I was having an interesting conversation today about taxes, rules and regulations.
I'll be the first to admit that I am not big into living in a state of chaos — I prefer things to be pretty structured — and I do recognize that we have rules and regulations in the world that serve us well.
We might not like them, but they serve us well. We might not like having to stop for red lights, but they do keep us from getting killed, in the long run.
But not everything is that cut and dry. And not everything makes sense, either.
Consider, for example, being quite low income and still having to pay taxes, only so you can turn around and claim that same money back as "government benefits." Why not just let people keep more before they have to start paying taxes?
But I'm digressing here.
The conversation turned to the more relevant topic of "majority opinion," and being able to stand in your truth, even if it's a less popular opinion.
I say this, as a separate thing from being factually correct. Some things are not a matter of opinion; they simply are.
I found myself inadvertently being part of one of those psychology experiments during my college days where a majority has been secretly instructed to insist on something not true being an established fact.
I won't say that I "broke" the experiment, but I turned out to be non-typical because I refused to change my mind about something I knew to be true, even though everyone around me were giving a different answer.
Of course, that was a controlled environment.
In life we encounter such situations in which popular opinion — and thus peer pressure — supports something not factually correct, for whatever reason. So what do we do? Do we go with the flow, or do we "block the flow" by standing solid against the flow of a river.
As humans, we often act from a point of selfishness, or laziness, rather than from the point of consciousness and right action.
As I have pointed out a number of times on these pages, part of the reason people don't choose to live their lives with consciousness and compassion is that it tends to be more work than just going with the flow. So "why bother?"
Which, I guess, can be justified if all you care about is "skating by."
In my 60-some years of walking around on this planet, I've seen my share of of contradictory behaviors:
- Going to church every Sunday even though you don't believe in it.
- Supporting unpopular management decisions for fear of losing your job.
- Voting the "party line" even if the choice doesn't suit you.
I could easily make a long list like this, but I shall refrain.
In this day and age, we often see situations in which facts are in opposition to popular opinion. And that's when we get these situations in which just because most people think and do something doesn't support it as right action.
So do we stand up and risk being trampled by a "lynch mob," or do we buckle and go with the flow? Or do we try to do what I have often tried... just circumvent the whole thing?
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Sunday!
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Created at 2024-02-04 01:32 PST
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