It’s clear that a lot of people have fully bought into the notion that government should control us for our own good.
But this is a mistake in that it actually robs us of our ability to choose to be good people.
Most don’t support this because they are tyrants.
They simply want an assurance that they’re being protected from evil.
They’ve simply forgotten that we need to be able to choose goodness in order to be good.
A society that consists of individuals who choose to be good people is superior to one that collectively forces its people to behave.
We each have to be capable of focusing our moral energies on things that matter and that can be challenging.
How many people spend time consuming political mass media content that’s designed to keep them fearful and angry?
How many divert hours of their attention to social media, sports and gossip?
Some focus their moral energy exclusively on trying to control other people.
Others seem to find purpose in reflexively tearing down what others are doing without ever actually contributing anything of value themselves.
We must be able to differentiate between serious moral issues and harmless diversions like office politics and gossip that don’t really matter that much.
Such distractions keep us mired in the status quo and that can prevent us from having the sort of meaningful impact that genuinely improves the world.
Sound character establishes greater authentic morality than force ever will.
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