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Number one: (when we have a choice) we should not assist enemies; we should not assist people in doing that which we regard as evil (morally wrong, creating ugliness and destroying beauty, propagating un-truths).
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The world is being incrementally paved-over by evil; with the active assistance of those who purport to oppose it, but who actually (in a multitude of small ways) assist evil - for all sorts of reasons of expediency.
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To win we need to support The Good (when we discern it) and oppose that which attacks the Good.
And when (as so often) we can find no 'Good cause' to support, we still must resist that which attacks the Good.
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It sounds very little, feeble and negative; yet for reasons of expediency we often do voluntarily assist our enemies in the performance of works we regard as wrong.
The many bad things afflicting the world could very seldom have happened, could not have achieved near universality, without the assistance (or at least acquiescence) of large numbers of people who recognized them as bad - but did not in any way, shape or form oppose them.
The mass of decent, friendly, hard-working folk who did not even drag their feet as they marched towards destruction; but politely, smartly, and efficiently did a 'good job' at doing a bad thing.
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In a world where subversion of The Good (virtue, truth, beauty - unity) is regarded as the highest value, actively pursued; then simply not supporting evil by your active efforts becomes increasingly important, and increasingly difficult.
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If you are forced to do something you regard as tending to the bad, for example at work, then helping enemies may be unavoidable - in the sense that only Saints are utterly immune to punishments, and you aren't a Saint.
But make sure that you really have been forced to do it; resist, and resist as long as you can. Drag your feet, at least.
If you must work at implementing evil, model yourself on the Good Soldier Svejk: if you are forced to fake eagerness and zeal for wickedness, then be inefficient and incompetent about it...
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Make them make you do it.
Otherwise don't.
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4 comments:
To reverse decline is a complex business, while causing decline is simple as mud.
In addition to your excellent suggestions, I make this point:
Be a beacon, even a small one.
Do something useful for your world, and then don't hide your "general orientation" vis-a-vis religion, politics and philosophy.
Do not get into specifics with the uninitiated.
Let them come to you and in the meantime, be the exception that breaks their conception of what someone of your ideology is like.
"What should we not do?"
We should not fall off ladders while holding 80lbs. of wood. I did that yesterday, and can attest to the should-not-do-it-ness of such an activity.
This post and Brett Stevens' comment are very encouraging to me. Thank you for posting this; I am inspired.
Great reply Brett. I like it more than the silly one I made. (Sorry about that, Bruce.)
Be a beacon! True, true, true. And easier done, than said. It merely takes honesty, and true individuality, as opposed to what generally passes for it.
Be what you are, not what you think others represent, or expect you to be.
Different? Yes! Unpredictable? Yes! A bit odd? Yes!
It's not about being popular, nice, or well-camouflaged.
It's about making your contribution.
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