One of the greatest regrets a person can have in life is the realization that an association or people force you to abandon who you are. It seems churches, politics or opinions make us want to conform to certain characterizations and to condemn those who don’t. In the past, I made decisions to abandon the “world” and leave valuable friends behind only to find that they were the only ones who really valued the person I am. Promises of deliverance are made to desperate people; those who are hungry, confused and insecure. But as life passes us by and we gain confidence, we find that certain people are missed and it was a terrible thing to let them go for any ideal.

That is why I value the individual. I don’t think we should allow people’s opinions stand in the way of our friends, acquaintances or dreams. Every person on this earth is valuable and should never be classified in groups like cattle. Each of us have our own dreams and passions but political and religious ideals hinder us from enjoying many of the good things that life has in store for us. They can keep us away from those who know us and from our dreams. What a tragedy.

Of course we do need unity to accomplish some things and to protect ourselves from larger groups but it should never be at the expense of the individual. In corporations, schools and governments alike, each person’s unique personalities should be celebrated along with their passions and skills. Associations should be a means to accomplish the dreams of each person involved and not just a chosen few. Individual desires need to be protected and cherished. Using a breadbox mentality destroys this.

The ability to blog and to communicate with others is the centerpiece of individual freedom. There is nothing worse than restrictions in communication even if they are our own. Never let other peoples ideals keep you from your dreams or separate you from those you care about.

When helping just hurts

Our minds like to sort things out and put them in an orderly fashion. It is a part of our survival skills; our ability to create and build. But along with this comes a tendency to categorize. It is a natural tendency but can cause us to miss quite a bit of detail when we depend solely on it. Science over the years has been advanced by those who break out of the status quo and look into matters in greater detail than those before them.

It is the desire of most people to have good character and endorse others who do. There are actions that are virtuous and actions that are abhorrent. No one should endorse abusive and abhorrent behavior. We won’t take time to list them. When a culture gets in trouble when it becomes normal to classify people. Numerous ways are used to do this, including race, sex, religion, politics, police, and the poor; the associations go on. But every person is an individual with the ability to make choices on their own.

So we use the words judgmental and characterizations to describe this sort of classifying people. Most people want to avoid being lumped in with a group. Right winger, the rich, liberal, the poor; the inclination is to characterize them as having bad motives, wanting to destroy or rip off others. The fact is that character itself is independent of these labels and we need to focus on good and bad behavior alone concerning a particular person. This should be done only after knowing all the details, and having some kind of influence in the matter.  Anything short of this is an injustice. Attributing behaviors to a particular group is also an injustice. We should have good judgment but not be judgmental; have good character while avoiding characterizations.

In every association there are good and bad people. There are also people who make mistakes or lack understanding. To classify them all as being bad does the good ones injustice. Classifying them all as good does the bad ones an injustice. In a socialist kind of mindset, people are put into classes like cattle. The tendency to judge is increased because the leaders want to be the saviors of a particular group. Some associations need to make enemy groups so their hero groups have a cause to fight.

People need to deeply consider the perspectives of others. There are those who want to jump in and force action when they have a particular passion themselves. When media and others make associations as if all of one race is rightfully enraged or all of a police force or military are brutal, they do an injustice to the majority that have good character and just want to keep peace. Our opinions on how to get there may vary but the people involved aren’t always of the same opinion either. I can bet that they are all rational people as we are and should all take time to understand each other. From there they can sort out bad behavior and punish those who do it while showcasing those who do good things that help. But it seems normal nowadays to approach things from a group perspective and that approach is unjust;  but maybe it pays better to report that way.

Doesn’t really matter

Complaining’s not our forte

Everyone sees that look in her eyes

Sight

I search in every look

What you are looking at

Characters impose on our minds