It sounds silly, I know, but sometimes I am amazed at how insignificant I am and how little my views matter. And that no matter how loudly I think I am shouting to the world, how few people actually hear me. Unless you count that the NSA "listens" to us all.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not really complaining. Because of my insignificance I may not be able to single-handedly save "the world", but it also means I can't do too much damage when I'm wrong or frivolous.
I see the flap that occurs when some "Big Name" (by libertarian standards) makes some silly pronouncement that just about everyone else realizes is wrong-minded BS that fails the ZAP test, and then I'm glad to mostly be unnoticed, but sometimes, when I have what I think is a "great idea" that has never been thought before (and before I realize it has been around for centuries in various forms) I wish I could get more people to hear me and take me seriously.
As I say, I invariably discover that the idea isn't new, so "the world" loses nothing by not hearing me rediscover something that the Statist world has been happily ignoring for generations. But, I think all "great ideas" and truths will keep being independently discovered until it becomes generally accepted, and you never know when one is going to take hold, or where that spark may come from. Maybe even from me.
Ah, the amusement park that is the human ego.
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You come up with lots of sparks IMO. One of the negative consequences of questioning authority and especially being skeptical of passed information, is reinventing the wheel all the time. For me it was easily worth it, since I learned early on that a ton of bullshit, especially about the human condition, was being passed along.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, if I had to name the single biggest problem of all, in a historical context, I'd say that's it. Kinda makes sense, since we are creatures of the mind. Or should've been, anyway.
When I first became "active" a lot of people criticized me for not quoting "the Greats", and not worrying about what ideas others have had before me. My thought then was that I need to come up with this stuff by my own thinking processes, so that I can really deeply understand and incorporate it, rather than parrot it. I have since read a lot more of the historical figures' writings, and am frequently pleased that I came to many of the same conclusions independently. And, I have also learned from them. There's a place for both.
DeleteAnd I agree that a huge problem is just going along with what your parents or others have taught you without ever evaluating it on its own merits. Who knows, you may see a crack in the facade that gets to some deeper reality.