If I could ask any single question of the presidential candidates (not to help me decide who I’m going to vote for, I’ve already decided that, but just out of human curiosity) it would be this:
What do you argue about when you argue with yourself?
It is in the interest of a political candidate to at all times project certainty. You aren’t figuring things out; you’ve already got them figured. But that air of surety is and has to be a performance. Uncertainty is in the nature of the human condition. Everyone except a sociopath has arguments with themselves. And the sorts of things we argue about with ourselves often reveal the most essential parts of our personality.
(Arguments with the self are especially vital for creative people. William Butler Yeats: “Out of our quarrels with other people we make rhetoric. Out of our quarrels with ourselves we make literature.” Note that politicians, of course, do rhetoric much better than they do literature. Although that Barack Obama fella wields a pretty capable pen.)
So now it’s your turn. Two threads here to consider: what do you argue about when you argue with yourself. And what one question would you point to both of these guys if you had your turn with them?
Please note that I have John Scalzi‘s mallet of loving correction on loan and will not hesitate to play whack-a-troll in the comments thread if you come out to try and eat innocent people walking over the bridge.
(Images from Wikimedia Commons)
Most of my arguments with myself are survival-level: how can I do what’s necessary in my life in order to have the freedom to do what matters to me? Am I appeoaching my life with ethical integrity and consistency? How can I make the world better? How do I do those things in a way that respects people?
. . . and I failed at posting from phone. The question I want to ask the candidates?
What will you do to bring humanity further in the goal of equality?
Typically I argue with myself over motivational issues, but also over whether or not my perceptions of given problems and issues are based solely on indisputable fact or if they’re colored by my own experience.
I argue with myself about everything, but the only one of real importance is making sure every decision I make is the best one for my daughter. Kids come first, always.
I’ve been grappling with my buddy about altruism, and whether or not it’s rational to care about others. I think caring about others, and having a healthy population of those who care about something other than themselves, is essential from keeping the fragile thread of society from fraying. Perhaps I can’t convince him because it’s in his DNA, or the more likely, cuz it sounds this preachy. My friend just finished Atlas Shrugged, and not being familiar with it myself, I’ve been dumbfound by the lessons he’s taken away from it: caring about others is irrational. Some of the sections of the book he’s been quoting sound like philosophical arguments–certainly not a work of fiction. Point is, both of us disagree about the value of goodwill, and he’s finally found the intellectual ammunition he’s been looking for. But you can’t make someone care– or at least that’s what I tell myself when I’m listening to him. The arguments I have with myself help me come to terms with the things I can change and, most importantly, what it’s going to cost me to try and make said changes. And some days if I’m lucky, when I come out of my cave, I’ve got a politician’s assurance when I’m talking to my loved ones. I don’t want them to worry, so for now, I’ve been mentally stable enough to do it in solitude, or on a blog entry.
I argue about whether or not I should continue buying the books of authors who try to slide their political beliefs in through the backdoor ever so slyly. Not always of course, just at the moment.
Arguments with myself – A lot of times I do find myself arguing for those who are making me angry, frustrated, sad…anything negative. I purposely ask myself prior to shedding a tear or mumbling obscenities “Are you being too sensative? Did this really have anything to do with YOU?” Or I’ll tell myself things like “Did you ever think so-and-so just put their dog to sleep and the next call to make was to you…They were angry with the world and not YOU”. The argument? Once I make valid points for the people upsetting me – I realize a few things and argue on my own behalf. Since I tend to make ALL things about me I end up saying “Yes, it was about YOU and fuck them”. Heh. (or, sometimes if warranted, I will learn something from the situation and mature myself a knotch)
For the candidates – “Can you be honest with us as much as possible?” I am dying for a candidate to stand in front of a camera and just say something like “I am an American, I am human. I will NOT know all of the answers all of the time. I will make bad decisions but I want you to know that the greater good of this country is my only intent. I will consult with as many as possible educated on specific issues, I will have as many view points as available…and I will LISTEN and learn. I will make the best decisions possible. And no, you can’t know every detail since my only intent is for the greater good of this country. Thank you.”
I also failed at posting from my phone-I would ask the candidates if they had any ideas to bridge the expanding chasm between the right and the left(or if you prefer the left and the right). The parties seem to be as polarized as they have ever been, and it seems that compromise is more important than ever before.
If they were, hypothetically, to drop their act and be honest with me for just one short little interview? I’d just be utterly fascinated to learn what their worldview is, what their real ethics are. I often wonder this about many of the world’s most powerful people. Who, really, ARE these guys? You don’t know and neither do I. What’s their endgame, and why have they decided that’s what they want to accompish? Their actions suggest a way of thinking so different from mine, I feel like I can’t begin to pontificate on their mindsets. It seems like trying to understand the mind of God.
For myself, eh… I went from hardcore fundamentalist Christian to atheist a few years ago. Now I ask myself what I want to accomplish in this life now, what I’m willing to do to get it, to what degree I’m willing to lose what I want so someone else I love can achieve his or her own goal. It’s a lot to sort through.
what are all the secret bunkers for? are aliens real? how far have we actually traveled in space/time? in reference to other timelines what do you use as a reference for ours ( its title )?how much closer can we get to the sun before it is like the comic ” just a pilgrim”?
paper or plastic?
It’s so funny looking at how the pictures portray the two candidates. You can definitely tell who Joe supports! Don’t know how anyone could want four more years of this garbage.
Moral ambiguities! How can one way of doing things be the right way when there are people doing completely opposite things who are calling it the right way? For example, how can one culture think killing people is wrong when another culture thinks killing people for sacrificial reasons is right? It sounds rather repetitive, but is there ever a concrete right or wrong way to live?
Boxers or briefs?
If we are being honest then I would have to say that I argue with myself about everything. I know that sounds like a cop-out, if I say everything than I don’t have to really say anything, so allow me to give an example or two. I spent weeks arguing with myself about the wonders of a mobius loop(one-sided three-dimensional object). I stare at ants dragging there dead back into the colony for a future food source and argue with myself about human nature. I try to get as close to wild animals as possible before startling them and when they scamper, slither, or fly off I argue about who the real animals are.
I believe that is enough, don’t want anyone to think I’m crazy…
Now for my question:
How is it that you expect capitalism to work when the basic concept demands that we try to be better than our neighbors? Shouldn’t we be focused on community rather than individuals?
I guess that’s a two-part deal.