John Taylor's Philosophies and Other Facts of Life

UPDATE: Since adding these Opinions, a rather interesting exchange on them has transpired. Press here to see the 11-page transcript

• Politics: A necessary evil. If they really want to reform the election process, put all the candidates on the card, and let us vote thumbs-down against those we DON'T want. This is what we do now anyway, but would eliminate such quandries as voting for Clinton even though you'd rather vote for Perot, just cause you're scared to death that if you vote FOR your favorite candidate, Dole, (the one I most despise,) will win. A much more honest system, no? That's probably why the politicians never thought of it.
  
  
• Law: I believe strongly in the vision the Founding Fathers of the U.S.A. had, as represented by the U.S. Constitution. I believe in it so strongly, in fact, that I think we ought to toss out all the laws and require judges to use the Constitution itself and their own common sense as basis for all decisions. Oh, and if it's not found there? Go back to the basic principles of English Common Law: Everyone has unlimited Rights AND responsibilities for what they do with those Rights. Cool idea, huh? Simple, too. Now exhale. The politicians aren't about to put themselves out of a job. Then again, as Don Henley wrote, we get the government we deserve.
  
  
• Sexuality: Look, everybody either does or wants to sleep with somebody. I don't care if you do it with sheep, so long as the sheep don't mind. Those who are concerned about people of "alternate lifestyles" corrupting them or their children would be better served by concerning themselves with their own lives and stop trying to tell others how to live. Really.
  I've never had anyone force his/her self on me. Aside from such rape, a come-on is just a person expressing their positive perceptions of you. So take it as a compliment, reply with a simple "Thanks, but I'm not interested," and carry on. People, regardless of their Orientation, are far too busy with their own lives to go out of their way just to make you miserable. Agendas? Well just because YOU have one doesn't mean everyone else doesn't have anything better to do.
  
  
• Special Interest Groups, Family Values: Only the term "love" has been more overused and abused. Everyone is a "special interest group," and we're all hoping to have things go in our favor. When a taxpayer wants a tax break because he or she chose to have a child, doesn't that constitute a Special Interest Group? After all, single taxpayers without children aren't getting that Special Tax Exemption. Which brings us to Family Values. Everyone has family, whether by blood or close ties. And everyone has "values" within that group, things they hold precious or as Truths about their way of life. These days, Family Values can reasonably be interprited as "The way *I* (and others like me) think think things should be." DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, was the biggest pile of crap I've seen in a long time. Starting with it's title, this legislation presumes taht Marriage needs to be defended. Last I checked, those seeking same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships weren't trying to tell people in traditional heterosexual relationships that they couldn't be married. So why did Marriage need defense? How can two people wanting to be granted equal rights in recognition of their relationship effect the relationship of a married couple? But this ofal didn't stop there. It defined Marriage for the Federal Government's employees. I found it ironic that the same people who promoted this Act into law were simultaneously griping that domestic partnerships could cost billions in benefits, while taking those same benefits for themselves. It all starts to sound alot too much like the Good Old Boy system, which says "You're Good, so long as you're one of us." Such a homogenous approach is far more likely to cause the decline of this nation than letting people have the same Rights and Breaks others enjoy.
  
  
• Our Environments: We've only got this one planet. In one sense, it's incredibly resilient and forgiving of our violations. If we dropped 1800 atomic bombs all over the world today, Life would go on. But it wouldn't be Life as we know it. While day-glow pine trees 1000 feet tall may make for a cool visual, I rather like them the way they are now. Would a world in which there were such trees still be life? Not as WE know it. So we've got some doing to get done. Major corporations will only stay on the environmentally friendly bandwagon for as long as we require it of them. And recycling starts at home. So next time you go out with a six-pack to enjoy the sunset, take the damned empties back with ya and stick 'em in a bin! Too much trouble? Then get out now and save the rest of us and our future generations the responsibility of cleaning up after you.
  
  People have bought into lies for centuries. Two hundred years ago, a Native American chief fortold our current circumstance. Back then, he informed us that our cities stank and were loud, that the streams were being polluted by our selfishness, and, tongue-in-cheek, that perhaps he was wrong because he was just an ignorant indian and didn't understand the white man's "superior" ways. We killed him, of course. I guess it really is the bane of mankind that he forgets. Consider this: We've done this radical a change on the raw land in the past hundred years or so of our Industrial Age. Technologies have changed exponentially in the past thirty years, and continue to do so with no limitations in sight. At our CURRENT rate of modification, how much of the ecosystem that sustains our lives will remain by 2050? Oh, the earth will still be here, but it won't be Life As We Know It. The guys who write futuristic sci-fi are our modern prophets, just as the sci-fi authors of the 1930's and 40's held perceptive and frighteningly accurate visions of the "future" we live today. Do you really want to live in the world of Bladerunner, Soylant Green, or ShadowRun? Ray's Star Trek and Lucas' Star Wars are optomistic fantasies. Let's not get deluded into believing in them as our future. I'm not saying it can't be that way, but it's gonna take alot of work and self-discipline on our parts. Ever wonder where the Enterprise gets rid of its garbage? Ever notice that those ships don't have bathrooms? Did anyone ever think about where the food matter for all of those crewmembers comes from? The day-to-day realities of such fantastic worlds are purposely forgotten, because such mundane vulgarities don't make for bestselling fiction. Do any of you get my collective point?

Did you know that: Dolphin-safe ISN'T. Another lie, the agreement that got Greenpeace and other environmental lobbyists off the tuna company's backs was only to cut the number of dolphin kills in half. That still leaves some 167 dolphins, creatures as sentient as we are, being killed EVERY day, for the sake of a cheaper can of tuna. We'll pay the price of beef, so why won't we pay the price of tuna? Albacore tastes great. Spend the extra buck. Cause right now, other intelligent, self-aware creatures are paying it for you. They're being brutally slaughtered. The other members of their families grieve just as deeply and as long as we do. For what? A cheaper can of tuna? Talk about a lack of family values.

Click HERE to find out more about Dolphins

Environmental Sum-Up: You say you care. Then show it. Do something about it. Walk the talk. We toss away more in volume of food containers in this country than the volume of food the entire rest of the world eats. You say you think? Then do so. Think. For yourself. Don't just buy whatever someone else says that sounds good, or makes some sort of sense. And don't trust them to be doing the research and reporting it to you accurately. Statistics have a thousand ways to mislead. Evalute the research yourself. Because power does corrupt. And if they can get you to go along with them, that's power. You'll have given your power to them, added it to their mass. And such power-hungry people are like a snowball. It's just their nature to want to roll downhill, growing larger all the while. Anyone who initiates much more action than I'm doing now, with my words, is a power-hungry bastard. Which explains part of why they're lying to you. The other part? In our laziness, our apathy, we let them.

• On Relationships: Oh, no! The R-word! We all have all manner of relationships all of the time. For my vote, when people say they don't want one, they're lying. We're social animals. Of course we want one. What we really mean is that we don't want the negatives we've come to associate with intimate relationships. Perhaps it's the responsibility to another for one's actions. Or maybe you don't want the hassles and nagging you found in an immature partner. That was then. Now, today, the form of relationship, the structures and guidelines are entirely up to the two people involved. Most importantly, whatever types and forms of relationships we share with others, we must be good to each other. Be caring, warm, sensitive, and do yourself the favor of accepting nothing less overall in return. After all, isn't that what we're in them for in the first place? Love - any kind of love - can and should be a win-win situation. As in my thoughts on life in general (below,) it's entirely up to you.
  
  
• On Living: Death is. None of us are getting out alive. So why spend so much of our LIVING time trying to deny it. Death is an event, not a process; We are alive until we are dead. In an old B-movie, "Billy Jack," the title character says "Death is my constant companion." He goes on to explain how he uses that knowledge. If this was the last day of your life, how would you spend it? In one sense, nothing would really matter. That guy you got torqued at in traffic would mean nothing to you. You wouldn't want to waste one moment of your last day on earth being unhappy about something so irrelevant. On the other hand, if it's your last day on earth, then everything you do with every moment is of the utmost importance. Do we lounge about lazily, or make the most of every second? Are we caring and compassionate, loving to those important to us? If we knew this was our last day on earth we certainly would be. So live as though this is your last day on earth. Stop to smell the roses, show people that you care. Practice random acts of kindness. See the world, be all that you can be. Above all else, to thine own TRUE self be true. Cause ya never know. Today might just be the last day of your life. Ask yourself constantly if this is really what you want to be doing with it. After all, it's as good or as bad as we make it.
  
  
• On Friends and Future Generations: Simple. A student rises to the least expectation of the teacher. At different times, we all take varying roles with each other. (Read the book "I'm Okay, You're Okay.") When we're being the Teacher, whether to a friend, our offspring, or our own selves, we owe it to our Students to expect of them all that they are capable of, and to do our absolute best to present the information in a way that the Student can understand. (You wouldn't speak French to someone who only understands Japanese, right?) Add a bit of nurturing and the positive reinforcements that build self-confidence, and you've got a solid formula for success. Just like anything else, it's all about excellence.
  
  
• On Life In General: Life is insufferably long - far too long to choose to live miserably. And pathetically short - far too short to waste any moment of it on things that don't really matter, don't yield some kind of reward. We really can do just about anything we really want to do. Anything. Allowing that this is true is at the same time an immense relief and an incredible burden. Back when I believed myself impotent against the whims of fate, my lack of responsibility for my own destiny shackled me; I held myself down, and resented the world for it. Now, having accepted that I can do anything I want if I truly want to do it, I can also see that whatever my choices may be, I'm doing exactly what I want to. If I find my life's not what I want it to be, it's up to me to make it different. At first it comes as a shock., all that responsibility. Holy shit, I can't blame anyone else for his own discontent! When that wears off, though, there's this awesome elation, a feeling of freedom that must be akin to that which a bird feels when it first discovers its potential to fly. My philosophy? Revel in your potentials. Spread your own wings and fly!

Think!

Think for yourself.

Then, either Do, or Do Not.

Don't kid yourself. There is no "try".

(Ever "try" to pick up a penny?)