profile.
It is well documented that the pornography industry preys on a certain demographic for talent. The average female porn star is young, with a strong history of depression and substance use disorder. In many cases, she was the victim of sexual abuse as a minor. These women are vulnerable, and are lured with the promises of easy money and fame. Their life is anything but easy.
And if they don’t fit the profile when the go into the industry, they will by time it spits them out.
August, her real name being Mercedes, was in the pornography industry for four years. During that time, roughly from age 19 until her death last year, she amassed credits in upwards of 290 scenes/films. Running the numbers, that means videos of her were released, on average, every five days for the past four years. Data from PornHub, one of the most ubiquitous free pornography sites on the web, says that her videos were viewed a mind-blowing 415 million times, or 1.43 million times per video.
After news of her death broke, a major pornography studio, Brazzers, announced that they were delaying the release of Mercedes’ latest scene until a “more appropriate time.” That’s right, they’re releasing a pornography video exploiting a deceased person.
Since news of August’s death broke, there has been a steady drip of new deaths. Most, if not all, have been confirmed as suicides. While the banner headlines proclaim that the porn industry is at a loss as to what’s causing these deaths, there’s nothing mysterious about it.
We’ve been lying to ourselves for a long time, America. We’ve been telling ourselves that porn is victimless, that everyone is a willing participant, that it’s free speech and that free porn really costs nothing.
I have trouble reconciling the degree of free consent a person can give to having their sexual encounters recorded and distributed 290 times, with countless partners. I have trouble reconciling how a commercial company can reasonably obtain consent from a person who could be put into receivership. I have trouble reconciling how someone can consent to having their videos watched, shared, and sold after their death. I have trouble reconciling the fury in recent weeks over the sexual misdeeds of celebrities and politicians and no one has said a damn thing about the single greatest driver in the dehumanization of sexuality.
Mercedes’ death is a tragedy. How many more of these broken people end their lives in anonymity?
Pornography is an affront to the dignity of the human person and civilized society.
There is zero place for pornography in a society that in any legitimate and meaningful way seeks to appreciate, respect, and empower women.
Until we’re willing to come to grips with the absolute damage that the pornography industry does to it’s participants, consumers and society at large, we will never stop this daily march of Harvey Weinsteins. We will never stop reading about teachers sexually assaulting their students. We will never stop. It will never stop.
Sex is a loving act between spouses who surrender themselves totally through self-donation.
Pornography kills.
Mending Election Fences
Our culture is sick. How far we have fallen from the America that De Tocqueville documented in his journeys. In many ways, I believe that the way that we live our daily lives has contributed to the toxic nature of our society. This is about more than just an election or any one candidate. This is about who we have fundamentally become, and the ominous implications that it entails.
When you look at the average American, you’ll see several disturbing trends. I admit that I see many of them in myself. We are completely consumed by media. The [average American watches five hours and four minutes of television] per day.(NYT Link) Alison and I have struggled to find content that we can watch with Benedict in the room, often defaulting to Food Network or HGTV. Why? The news networks are 24 hours of doom and gloom, reality TV is beyond fake and full of made up drama, and practically every other show is stuffed with vulgar language and content. We have collectively demanded that our content be explicit. We’ve told the networks and content creators that if people aren’t fighting, having sex, or cursing, we won’t watch.
Consider how many R rated movies are released each year compared to G and PG. If you’d like a G or PG movie, expect it to be animated or directly solely at kids. “Top Gun,” one of the most celebrated films in our time, released in 1986 is rated PG. Good movies can be produced, enjoyed, and celebrated without being explicit.
So when this is the state of our media, it’s unsurprising that we just went through an election cycle devoid of the issues. In the past decade or two, we’ve started to mirror the cult of personalities that many repressed nations show. We focus on the person, not the platform. Both candidates this year understood that the American public wants to see people tear each other apart, and both obliged.
Now that the election is over, I believe that mending fences and healing our culture is best done on a micro-level. My brother and I often fought growing up, and I remember very clearly at one point my father telling us, “If we can’t have peace at home, how can we expect to have it in the world?” If we can’t have peace in our world, we can have it in our nation. If we can’t have peace in our nation, we can in our community. If we can’t have peace in our community, we can have it on our street. If we can’t have peace on our street, we can have it in our home. If we can’t have peace in our home, we can’t have peace.
Mending fences is a delicate, but worthwhile task. Reject the urge to spike the ball or drift towards hyperbole. Be gracious, be gentile, and be kind.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/business/media/nielsen-survey-media-viewing.html?_r=0