Beliefs.

[saxikath]

I'm not sure where this came from, exactly; the idea came to me last night as I was sitting in a (blissfully hot... it's way too cold out!) bath.

I've never been very good at standing up for my beliefs, partly because one of them is that there are many sides to every question and I want to hear them all.

But these days, I feel... I guess more of a desire to be more vocal about my beliefs. Maybe it's because many of them feel threatened at the moment.

So:

1. I believe that what you do behind closed doors is nobody's business but yours, so long as it involves only consenting adults and nobody gets permanently hurt/killed.
   
2. I believe that you should be allowed to think, speak, write, and publish anything you want, with a very small number of exceptions on the publishing/speaking side (child pornography, things that are legitimately business or government secrets, blatantly inciting things, for instance).
   
3. I believe that common sense is far too uncommon.
   
4. I believe that no one should be discriminated against based on any inborn or permanently acquired characteristic (race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, ethnicity, national origin ...). This includes things like height and weight except in cases where there's legitimate reason that it makes a difference. I'm not going to insist that the NBA start hiring short people.
   
5. I believe that music is as close to magic as most of us will ever encounter.
   
6. I believe that the death penalty is wrong. I believe it is morally dubious at best, and even if I could justify it (and I admit there are cases where I waver), it is systematically flawed, humans are fallible, and death is a permanent punishment.
   
7. I believe that evolution is a historical fact and should be taught as such in science classes.
   
8. I believe that there are many sides to every issue, and all of them should be considered before decisions are made.
   
9. I believe that war against Iraq now is unjustified and wrong and will open us up to worse terrorism and the world's anger.
   
10. I believe that each individual should take responsibility for his/her actions. It's important to acknowledge the roots of our behaviors, and when real harm has been done it should be addressed, but casting blame is generally unproductive.
    
11. I believe that teachers are grossly underpaid and under-respected for the work that they do.
    
12. I believe that every child has a right to be raised in a safe, healthy (including mentally and emotionally healthy) environment, to develop interests and activities, and to learn.
    
13. I believe that abortion is rarely the best choice, but I also believe that it is not my place to make that decision for any other woman.
    
14. I believe that our connections with friends and family are precious and perhaps the most important legacy we leave. I also believe that I'm much worse than I should be about keeping up those connections.
    
15. I believe that redemption is always possible. (This is as close as you'll get to a religious belief on this list, except maybe the one about music.)
    
    
    
    Who knows, maybe I'll start a meme...

Comments

[navrins]

I'll spread your meme, but right now I believe I have more urgent things to do. :-)

But as for yours, I agree with #1, #2 (without, I think, the exceptions), #3, #9, #10, #11, #13. I like #4 in principle but think it's much more complex than that. #6 I explicitly disagree with. #7 is a scientific conclusion, not historical fact - but also is more complex than it's usually given credit for. #8 I like but considering "all" sides is rarely possible. I would like to see #12 happen but am very reluctant to call it a "right" as that implies an obligation on the part of some unidentified others to make it so. #14 just isn't me. And #5 and #15 involve ideas not well fixed in my world view so I can neither agree nor disagree, and do not choose to take the time right now to expound.

[davehogg.livejournal.com]

Not surprisingly, given our history, I can say that I firmly agree with 13 of your 15 beliefs. Equally unsurprisingly, one of the ones that I don't agree with is #5. I'd substitute "nature" - to me, magic is the power of a thunderstorm or the beauty of Michigan when the leaves are changing.

I also don't entirely agree with #15. I think there are a few people who reach a place beyond any hope of redemption or salvation.

[zenala.livejournal.com]

I have to say I generally agree with most of this (a few details to quibble over if I were in a debating mood), but #15 reminded me that I really don't understand exactly what people mean by redemption and salvation and such. Hm... I could probably fill a rather long post of my own on this topic, so I won't go into detail here. Suffice to say I never went to church as a child (except visiting relatives, generally, and then it was usually a holiday)

[drdemure.livejournal.com]

I believe everything you believe. I also believe you are better at standing up for and being to your beliefs than I am. It's one of the reasons I admire you greatly.