Back in junior high English class, we were assigned to keep a journal. Each day, we were supposed to write a minimum number of lines. I forget how many, now. I think it was five. Whatever it was, I barely managed.
It wasn't that I didn't have anything I wanted to write. It was that I never had anything I wanted to write that I also felt comfortable sharing. This was in part because, while I realized that my English teacher was more concerned about checking on grammar, punctuation, and other technical issues, I knew even then that she would still have to read and comprehend what I wrote, and that there was a very real chance she would remember it, take it into account, and generally bias her opinions, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it. Given the content of the things I could have written, I think it would have biased her negatively, so I had very little to write about.
The other reason, and more important one, was that I valued my privacy, and I didn't like talking about myself. This reason holds to this day, though given the contents of this diary, I obviously make exceptions from time to time.
I think it's important that we recognize that not everyone prioritizes their values the same. We all may have similar values, but we have different ideas about how important each value is in relation to the others. So while many of us on this site value our privacy, some of us obviously value it more than others. This is why we have people who use Facebook, despite the fact that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, doesn't believe in privacy. (At least not your privacy.) I feel this breach of privacy is too great to warrant using Facebook, but obviously many other people hold other values at a higher priority than their own privacy.
Similarly, we try to achieve our values using different methods. To use a different example, let's take the value of fairness. Here, I'll use the difference between conservatives and progressives taken as a whole. I do realize there is nuance to both groups (I happen to know a conservative who thinks rather progressively on some issues; he just doesn't realize it). I hope you'll forgive me if I gloss over those nuances for the sake of this example.
Both conservatives and progressives recognize things as unfair. Fairness is a value we all have in common. What makes conservatives different from progressives is how they go about achieving fairness. To conservatives, if you have something that they don't have, they believe you shouldn't have it. To achieve their value of fairness, they want to take away from you those things that you have and they don't. This is why they see welfare as bad. Especially if it's a poor conservative who nevertheless doesn't qualify for government assistance. If they can't have it, why should anyone else? It's not fair!
To a progressive in a similar situation, they would not try to take that assistance away from others. Rather, they would want to see that assistance expanded and strengthened so that more people who need it could benefit from it. Including themselves, naturally.
The interesting thing to note here is that both groups hold the same value at roughly the same priority. What makes them different is how they go about trying to achieve that value.
What other values do conservatives and progressives hold at the same (or near same) priority? Are there any similarities in how we want to achieve those values? If not, how can we convince them to try our way (assuming it's possible to convince them at all)?
I don't expect answers to these questions. I certainly have none, myself. But I hope they provide a little food for consideration.
I have a couple technical notes before bringing you today's offerings.
First, while I try to catch diaries on the day of initial publication, it's pretty obvious that I'll miss some. And in fact, that has already happened. You'll note that the first republiahed diary listed tonight was actually posted last night before my official group launch diary. My apologies.
As soon as I catch a diary I think is worthy of republication, I will of course do so, but rather than try to edit the previous night's summary diary, I'll put them in the next summary diary. This way you won't accidentally miss out on a diary simply because you forgot to check in for updates.
Second, as far as my personal recommend list is concerned, I recommend diaries for any number of reasons, not just because I agree with them. I don't know what criteria others use, but for myself, it can get rather complicated, so I won't bother you with details. In general, though, I try to make sure I recommend diaries that present a cogent viewpoint, no matter how disagreeable they might otherwise be to anyone reading them, myself included.
And with that out of the way, if you would kindly sashay (sashay, I say!) across the lovely squiggle, you'll find today's republished delectables for your intellectual-gastronomical delight.
A full list of all diaries republished to A Perfect Conversation can always be found
here. Feel free to check it out at any time.
Rec List from the Eclectic Boogaloo - April 8, 2011:
Updated by Gabriel D at Sat Apr 09, 2011 at 12:02 AM CDT
Forgot to proofread one last time before publishing, so I missed that I hadn't added
National Public Employee Rights Act: A Solution to State Tyranny to the republished list. It's in now. Mea culpa!