We like to believe that as a civilized people we are rational and informed. We’ve left behind meaningless taboos and idol worship. Our enlightened goals are carefully crafted .
But, of course, the important ones are not. We are as driven by hormones and ignorance as any of our pre-dawn ancestors. Our knowledge is too vast and complicated to understand, so we fall back on what we believe we know to be true from personal experience .
The problem with that is that personal experience tends to be limited. Folks claim, for example, that everyone always used to get “married” in some conventional modern sense. Even a brief glance at history or ethnology would prove that wrong. But who has the time? And do I trust a book or my own intuitions and memories?
Factions construct ideals into taboos which they honestly feel reflect eternal truth. Which is fine. Then they try to impose that on others. Which is not fine. If rulers become infected with those ideas, society is in for a terrible time.
Individuals are incredibly complex. Society is infinitely messy. Shiny ideals soon tarnish. Frozen ideals are a disaster. Everything always changes, and those who do not change to fit new circumstances are usually doomed .
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 