Good Samaritans among us

Happy 4th of July, everyone! I’ve been meaning to relate an incident I witnessed a week or two ago here in Alexandria, VA. First, a little context. The Old Town section of Alexandria is very charming, and I find myself walking up and down the particularly busy King Street pretty much on a daily basis. Typically, there are a number of homeless people sitting along the street here and there and, although I have offered some change once or twice, I find myself basically ignoring them when I walk past, as is seemingly the norm. I think this is an easy habit to develop, particularly among the relatively well-to-do; there are a number of ways to consciously justify such callousness, some fairly legitimate (this guy seems crazy and possibly dangerous), others not so dignified (this woman probably brought this on herself - incidentally, this one is explicitly challenged by the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible. See Mosiah 4:16-19, Deuteronomy 15:7-8). Also informing indifference to the homeless and poor, I believe, are such factors as the development of general indifference towards strangers (for the sake of not being nosy or disrespectful) and the frustration of not knowing how best to address the plight of the poor (we are finite beings with limited resources, and the needs of the poor may seem to require more than we can give). I do not pretend to have the answer to poverty - it is a huge and, in some ways, complex issue. However, I do not think the answer ultimately lies in government as now constituted, notwithstanding the aid which public services do provide, albeit imperfectly. To ultimately erase poverty, I believe, will require a drastic and willing change in how we as a society view property, our material needs, and our relationship with our fellow man.

That sounds like a pretty incredible set of circumstances, and some may assert that the expectation of such is hopelessly naive or downright impossible. Nevertheless, I believe they are changes which will occur over time as individuals learn from and apply the teachings and principles of Jesus Christ. Which brings me to the incident which I witnessed. On one of my many strolls down King Street, as I approached some homeless people thinking to myself, “Just ignore them - you’re justified”, a professional-looking lady ahead of me cheerfully asked one of the men if he had eaten lately, or something to that effect, and came to an agreement that she would return soon. As it turns out, I saw that lady about a half an hour later carrying a bag of takeout food in the direction of the homeless man. It was actually quite a simple occurrence, not at all dramatic and certainly without any fanfare on her part, but it nevertheless impacted me. It made me want to be more like that woman, less inclined to silently pass by these people every time, and more willing to share what I have with others. And that’s an interesting thing, because I don’t currently have much; I don’t have an income here yet, and I almost couldn’t pay rent this month. However, while I am not advocating extreme and unprincipled generosity, I do believe that it can be dangerous for our development as Christians to give excuses why we are unable to reach out to others. Admittedly, I have as much room for improvement in this as the next guy.

In closing, I believe that Good Samaritans such as this woman are not rare in America, although their good deeds are not typically broadcasted to the world, mostly by design. In large measure, such people reflect what is great about our country; the magnanimity to actively share the prosperity, with which we have been blessed with those who have not been as fortunate, with the recognition that the abundance we enjoy is a gift, not an entitlement.

Happy Easter!

It is particularly appropriate today to speak a little of my faith. Long before I had been told by the learned and wise of this world how hard it is to know things, I had received countless impressions, had experiences both undeniably real and intimately sacred, and had enjoyed that sweet, quiet assurance that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He paid the price for my sins and was crucified, and that He lives again, and offers forgiveness, healing, and the greatest of all gifts, eternal life, to all those who will believe and follow Him. These truths can be had by anyone who will humbly and diligently pay the price to receive them, and they will be an anchor and a guide through the difficulties as well as the joys of life.

I’m anti-made-up-words!

It annoys me when people make up words unnecessarily and then think they’re speaking intelligently. For instance, although I’ve heard both “impactful” and “orientate” used many times in academic settings, and despite the fact that dictionary.com actually recognizes these “words”, they are actually just made up, but more importantly, they sound dumb and are unnecessary! According to Paul Brian’s “Common Errors in English”, what people actually mean by “impactful” is already handled very nicely (which is to say, conveys the meaning without sounding stupid) by the words “effective” and “influential”. In my Organizational Psychology class, our grad student teacher repeatedly used the word “orientate” or even “orientated” (which I think is flagrantly erroneous), and I cringed every time but didn’t have the heart or the guts to challenge him on it. In actuality, “orient” works just fine, for, according to englishplus.com, “orientate” is at best “a back-formation used humorously to make the speaker sound pompous. The correct word is the verb orient.” As a perfectionistic blue personality, I take note of such seemingly minor things as made up words, plus paying attention to words is good practice for going into law

Also, in regards to the prefix “anti”, I learned something interesting in a New Testament class the other day: in the original Greek, “anti” denotes not outright opposition as it does in modern English but rather a substitution. Thus, when the scriptures (those originally written from this Greek perspective, anyway) speak of “anti-Christs”, they’re not strictly talking about some sort of person who is diametrically opposed to Christ’s divine mission as is usually portrayed in movies and sensational History Channel programs, but really are referring to any idea, person, or object which offers itself as a substitute for the grace, mercy, and redemption offered through the Atonement of Jesus Christ on conditions of our repentance. The fact that this Greek notion of anti-Christ is not necessarily an embodied being does not make it any less spiritually dangerous, and in fact makes it more prevalent!

This is a great example of why interpretation of scripture matters, and I find it somewhat problematic when people dismiss the issue of translation, instead insisting that scripture as it exists in the King James Bible is perfectly translated, thus leaving us with a complete and fully elucidated canon of scripture. That’s the feeling I got with the guy on Wednesday’s CNN-YouTube Republican Debate who kept shoving his Bible into the screen and echoing the mantra “Do you believe every word in this book?”; I admired his enthusiasm for the KJV Bible, but thought he was pushing for a too-literal interpretation of the Bible as we now have it. However, I thought each candidate who addressed the question answered well, and I saw much merit to each answer. Like Romney, I absolutely believe that the Bible is the word of God “as far as it is translated correctly” (Articles of Faith 1:8) - the caveat about translation is not to withhold complete acceptance of God’s revealed word, but to acknowledge that the Bible we now have came to us through the generally well-meaning but nevertheless fallible efforts of scholars and committees. Without equivocation, I can say that when it is “translated correctly”, the Bible is an incredibly rich source of doctrine and inspiration, and that absolutely includes the Old Testament, which I think many Christians, including myself and my fellow Mormons, are inclined to overlook because it is so hard to understand without a firm background in the relevant cultural, religious, and historical contexts which allow for accurate translation.

Anyway, I think this post has gotten long enough

The continuing evolution of my blog

It’s taken me a while to figure out what I ought to focus my blog on. Originally, I thought I would write primarily about psychology, since that is my undergraduate emphasis, with some religious and philosophical musings thrown in. However, as a believing and committed Latter-day Saint (aka a Mormon) who happens to be very interested in the social sciences and philosophy, I have since decided to turn things around, focusing on Mormonism with secondary emphasis on those topics. When it comes to the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka the Mormon Church), there is no shortage of things to muse on. I have found these doctrines and principles to be deeper, more profound, and more compelling than those found in any other system of thought and belief I have encountered. I have no illusions about my biases in this blog; I admit up front that the things I write here are NOT neutral. However, I am absolutely convinced that intellectual inquiry and religious faith are not, of necessity, polar opposites, and I hope that my writings will reflect an honest attempt at faith without zealotry, and inquiry without insatiable skepticism.

More on Hedonism, new stuff on identity and anxiety

These themes popped up in my mind as I was writing a paper, and they are as follows:
1) hedonism, yet again
2) identity
3) anxiety

All three are actually recurring themes in the internal world of my mind. So, I was thinking that everyone on the planet becomes acquainted with anxiety - it’s an inescapable fact of existence in a large and unfeeling world. Neither I, nor anyone else I’m sure, considers anxiety to be an ideal state of being, and quite understandably we all seek to minimze its occurence in our lives. However, guess what: we all tend to be hedonists! What this means is that we, generally speaking, are inclined to avoid anything that makes us or could possibly make us feel anxious or insecure, even if the risk were justifiable by some greater causes e.g. expressing love, which entails a risk of rejection. This is not good! Anxiety and hedonism may also lead us to do brazenly (or even subtly) selfish or even terrible things - for instance, what do you think it is that motivates a man to rape a woman? Or for a less extreme example, what is it that motivates a bully to pick on other kids? I would submit that in the former it is an unabashed desire for pleasure and control at the expense of another, and in the latter an attempt to alleviate feelings of inferiority and anxiety.

As for identity, my thoughts are this: people, anxious as they tend to be in this insecure world, cling to ideas, cultures, property, and people (in other words, an identity) which seem to help them feel at ease. I am not anti-comfort, nor am I pro-suffering, but I do believe that people tend to seek for identity in the wrong places, and by “wrong places” I mean in things which are not stable enough to provide lasting stability or even a stability which is worthwhile in the short term. I believe there are many such people at BYU, people who doubt that the gospel and its author, Jesus Christ, can provide the stability which they desire, or who simply don’t want what He has to offer, either because it is too expensive (and I obviously don’t mean in terms of money) or because they have simply developed preferences which are dissimilar or even at complete odds with the gospel plan. I pity such people, but I do believe they can change, though not without some degree of pain and effort.

Musing #2: Hedonism

Guess what? If you live in America, or, in fact, in almost any culture that is more individualistic than collectivistic (which is its own musing, to be written at another time), then chances are you have experienced the strong pull of the pursuit of individual pleasure, and perhaps even lovingly embrace such a pursuit as the preferred way of life. The word “hedonism” comes from the the Greek word “hedone”, meaning “pleasure”, and “-ism”, meaning, um, well, I don’t know. But anyway, hedonism is the philosophical stance which says that seeking to maximize personal pleasure is the best way to live among all the other ways. The implications of such a self-focused ethic are frightening! Granted, our good friend Adam Smith, one of the founding fathers of economics, taught us not to fear the outcome of transactions among individuals acting solely in their own interests, for they seem to be guided by an invisible hand to make an exchange which benefits both of them. Now, that’s nice and good when you’re trading chickens and farm produce, but what about interpersonal relationships? Imagine this:

-Man: “Here, my ego-enlarging girlfriend, I bought you this pretty diamond ring (extremely overpriced, thanks to diamond oligopolies), so that you will be more inclined, or better yet, feel obligated to continue our relationship.”
-Woman: “Oh, I do so love diamonds, because they make me feel good about myself, in large part because they make me look better and more important than everyone else. As for you, though, I’m afraid you’re not fulfilling my emotional needs, so this relationship is over.”
-Man: “What, after all the time and money I wasted on you?! Where’s the payoff? What about me?”
-Woman: “You just don’t give me enough attention, not to mention presents. How am I supposed to feel good about myself if our relationship isn’t fulfilling my needs?”
-Man: “Well fine, I can take my money somewhere else, to someone who appreciates me for who I am. Or better yet, I’ll spend the money on myself! There ARE a lot of things I want to buy!”

Ok, so that dialogue was fictional, and unrealistically extreme and forthright. However, the me-first mentality portrayed here is, I believe, alive and well, though not quite as obvious. Perhaps I ought to qualify my statements by saying that I am talking mostly about my peers, young single adults in America, although I am confident that hedonism is not at all confined to this group. Ok, now I’m also a student at Brigham Young University, so my most-proximate peers are fellow Christians, and MORMONS at that! Is it out-of-line, then, for me to accuse my peers of being hedonists? Well, I certainly can’t claim to know every heart, unlike God who knows each of us inside and out, but I do know a thing or two about our culture, having lived in it my whole life. I am about as big an advocate of the reality of moral agency (another thing to muse about later) as any you will meet, and so I certainly don’t believe we are inescapably bound by our culture’s hedonistic programming. However, I also know of the powerful pull of culture, especially when culture is preaching a philosophy which happens to be carnally-satisfying in practice. Latter-day Saints such as myself and my fellow students are warned about the doctrines and philosophies of men, but darn it!, the world we live in is saturated with them! To be good, really genuinely Christlike individuals while living in this crazy world is the great test of mortality, and combating the pull of hedonism is but one manifestation of this ongoing struggle. The good news is that it is a struggle we can win!