|
Edited on Tue Jul-26-05 12:25 PM by tubbacheez
Some things scale up fairly well. A 1% gain on a $1000 investment will be larger than a 1% gain on a $100 investment... by a very reasonable factor of 10x.
Some things don't scale up well. I think the idea of "deserving" is one of them. It's really hard to pin down what masses of people really deserve. Sure, we can come to some rough average for the whole group. But it's tricky getting down to specifics.
Even if we all somehow agreed that "Americans got what they deserve", does this mean each of us individually is receiving (in just proportion) exactly what we each have earned individually?
I'm living in California. Did I somehow earn the full-bodied experience of utter irritation from Rep. Tancredo in Colorado? Did my friend Ted in Hawaii do something (of fail to do something) which causes him to deserve (from a standpoint of justice) his feeling of powerlessness compared to the Carlyle Group or PNAC?
I think most people would say no.
Individually, we each do not always deserve our condition. Some do, but I suspect this is more the exception than the rule. Many people are better off than they deserve, depending on how one values various contributions and elements of our situation. Many more are worse off than they deserve, again depending how one values things. In the microscopic analysis, I would disagree with your husband.
However, from the standpoint that the aggregate collection of causes determines the aggregate collection of effects, our current situation is indeed our collective responsibility. This is the abstract and macroscopic level where I would agree with your husband.
Too many people have blindly followed Shrub. In some cases, it's really their fault. They ignored data, or applied faulty logic, or chose not to think.
In other cases, fault is less clear. Some may have had little to no opportunity for a decent education. Some may have erroneously placed their trust in the wrong people, listened to the wrong TV commentators, or were unduly influenced by modern advertising.
But in both views, microscopic and macroscopic, the solution to objectionable circumstance is the same. We need to find better ways of getting what we want.
Persistance of principle and general effort is key, though this should not be interpreted so rigidly that impractical strategies or tactics be used... even if they were good at some point before.
Principles, values, and other elements of doctrine do scale up well. At any scale, these guide our priorities and govern what we are willing to do to attain them.
As creative humans, we can solve our problems and improve our condition. I have no doubt. We do need patience and both persistance of effort as well as persistence of values.
|