Paradox

I warn you, this post will not be easy. Read it only if you like James Joyce or William Faulkner, and are interested in philosophy. I am applying in this post, in an undisciplined, stream-of-consciousness fashion, the laws of relativity and paradox to politics, and most of you could give a rat’s patootee about such things.

Ever since Albert Einstein explained to the world his theories of relativity, Western thought has never been the same. He introduced the idea, for example, that time is relative. Someone traveling in a spaceship for a long period would age less than someone remaining on earth, and so on. Recently, the big thing in science has been quantum physics. Some interesting related findings are the fact that particles at the subatomic level can be found at two different places at the same time, and even theories like parallel universes.

I believe that we humans, as a collective race or species, evolve not only physically, but also morally and philosophically. I think we are on the verge of a great leap forward in our understanding of our universe.

I realize that we gravitate towards the simple, and the easily understandable. Our brains can usually hold only one kind of thought at a time. We are a bright species, but not that bright. Which is why slogans work with us. We are brilliant in the first place for having the capacity to think and speak. We are capable of creating religions and philosophies. Yet we still prefer the simple, en masse that is.

This is why proclaiming the truth is such a difficult task. It is difficult, but not impossible.

People have to understand paradox. They have to understand relativism versus absolutism.

Let’s take a simple question. Is George Bush a good man? (You can ask similar questions like, is he intelligent, or wise, or effective, and so on).

My answer is, yes, he is a very good man. The liberals will say no, he is not a good man. Simple answers to a complex question.

The difference between liberals, and me though, is that I choose to say George Bush is a good man, knowing that the truth is more complex. Liberals operate only on one level. They don’t see the question as complex, and they don’t see the answer as complex. To them, George Bush is evil, period. Liberals cannot see paradox. They cannot see relativism.

The inner workings of my mind are this: George Bush is a good man, and George Bush is not a good man. This is the paradox—two opposites existing at the same time. For me, though, the good in George Bush far outweighs the bad. So, he is good.

Liberals literally cannot see anything good in George Bush, and they don’t want to. If liberals saw the world as it really is, as complex, then this would take the steam out of their slogans. All of the late night talk show comics are liberal. They see the world in black and white. If they appreciated the complexities of politics then they couldn’t bash Bush. They couldn’t pummel Fox News.

I choose to present my blog as a simple and unified message. As an absolute, I see America as one of the best countries in the world. I see conservatives, at this time in history, as the guardians of truth. I see liberals as demagogues and charlatans. I see political correctness as cowardice. I see the Muslim faith in need of a major reformation. I see that God is still talking to us, as opposed to fundamentalist religions that believe God spoke to us in the past but not anymore.

Isn’t the above contradicting the message of this post, that life is complex? Yes. That’s the paradox.

There are absolutes, and there are relatives.

One absolute that is true is, there are good guys and bad guys. Bush is a good guy. Osama bin Laden is a bad guy. This is an absolute.

A relative truth is conservatives, at this time in history, operate on a higher moral plane than liberals. This, of course, is definitely not an absolute. There are many liberals who are good people, and there are many conservatives who are not. And vice versa. This truly is a relative pronouncement. I believe it is true. Liberals don’t. Who is right? I am. Yet, the truth on this matter is complex.

Now that I’ve thoroughly confused you, let me explain one more thing—my feelings. Do I love George Bush? Sometimes. Do I respect George Bush? Sometimes. I love him and I hate him. I love him for his brilliance in going into the war in Iraq (I know the Igor’s of the world, and 80% of humanity, cannot understand Bush’s brilliance in this move), but I hate him for ruining our country with his immigration policies. I love/hate him.

How do I feel about liberals? I hate/pity/love/scorn them. I hate them for ruining our country with their demagoguery, lies and cowardice. I pity them because they don’t have the brains to see the truth. I love them for their great hearts, and their intention of doing good in the world. I scorn them for not being honest with themselves.

How do I feel about conservatives? I love/hate/admire/scorn them. I love them for being right about most issues, for being courageous in standing up for their mostly correct views, and for saving what is best about our world and country. I hate them for their cowardice in being politically correct, in seeking sometimes only to be re-elected, and for taking a great country and running it into the ground with their immigration policies. I admire them for seeing the truth when all the major media broadcast liberal propaganda. I scorn them for squandering the greatness that Reagan and Newt Gingrich brought to our country and the world.

The ultimate paradoxes for me are that I must accept living in an imperfect world. I can only do my best to communicate God’s message and the essence of truth. I must trust others to do their part. I accept that liberals have their own point of view, and that their expression of these views will also help make our world better, no matter how much I disagree with them. I must, in the end, after being so certain, so proud, so absolute, allow that I am only a speck in the universe, and that my views are important, but so are yours.

If you disagree with me on issues, then you are probably right. I am right too, though. That’s the paradox. There is an absolute truth on some things, and I believe that I see it clearer than you. I am a genius. Yet, don’t be upset—I am also an idiot. I realize this. To be honest, I am an idiot savant.

What you and I think, and do, and say matters. Yet, we are insignificant. It’s not about us. It’s about life, about God, about humanity, about the universe.

That’s the life God has given us. I humbly accept this reality.