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Fri Apr 30, 2004
Youthful Rebellion
There's a lot of truth to Steven Den Beste's latest post. This is the meat:
It isn't demeaning, or a sign of slavery, to feel respect for the achievements of others, as long as it is you who evaluates what they did and decides that it is worthy of respect. Being independent doesn't require you to automatically reject and condemn everything ever done by "dead white males", or indeed to automatically reject anything whatever.
In fact, you are just as much an intellectual slave if you automatically oppose everything that a certain "other" thinks and does as you are if you automatically support and agree, for when you automatically oppose them, you still let them control your position.
What independence does require is that you make those choices for yourself. Unfortunately, that's a lot of work and it's pretty scary. It's easier to deceive yourself that you are independent by embracing the currently-fashionable "independent" lifestyle and political position.
In fact, you are just as much an intellectual slave if you automatically oppose everything that a certain "other" thinks and does as you are if you automatically support and agree, for when you automatically oppose them, you still let them control your position.
What independence does require is that you make those choices for yourself. Unfortunately, that's a lot of work and it's pretty scary. It's easier to deceive yourself that you are independent by embracing the currently-fashionable "independent" lifestyle and political position.
It's important to recognize that truly being a free-thinker means being willing to agree with the conventional wisdom, when it actually makes sense. If you automatically reject any position just because of its source, you're being at least as much of a "conformist" as those you are rebelling against.
The problem is, Steven also says:
That basic drive to rebel, and to prove rebellion by doing things your parents condemn, is something most of us outgrow eventually. ... That's what most of us learn as we mature, as we outgrow youthful rebellion: I can agree with others and retain my independence, as long as I am the one making the decision.
This I've never accepted. There's no reason why young people have to be inherently rebellious. I rebelled against a lot of things, but I don't think I ever rebelled for the sake of rebellion. True, too many young people do, but they should not be excused for this because of their age. All people, young and old, have a responsibility to maintain an internal moral conscience.
That's the first thing to recognize. Despite how much disdain I have for the manner in which children are treated in this society, it is vital to avoid the trap of making excuses for those of them who genuinely make bad choices. Treating children like human beings works both ways: they must be held accountable to their choices as much as they must have the right to make those choices.
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