My Aching Back

I have a back problem, but despite that, I sometimes lift heavy things, fully knowing ahead of time that it is probably going to aggravate my condition — perhaps even dramatically so. But instead of saying to myself or others, "No, I cannot lift that heavy thing. I need help," I employ Wishful Thinking and do it anyway. Why do I do this? Well, because I want to be a man. Or because I don't want to stop being a man. Because I would be ashamed or embarrassed to have to ask others — to show weakness, to be useless. Some sort of "macho" thing? I suppose so, but the point is, I value masculinity and the ability to do things for myself and to not depend on others. I value this highly. Unfortunately, this value sometimes propels me to do irrational things — like lifting something heavy when I full well know that if I'm ever going to get over the problem, I should not.

Where does this bit of personal confession lead to?

Realization: one can embrace a value so highly that it must be chased or maintained even if it forces one into acting irrationally — even knowingly so. I'd consider dubbing it "raison irrationnelle," but that’d be speaking French.

One thing I've cogitated on for some time is how liberals who are, more often than not, intelligent people, endorse patently stupid ideas. Ideas that can logically be shown to be fallacious and harmful by simple explanation. Explanations that would be understood and accepted by anyone with half a brain — yet they will not listen. They will make excuses and rationalize and find absurd arguments and make accusations — anything other than listen to reason.

Giving money to the poor hasn't eliminated poverty. Throwing money at schools has not improved education. Banning guns has not reduced the murder rate. Appeasing our enemies does not make us safer. The results are never as promised and, in fact, the opposite effect usually comes about — crime goes up, test scores go down, murder goes up, our enemies are emboldened.

I think that this is the liberal's version of my Wishful Thinking. If you could pin them down, (you can't), they'd have to admit that liberal "solutions," are unworkable. But over and over again they will insist on trying to "lift the heavy load" with little hope of actually getting away with it. They have in place a value that they must heed above logic. It certainly isn't manliness. Its some sort of feel-good, humanitarian ethic that they must pursue at all costs. I guess it's "liberalism," or "progressivism." They value it like I value being a man.

I guess that might be fine — to each his own, you know. However, it's one thing when I do something stupid and hurt my own back. It's entirely something else when liberals want to pursue their folly with OPM (Other People's Money) and OPL (Other People's Lives).