The Folly of Categorizing People

Marxist ideology catagorizes you — by your wealth, your politics, your status, your skin color, your gender, etc… And once you’ve been properly categorized, you will no longer be judged as an individual, making individual decisions and performing individual actions, you will only be judged by the category you “belong” to.

This only works to create division in a society as it destroys the ability to discuss and debate ideas. It over simplifies life by placing everyone into overly general categories. Not all black people think the same, believe it or not, therefore some blacks will oppose something like “Black Lives Matter,” or they might even be conservative.

Social Media very much fuels the fire of Marxist ideology as it causes people to judge others simply by what they post on social media. It’s like road rage. Someone you can’t see in their car cuts you off and you are ready to slit their throat. Meanwhile, the same person bumps into you while walking on the street and is able to make eye contact and apologize. Your anger is immediately diffused as you see a real living individual human in front of you and not some abstract evil who could only be your enemy.

I know people from where I used to live who were friendly acquaintances, but who now only have contact with me through social media. Never in my time spent with them in the past did political opinions create strife between us, even though our political leanings were in opposite directions. But now, whenever I post something politically conservative on Facebook, these same people become offended and angry. Now, I am not opposed to these people criticizing what they believe to be bad ideas, but that’s not what’s happening. They see the post as being the one and only thing which defines my entire life: “He’s a Christian conservative!”

I’ve made it my new years resolution to never treat people like that; to never judge a person solely on what they put on social media. I will still criticize bad ideas, but I will not categorize people into little boxes just because they express one idea in a way I don’t agree with. The same guy who praises Bernie Sanders, or Donald Trump, on Facebook is also a father, a husband, a hard worker, a generous giver, and a friend. He is not some faceless enemy stuck in an impenetrable category forever separated from myself.

At the same time, I realize that posting political stuff on Facebook may not be the best idea. Most people go on Facebook for fun and are not interested in being hit with politics or religion. I would never go to a birthday party and start spewing off political opinions. Facebook may not be the best medium for such things. Twitter seems to be a better medium for it as no one knows who you are there. A quote I read recently: Facebook is where you lie to your friends, and Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers.

No matter what the medium, the Marxist strategy of ~~fitting~~ jamming people into over simplified categories will only ever lead to tribal warfare.

A Warning to the West

Here is a video recently posted by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson entitled A New Years Letter to the World. It is quite interesting and I encourage you to watch it (just over 20 minutes).

Peterson states that the real problem of conflict in our world is not religion, but rather tribalism. And the problem with tribalism is that people will cooperate with each other but only in small groups which are in conflict with other small groups. This causes division and is unavoidable when people group together to defend a value system. The solution is not to devalue everything, which causes nihilism, nor is the solution a totalitarian state, which forces all people under one value system. The solution is individualism — but not a selfish individualism; instead, one of personal responsibility and caring action.

On Entering Middle Adulthood (the 40s)

As a man enters his 40s, he probably has accomplished much of the goals he had while in his 20s and 30s (marriage, kids, career), or he has found that some of those goals may never be realized. As a result, he may feel unsatisfied with his life and there may be a period of stagnation. Often, a man in his 40s must take stock of his life and decide where he wants to go from there. If he doesn’t let stagnation take over, his 40s could be the beginning of the most fulfilling time of his whole life.

“As a man passes 40, his task is to assume responsibility for new generations of adults… He must become paternal in new ways to younger adults. He cannot treat them as if they were children under his benign control. He must find new ways to combine authority and mutuality — accepting his own responsibility and offering leadership, yet also taking them seriously as adults, inviting their participation and fostering their growth toward greater independence and authority. While he is becoming a senior member of the adult world, he must relate to persons in their thirties as junior but fully adult members who will soon succeed him, and to persons in their twenties as novices going through their initial formative period within the adult world.

“In every stage [of age development], developing is a process in which opposite extremes are to some degree reconciled and integrated. Both generativity and its opposite pole, stagnation, are vital to a man’s development. To become generative, a man must know how it feels to stagnate — to have a sense of not growing, of being static, stuck, drying up, bogged down in a life full of obligation and devoid of self-fulfillment. He must know the experience of dying, of living in the shadow of death.

“The capacity to experience, endure and fight against stagnation is an intrinsic aspect of the struggle toward generativity in middle adulthood. Stagnation is not purely negative nor to be totally avoided. It plays a necessary and continuing part in mid-life development. The recognition of vulnerability in myself becomes a source of wisdom, empathy and compassion for others. I can truly understand the suffering of others only if I can identify with them through an awareness of my own weakness and destructiveness. Without this self-awareness, I am capable only of the kind of sympathy, pity and altruism that reduces the other’s hardship but leaves him still a victim.”

~from The Seasons of a Man’s Life by Daniel L. Levinson, page 29-30

On Becoming an Elder

“In late adulthood [65+] a man can no longer occupy the center stage of his world. He is called upon, and increasingly calls upon himself, to reduce the heavy responsibilities of middle adulthood and to live in a changed relationship with society and himself. Moving out of center stage can be traumatic. A man receives less recognition and has less authority and power. His generation is no longer the dominant one. As a part of the ‘grandparent’ generation within the family, he can at best be modestly helpful to his grown offspring and a source of indulgence and moral support to his grandchildren. But it is time for his offspring, as they approach and enter middle adulthood, to assume the major responsibility and authority in the family. If he does not give up his authority, he is likely to become a tyrannical ruler — despotic, unwise, unloved and unloving — and his adult offspring may become puerile adults unable to love him or themselves.”

~from The Seasons of a Man’s Life by Daniel J. Levinson, page 35

Further reading: On Eldership – Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy

The Great Good Thing (Brief Book Review)

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I discovered Andrew Klavan, not through his books, but through his conservative political podcast on the Daily Wire. I’ve since read two of his books: Don’t Say a Word and The Great Good Thing.

The Great Good Thing is Klavan’s memoir — his life story focusing on his growth from secular Jew to agnostic/atheist to Christian. I say his “growth” as it is easy to see in this memoir that Klavan becomes a healthier and happier person in his life-long transition from empty religion to saving grace.

This book is for intellectuals and fans of literature. If you’re hoping for a bunch of touching mushy stories, you will be disappointed. Klavan is an author and political commentator — he lives in the realm of ideas. Therefore, Klavan’s discovery of God was through that realm. His journey began by reading and studying all the works which made western civilization what it is: the greatest culture the world has ever known. Underlying this culture all throughout is Christianity.

Andrew Klaven also discovered God through joy. At one point in the book he mentions how, with most people, their relationship with Christ leads them to joy, but with him it was the opposite — his joy led him to Christ. After many years of depression and hopelessness, Klavan was “cured” of his emptiness through the help of a psychiatrist and the growing realization that love really was the most important part of life. And, love is not just some vague idea in an uncaring universe — love comes from a real and living God.

Before becoming a Christian, Klavan began to pray regularly in his life, and through his prayers God told him to get baptized. He did, and ever since has been a devoted Christian.

Being a realist and a skeptic, Klavan makes it clear throughout the book that his conversion was never based on feelings or sentimentality — it was his reason which led him to Christ. This is why I say this book is for intellectuals: people who like things to make sense; people who like to reason their way through problems, and get annoyed when they’re expected to do otherwise.

I gave it 5/5 stars.