I tend to pick up the mannerisms of people I spend time around.
I do my best to treat others not only as I would like to be treated, but as they ought to be treated.
I'm so laid back I'm about to fall over.
I will pop one bubble-wrap bubble every hour on the hour until my demands are met.
I honked at a moose once and it fell down.
I think life is black and white and the line between them runs jagged.
Whenever I need to get rid of extra kittens I simply toss them in passing cars.
I mosey lackadaisically.
It would appear that I start a lot of sentences with "I".
The bumper sticker is asking me to watch out for motorcycles-I don't think so.
With apologies to Kant, I am mainly a utilitarian when it comes to ethics, though intentionalism and consequentialism frequently lead to the same place. This approach is generally taken to mean that "the ends outweigh the means", the implication being that the means used are inherently immoral. This generalization can usually be said to be not proven. Let's take stem cell research for example. For the sake of argument I will concede the assertion that an embryo has the same moral worth as an adult human being. One side of the argument will say that to use this embryo in a manner inconsistent with its labeling is wrong under any circumstances. However, in war, a general must take into account that a certain number of soldiers will die as a result of his decisions. The enemy must be engaged on a certain front and a certain number of soldiers will die, there is no way around it. The general accepts this and he is responsible for their deaths. Perhaps if the enemy is not engaged on a particular front dire consequences will result from the enemy not being challenged. The general must weigh the risks and benefits of a particular engagement. One of the risks is that some of his men will die. He is sending them to their deaths. Does the general shy away from battle because of certain casualties? No, this would be a dereliction of duty. He must send people who do not deserve to die to die in the service of a higher calling. This is how I believe we must approach stem cell research. Let us concede that they are human beings and we are sending them to their deaths without their consent, that doing research on human embryos is not fundamentally different than bashing in babies' heads with a sledgehammer. Stem cell research can potentially save the lives and alleviate the suffering of tens of millions of people who are alive today and the billions born in the future. It can prevent loved ones from dying slow painful deaths from terrible diseases and allow severely disabled people, even those who are paralyzed, to lead normal lives. We killed tens of thousands of Japanese by dropping bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to save hundreds of thousands of American lives. We performed a calculus and determined that the deaths were worth it. Surely a few hundred lives in exchange for billions is also worth it.
© 2008
Pet Peeves:
"Tell me about yourself."
People whose playlists consist entirely of music they've heard on the radio.
People who don't even try.
"Dancing" that's really just mass public dry humping.
Facile juxtapositions.
Convention.
Read, learn, explore places I've never been before, play sports, mountain bike, trail run, dance. I've never been cave diving or swimming with sharks or all sorts of things like that but would like to try.My Ethnicity:
Half and half. Like the creamer. Athabaskan Indian and white.My Religion:
Not so much. You and I are simply a gene's way of making more genes.
"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones." Marcus Aurelius
Went went to college for a year, left for six, back now.Favorite Hot Spots:
Hot springs and geothermal vents. I liked Singapore. Would like to travel more, everywhere. I spent about 11 months in the Philippines when I was 12. Didn't get to do much being so young, but it was something and made me want to see more.Favorite Things:
Far Side cartoons, Calvin & Hobbes, Get Fuzzy, refrigerator poetry magnets, good writing, used bookstores, libraries, figuring things out, nonsense, music, dance, poetry, the New York Times crossword puzzle, coining words, riddles, irony, Cirque du Soleil, fiction, Charlie Rose, PBS, NPR, roller coasters (even though they don't really coast), craigslist's "best of", equanimity, sunshine.
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