commit 4c357968f95f594f48570232da8b3cc6f2c9fa5a
parent 91891b716b4108282d635588a827f1a06a56f8e9
Author: Jake Bauer <jbauer@paritybit.ca>
Date: Sat, 13 May 2023 23:06:53 -0400
Update values page
Diffstat:
1 file changed, 65 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)
diff --git a/content/values-and-beliefs.md b/content/values-and-beliefs.md
@@ -3,51 +3,102 @@ Summary: Values and Beliefs
# [%title]
-I am aggressively opposed to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, nationalism, fascism, ethnocentrism, religious fundamentalism, colonialism, obscurantism, and oppressive and coercive power structures of all kinds. I am against those who try to divide, "other", and put down.
+I am aggressively opposed to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia,
+nationalism, fascism, ethnocentrism, religious fundamentalism,
+colonialism, obscurantism, and oppressive and coercive power structures
+of all kinds. I am against those who try to divide, "other", and put
+down.
## Chaos
-The universe is a naturally chaotic system as is everything contained within it. Embrace chaos and change instead of fighting it. There is no such thing as the universality of a process, technology, or practice; everything must adapt to cope with the situation at hand.
+The universe is a naturally chaotic system as is everything contained
+within it. Embrace chaos and change instead of fighting it. There is no
+such thing as the universality of a process, technology, or practice;
+everything must adapt to cope with the situation at hand.
-Chaos is especially evident in humans. No two humans are exactly alike. Do not attempt to force humans into neat boxes with tidy labels as this does a disservice to the reality of the complexity of a person. The only labels that should be assigned to a human are the ones they assign to themselves.
+Chaos is especially evident in humans. No two humans are exactly alike.
+Do not attempt to force humans into neat boxes with tidy labels as this
+does a disservice to the reality of the complexity of a person. The only
+labels that should be assigned to a human are the ones they assign to
+themselves.
+
+> There is no order in the world around us, we must adapt ourselves to
+the requirements of chaos instead.
+
+― Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions
## Cooperation over Competition
-Competition, while healthy and enjoyable in certain contexts (e.g. Code Golf), lends itself to aggression, unfriendliness, and exclusivity in most others. Cooperation, on the other hand, is about working with others to improve something for the benefit of all relevant parties and lends itself to friendliness, compassion, and inclusivity.
+Competition, while healthy and enjoyable in certain contexts (e.g. Code
+Golf), lends itself to aggression, unfriendliness, and exclusivity in
+most others. Cooperation, on the other hand, is about working with
+others to improve something for the benefit of all relevant parties and
+lends itself to friendliness, compassion, and inclusivity.
## Openness and Sharing
-The sharing of knowledge and resources is essential to cooperation. Open source software and hardware and the freedom of knowledge and ideas are essential for a successful society. We gain very little by hoarding, locking inventions behind patents, and using strict copyright. Instead, we have a lot to gain by sharing our own ideas and inventions so they can be examined, learned from, and improved upon by others. Doing the same for those of others' is also essential to personal growth.
+The sharing of knowledge and resources is essential to cooperation. Open
+source software and hardware, and the freedom of knowledge and ideas are
+essential for a successful society. We gain very little by hoarding,
+locking inventions behind patents, and using strict copyright. Instead,
+we have a lot to gain by sharing our own ideas and inventions so they
+can be examined, learned from, and improved upon by others.
## Community
-Self-organized, smaller communities are more resilient, autonomous, and have more control over their existences than people living individually in large societies. They are also more in-tune with their own wants and needs compared to a society acting for all individuals with broad-reaching policies and practices. Collective action, not individualism, is how humanity can get through the crises it faces.
+Self-organized, smaller communities are more resilient, autonomous, and
+have more control over their existences than people living individually
+in large societies. They are also more in-tune with their own wants and
+needs compared to a society acting for all individuals with
+broad-reaching policies and practices. Collective action, not
+individualism, is how humanity can get through the crises it faces.
## Constraint
-Constraint should be embraced for its ability to enhance the creative process and bring out the best in human ingenuity. As @j3s@merveilles.town puts it:
+Constraint should be embraced for its ability to enhance the creative
+process and bring out the best in human ingenuity. As
+@j3s@merveilles.town puts it:
-> When everything is easy, I do nothing. I need constraint. Constraint forces me to plan and take action. Constraint makes me feel like I'm living, while excess makes me feel like I'm alive.
+> When everything is easy, I do nothing. I need constraint. Constraint
+forces me to plan and take action. Constraint makes me feel like I'm
+living, while excess makes me feel like I'm [just] alive.
## Sustainability
-For humanity to continue to exist into the future, we must realize that we are part of nature, not above it. We must embrace sustainable practices in which we are conscious about the resources we use, we repair, upgrade, and re-purpose that which has already been made, and where we strive to integrate with nature, not hide from or dominate it.
+For humanity to continue to exist into the future, we must realize that
+we are part of nature, not above it. We must embrace sustainable
+practices in which we are conscious about the resources we use, we
+repair, upgrade, and re-purpose that which has already been made, and we
+strive to integrate with nature, not hide from or dominate it.
## Work
-People should not have to work to earn themselves a pitiful wage in order to survive. Work should be something one does for pleasure because they wish to contribute to their community or society. In the framework of our capitalist society, that means everyone should be afforded an income necessary to sustain their life (a universal basic income), so they can instead focus on fulfilling their desires and dreams (creating art, writing software, growing food, building structures) instead of being stuck in an endless grind lest they end up unable to afford food or shelter. In the framework of an economic model which does not involve money, this means that a person is afforded what their community determines are the necessities of life so that person is able to participate in that community in whatever capacity best suits them.
-
-> It was a rude shock to see just how empty and robotic life can be when you don't care about what you're doing, and the only reason you're there is to pay the bills.
+People should not have to work to earn themselves a pitiful wage in
+order to survive. Work should be something one does for pleasure because
+they wish to contribute to their community or society. In the framework
+of our capitalist society, that means everyone should be afforded an
+income necessary to sustain their life (a universal basic income), so
+they can instead focus on fulfilling their desires and dreams (creating
+art, writing software, growing food, building structures) instead of
+being stuck in an endless grind lest they become unable to afford food
+or shelter. In the framework of an economic model which does not involve
+money, this means that a person is afforded what their community
+determines are the necessities of life so that person is able to
+participate in that community in whatever capacity best suits them.
+
+> It was a rude shock to see just how empty and robotic life can be when
+you don't care about what you're doing, and the only reason you're there
+is to pay the bills.
-- Bill Watterson
-## Values
+## Summary
* Quality over quantity
* Happiness over wealth
* Inclusion over exclusion
* Sustainability over profitability
-* Autonomy and freedom over coercion and dependence on more than one's community
+* Autonomy and freedom over coercion and forced dependence
* Mindfulness over distraction
* Flexibility over rigidity
* Reflection over conviction
