Striving to be Better

Finally, I am initiating a new blog, one that I feel comfortable sharing with “the world.” Heretofore, I have openly shared my writing with a select few people and have only anonymously shared with the rest of the world. Because I tend to lean toward the left on matters of social and economic policy, I have been hesitant to openly express my opinions. I have feared that my opinions might drive a wedge between me and representatives of my client companies, many of whom tend to be quite conservative. While I don’t want to create such a wedge, I think the best way forward is to say what I think. But, I intend to be less strident. And I won’t regularly attach my name directly to my new blog. However, I won’t take pains to conceal my identity, either. For the moment, I will write as the “Free Range Philosopher.” Those who bother to look will find that person to be one and the same as John Swinburn. Here is my first post. It’s fitting that this first post is being written on the first day of a new year, 2011.

I believe people always should try to be better. Not just better workers, or better at parenting, or better children, or better at sports. Better people. The sub-roles, I think, will follow naturally if we focus on the primary one. I also believe I do not, and cannot, have a particularly significant influence on what other people do. I believe my behaviors will have a much more profound influence on others than will my admonitions. So I should focus, first, on myself.

The beginning of a new year is a convenient time for self-reflection. It is as good a time as any other to make promises to oneself about changes that will make one a better person. Becoming a better person matters. That’s my opinion. Here’s a bit about what I believe.

• There is never “enough” time to do all we want to do. The best way to spend the time we have is to give as much of it as we can to our friends and family. No matter how much I like what I do, it does not define me and does not deserve as much of me as the people who matter most to me.
  
• My political philosophies notwithstanding, my opinions about social and economic issues should be driven by what is best for society and not what supports my political positions.
  
• Patriotism should not be confused with nationalism; the latter is dangerous and the former generally is irrational. Similarly, faith in the superiority of one’s religious beliefs should not be confused with truth. I should care what’s best for my fellow man, not just my fellow countrymen. So, I suppose humanism is what drives me.
  
• It’s easy to find fault with other people and easier still to find fault with oneself. If those things are easy, I should aim to make life considerably harder on myself.
  
• No matter how “right” my viewpoints are, others frequently will not share them. We can choose to draw lines in the sand and, in so doing, impede progress and movement or we can choose to seek common ground and relax our demands that others accept our points of view. There is a time to unflinchingly stand on principle. However, I must work to understand how to differentiate between compromise and abandonment of principles; my gut tells me the line in the sand is more often drawn by emotion than by intellect.
  
• It is far too easy to reach conclusions based on opinions; I must strive to consider issues from a dispassionate perspective. Otherwise, I will risk becoming the person I so often condemn.
  
• The fact that a person suffers in silence does not make his or her suffering just. It is my responsibility to be the voice for people who need an advocate.
  
• My assessment of another’s beliefs as irrational or groundless does not justify my treatment of that person as stupid. This is something I believe, but it may be difficult for me to ensure that my emotion is aligned with my belief. I need work on this, especially.

If I can successfully translate these beliefs into behaviors, I will be a better person. During the course of this year, I will judge the degree to which I have made progress. I will write about my progress here.