Patterico's Pontifications

2/27/2015

Putin Critic Shot Dead

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:30 pm



Coincidinks abound:

In a recent interview, Mr Nemtsov had said he feared Mr Putin would have him killed because of his opposition to the war in Ukraine.

Putin has condemned the murder we all believe he ordered. Politifact rates his condemnation as Mostly True.

R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 1:04 pm



LLAP.

On Differing Perspectives: An Essay

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:45 am



As I make this great journey through life, one thing I have learned is that different people really do have different perspectives. For example, my honestly held belief that government is unnecessary to address a particular issue will always be balanced by someone who says we need oversight in that area. And, to address more artistic matters: my belief that say, a piece of music is truly sublime (or wretched) will inevitably be countered by somebody who — with equal honesty and and sincerity — believes the same music is wretched (or sublime).

It’s easy to discount other points of view as being the product of inferior or dishonest minds. Your love for that rap song shows that your mind is not as cultured as mine, which appreciates Beethoven; on the other hand, your love of Proust must be feigned, because nobody really reads such garbage — while my love of Michael Connelly is at least genuine.

But that sort of “my way is the only way” attitude — discounting other viewpoints as wrong– is both callow and lazy. True maturity lies in realizing and accepting that people can honestly hold perspectives that are, quite simply, different from yours. Indeed, if this country can be said to be founded on a single unifying message, it is acceptance of different frames of reference. Our strength lies in understanding that other ways of looking at things are not wrong; they are just unfamiliar.

The fact that someone sees a political issue, or a work of art, in a different manner than you happen to see it, does not make that person inferior, or dishonest, or wrong. They are simply different. That’s all. Once you have fully accepted this concept and put it into practice in your own life, you will have achieved a level of wisdom that will serve you well.

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That said . . . those of you who say the dress is blue and black are out of your fucking minds.

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