I really don't want to be a nominee for "The B.H. Obama Award for Outstanding Arrogance". But, a couple of times in my life I have been scolded for arrogance by statists.
Plus, I do think I suffer from "Resting Smug Face" (is that better than "RBF"?).
I think what they mistake for arrogance is actually confidence based upon years of looking at the evidence and reality.
I didn't come to these conclusions lightly- or independently. Sometimes it was even painful, and I had to be dragged kicking and screaming. But, even the tough questions don't disprove the idea that liberty is better than slavery.
I'll always look for counter evidence. I'm suspecting it will never be found.
.
Kent,
ReplyDelete"...the idea that liberty is better than slavery."
That's not an idea. It's an opinion. Granted, an opinion I share with you, but an opinion nonetheless.
Dave
How much evidence is necessary for an opinion to become a fact?
DeleteKent,
Delete"How much evidence is necessary for an opinion to become a fact?"
Good question. If you could close the deal on that one, you'd own the world, and liberty would bust out everywhere.
Dave
I mean, more generally than just this subject.
DeleteAs I just replied on Facebook about this:
Some people prefer to drink Coke or whiskey over clean water, but the clean water is still better for them- their preference/opinion is wrong outside the narrow scope of what they "prefer". I think "slavery vs liberty" is the same. People can prefer things that are not good for their heath and thriving- and that is their choice- but there is still often a "better" choice. I wouldn't force them to choose the "better". They can kill themselves if they wish, but when they impose their poor choice on others- pretending their preference is somehow objective universal reality- that's when I speak up. And that's when I tend to become "arrogant" for insisting their preference shouldn't be imposed on anyone else.
Kent,
Delete"...clean water is still better for them..."
"Knowing better" is the top of a very slippery slope.
"...pretending their preference is somehow objective universal reality..."
That is the favorite argument of our boy Badtux. All his preferences are merely reality, and you and I live in a parallel universe of Unicorns and cotton candy trees. The root of all slavery is the feeling that you are better or smarter than others.
Dave
The flip side of that is the slippery slope of believing everything is relative- it's not. There is reality, and a subset of that reality is preferences. Your preferences don't alter the overarching reality, though.
DeleteAnd, as I say, I don't care what preferences you have- or how personally destructive they are- as long as you don't try to impose them on others, and thereby harm innocent people. If that is "arrogance", then I am guilty as charged.
Some people prefer slavery, as long as it's a nice enough slavery. Others don't, but have trouble detecting that they are slaves.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's what Panarchy is for. No need to convert others, or to bother them with one's "arrogance".