tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477941359267770660.post4090818700245043639..comments2023-10-10T05:22:51.727-04:00Comments on The Blanks Slate: Contra the "Individual Responsibility Trumps Racism" ShibbolethJPBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468994137056889334noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477941359267770660.post-51022552023751677972014-12-30T12:13:53.175-05:002014-12-30T12:13:53.175-05:00What seems lost in the conversation, and absent fr...What seems lost in the conversation, and absent from the Redditor's perspective, is that the benefits of developing a strong character/work ethic won't necessarily accrue to you, but will make a difference for your kids' lives. If you plan on being a breeder, then age 25 or 30, you're not in it for yourself anymore (NB I'm guessing "Lock-n-Paine" is in his 20s, and definitely a 'he'). Everything you've made for yourself by then properly becomes for the benefit of your actual or potential children.<br /> <br />To use the Redditor's example, the McDonald's girl who studied diligently (so he says) for 2 years but still didn't pass is more likely to raise hard working, studious children than the guy who half-assed it and passed because he "has a high capacity for analytical intelligence" (but evidently not for brevity.) My point is that work ethic/personal responsibility shouldn't be discounted. It matters, and you have to acknowledge and respect it wherever you find it because it's easier today than ever to become discouraged.<br /><br />Granted, Ms. McDonald's studious children are still more likely to be crushed under the system, while Mr. Reddit's kids will likely spend their adulthoods comfortable and full of weed and ennui. The left and right have stupidly split the demagogic baby on this issue, which means it'll take at least another generation to get it sorted out.Anonymous bratnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477941359267770660.post-66464013696007108712014-12-29T21:57:25.497-05:002014-12-29T21:57:25.497-05:00With respect and reverence to your viewpoint, my f...With respect and reverence to your viewpoint, my friend, there is a faulty premise here that equates luck with fortunate happenstance when in truth they are not the same thing. We make our own luck with desire, determination and dedication to attaining excellence. The scenario with the gal who studied for years to pass the test and failed is presented as if her studying so hard meant that she'd done everything she could do -- I would argue that that is not as true as it may seem. She certainly did a lot, and the rewards of that are much deeper than just passing an arbitrary test, but the test and the trial are different things -- the real test was what she would do with the opportunity that her 'failure' presented -- the opportunity to transcend herself and realize that the rules and obstacles are self-imposed and imaginary. When faced with an obstacle you find a way through it; you expose it as an illusion and let it dissolve; you learn from your mistakes and take the exam again; you show the certifying body and the entrenched powers that their test can't define you and start your own company that outdoes them and exposes their dogma as obsolete; you stand confidently and steadily in front of the review board and let the depth of your faith and your steadfastness dissolve their resistance. If the strength of your belief can part seas and move mountains, it can certainly lift you out of poverty. LIFE is the test, and its nature is spiritual. You can have everything you want in life if you can learn to let it all go...things will fall into place if you can learn to release your resistance.Locke-n-Painenoreply@blogger.com