16 June 2009

Random Pensees

(1) You cannot change, nor should you try to change, a person's will. To do so is inhumane. God himself doesn't change a person's will and He knows what is best. You can persuade a person and hope they'll change their mind, but that's it.

Another thing.

Too much wooing is disrespectful to both parties. It annoys the woo-ee and degrades the woo-er. This is a good definition of woeful. There's an optimal amount of sugar that helps the medicine go down, but too much honey makes you vomit.

(2) A society that craves nothing but pleasure and lives for nothing else is ripe for tyranny. Making pleasure the end result or goal of Life is just asking for a totalitarian regime.

First comes Democracy. Then comes Socialism. Next comes the dictator in a baby carriage.

Sometimes a pleasure-seeking society skips the tyrannical government and goes straight to chaos. In times past, this was when the barbarians and warlords came visiting during the night. Generally during the drunken revelries, orgies, and post-Thanksgiving dinners.

Whether the tyranny comes or no, the end result is still chaos.

(3) One of the main purposes of Art is to move the soul (your mind, will, emotions, intellect.) To shift the soul's perception and see the parts of Reality not always visible. Art should help people see a part of nature they've never perceived before, and in doing so, see an orderliness or facet of God's nature. This is the difference (and there are others) between good art and bad art. A man who is not moved by good art is spiritually dead or numb due to his own self-interests.

Good art is also a primary vehicle to speak to people who don't God as it affects their nature in a way words do not. Not everyone is persuaded the same way. Some need good music, some need good movies, some need good books, others need a logical exposition. To think there is only one way to persuade people is to severely limit your mind.

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