Off and on I've been listening to the Judge Alito hearings while working on the house (see scraping to the left). Part theater, part predictable, vague responses. As I went off to my interview today, I imagined what it would be like to go through the senate confirmation hearing process. How difficult would it be to handle such a line of questioning, where your past record is brought up for you to defend repeatedly? I pictured myself throwing something at Senator Arlen Specter and storming out. This is why I'm not in the judicial profession.In many situations I am able to see the complexities of a subject before striking my internal gavel and making a judgment. For instance, when people argue, "S/he should work and not collect government money!" I know it is not that simple: not every human being comes from the same position of privilege. Therefore each instance of implied advantage-taking can be considered unique. Extended internal debate does not ensue, however, surrounding certain topics in which I hold strong opinions (the rights of animals not to suffer, the right to choose, etc.) Yet one thing guides me: a powerful aversion to suffering of any kind.
Which brings me to my question. How fair are you? (Examples, please.) Do you have a guiding, unshakable principal that is the ruler by which you view the world? Would you be able to endure strong judgment of your life choices?
Speaking of, pictured below are the infamous and controversial vegan blueberry scones referenced by the Sloping Band House. This was my first attempt at these creatures. Contrary to SBH's opinion, they were pretty good and fluffy.
Sometimes I even take time off from scraping and cooking to play guitar. We're hoping to record our next album in March. Please note that I look angry because I was trying to remember a song I wrote the other day and had difficulty. It is a Greek-infused number that Rob plays an accompanying guitar to.
Tonight we're going to see live music at our local favorite Joe and Jo's, and now I'm off to the "vegan meetup" at a Mexican restaurant. I look forward to judging your responses.
8 comments:
I would definitely not want my whole life to be brought into scrutiny in front of a judge and/or the general public. It must be how religious folks view Judgement Day, which is a scary prospect. Would I be banished to Hellfire for stealing two pampers from my aunt to use for my doll when I was 7? (she caught me, btw) I'm not sure I've had one strong guiding principal throughout my life, but like you, anti-cruelty/suffering is the one that dictates most of my decisions and actions now. Maybe "do unto others" is still the Golden Rule, although it has been tarnished quite a bit over the centuries of human existence. I have made it a goal for the new SwLy to be a more honest, kind & generous person. We'll see how long that lasts...
I sure would like to try one of those scones.
It's funny how some people judge you by your income or for your strong convictions. In my ideal world poeple would be not be judged at all, but I don't know how that world would function. I think humans are just too
destructive and selfish. At times, I don't feel that I can be a fair and just person. I try my best to be. Sometimes I allow too much exception for friends and family to a fault. I guess maybe that is about boundaries. I like to think I'm a good person. By the way, those scones were great!
I would hate to be judged on my past. I've definitely changed my mind about a lot of things (mostly religious, but also political), and I want the freedom to do that more in the future. Having a truly open mind is very important. I think being fair is all about living up to expectations. If you say you're going to do something, then you should do it. Of course having guiding principles in the choice of those expectations is important, but keeping things in perspective is good too. I agree with swly, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is a good principle, as is trying in your life to do the least harm and the greatest good as possible. How's that for being vague and cliche?
I demand another blog! I am also curious to know what the deleted posters had to say...
I wouldn't want to have my life put under the "test" because they would probably find out things about me that I either didn't know or don't want to remember. Either way, it would be setting me up for public humiliation, and I can do that quite well on my own. I would probably throw a book at them too. Maybe an Encyclopedia. Sound familiar Butthead??
Yeah, I wouldn't want to be judged on my past either. I think that lots of people change as they mature. People can be immature, selfish brats in their 20's and then turn into lovely, generous, forgive & forget type folks in their 30's. However, I don't think we should forget our past. We are answerable (is that a word?) for everything we have done. We should do the best we can & remember the golden rule as swly said, but we are responsible for our actions. We all have flaws, but we shouldn't use those flaws as an excuse for bad behavior. I am sure that we have all done things we regret. The best thing is to owe up to those mistakes & acknowledge them as such. And my guiding principal is keeping an open mind while trying to do everything I can to eliminate suffering. I think the world would be a better place if we all tried to understand the "other side of the story"
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