I'm Far too Under-read to Have These Opinions

I need to read so much more about philosophy to truly believe anything I hear, read, see, or even what I say and think. I'm often a tad suspicious that I haven't reached Rowdy Roddy Piper status yet. Someday I hope to find those special sunglasses that will unveil what's really going on. Every time I do (and pretty often when I don't) read philosophy, my mind explodes with wordy theories. Unfortunately, these are very likely theories that would change in conversation and, in some cases, I might even disregard them altogether when the chips are down, but when they come to me, they feel right. I'm all about putting ideas out there. I love to start a conversation, stir the pot, hear other viewpoints, and hear positive and negative knee-jerk reactions. Some might see the practice as just an excuse for a blowhard only child to gain attention. On some level, that's true. I think, more importantly, I'm giving myself an opportunity to evolve and adjust my ideals (or to solidify them).

When we are born, we are not ready for the world. In infancy, we require further incubation, albeit, external. The mother isn’t finished providing nutrients to her spawn. The babe cannot yet become fully detached. Fragile and weak, it must remain close to its mother and go to the breast throughout the day for sustenance to grow and survive. If born pre-maturely, it requires even more care, effort, and resources to ensure that we’ll survive.

At what point are we no longer surviving, though. At what age or at what stage in life can a person be expected to have mastered surviving and to begin thriving and contributing. Is there ever a time when this transition occurs or are we always giving and taking, playing both Remora and Whale Shark or transitioning back and forth between the two roles of giver and taker. Until one has, on some level, mastered survival, they are a draw on society and not truly contributing. Of course, there is always a fluid ebb and a flow. There will be times when we’re able to give without harming ourselves and our community benefits greatly. There are times, perhaps even in the midst of a period of wealth, that we must look to our brothers and sisters to gain strength and cannot contribute without first taking. At this stage in our evolution, should we be more easily ready to thrive? Haven’t we had plenty of time to either learn how to survive or how to perish gracefully? Community is a wonderful thing, as long as it can thrive and grow, despite (or perhaps because of) its weakest link(s).

Ideally, I believe, a community is made of a majority of strong, able bodied and able minded individuals who contribute with goods, services, love, and care. The young are provided for and the old are cared for and the weak are given opportunities to grow and overcome their adversity. The weak should not, however, be shown that their weakness is a means to an end. The goal must always be to rehabilitate those who struggle and to find a place for them to contribute to the whole. I would never want to drain the resources of those around me if I couldn’t contribute for long periods of time because of an extended illness. Again, ideally, if an individual’s weakness can be safely studied so that future generations can anticipate, prevent, or more readily overcome certain adversities, then even the weak provide to the community.