We are a free society, right? We are living our lives in this society, our home, free to think and want and act to have our lives the way we want.
Most of us would agree that our everyday lives will be the place to build the culture we will have to live in.
There may be something to see and use to get there. Doing what one wants in the moment is immediate gratification. It may also be the direct route to a dependency producing habit that’s not so easy to see until it’s wrapped around you. Alcohol and drugs are obvious examples, they are a problem we have as a society. Speaking one’s mind is less obvious a problem yet almost equally destructive in effect.
Road rage is satisfying when we want to get the lane we want, or to keep moving through traffic that is in our way. Demeaning others on the web where there is the insulation of space and anonymity. Telling people whatever you want is satisfying when one can’t channel those emotions that are churning inside, looking for a way to be felt and given space. Gossiping judgment is also another release of frustrations of others. Also these are a real road to another form of addiction. An addiction in the mind that keeps wanting more of the same self-satisfying and self-serving behavior.
That behavior gives the rush of satisfying chemistry which fills some void in the spirit, but it doesn’t lead to any sort of place to live that will prosper with good will to its citizens. That is us, the citizens who have in our hands the future of this experiment in representative democracy.
Are we all going to act in those ways that feel good, expressing disdain for others when we feel frustrated? Or will we act in our own better interest in those better ways that ultimately build the civil society we would love to have? Exercising better judgement to act in the long term best interest is for both us and those who will inherit this place.
It’s a character building experience.