You're Right, You're Beautiful, A Response I

So I received a whole bunch of responses to this one, so I thought I'd address a couple in successive blogs.

Joseph Turian said...

So, everything you think is beautiful, is. And everything you think isn’t, someone else might think is, and so is. So no matter what, you, and everyone around you, is right. And I think that’s beautiful.

This is only from an objective perspective.

From a subjective perspective, I fucking hate what certain people think is beautiful.

First of all, how are you Joseph? Haven't heard from you in a while? You well?

Second of all, that's kind of the point, no? I'm not saying that you should agree with anyone else, just that you have to respect the fact that, outside of your own little subjective world, they are just as right as you are. Similarly, anyone else's little subjective world is no righter than yours. Which means you are completely entitled to hate other people's perspectives. I certainly do. The list of things that other people think are beautiful that a) nauseate me b) just plain old confuse me or c) actively piss me off is fairly high. But that doesn't mean that I can't acknowledge they are at least right for themselves (even if I think it shouldn't be right for anyone else!).
And yes, this is trying to take an objective stance on everyone's subjective stances. But one of the things I value very much is the idea of appreciating that other people are as much fully developed people as you are. I don't think you can ever really know what someone else is thinking. But the moment that you are fully aware that they are as real as you are, when they move from background moving scenery to fully aware existent thinking feeling people (and I don't mean in the abstract, I mean in terms of your own subjective understanding of the world), is one of the most beautiful and most connected feelings you can have.

And my point about subjective beauty is just to push that idea along. Respect for the fact that someone else goes through the same process that you do, even if they come out in a whole different place, is a good step towards understanding they are just as human as you are. And not any more human, either.

My personal views lean towards the politically liberal, by and large (in case you haven't figured this out). But among the most important experiences I've had have been conversations with intelligent rational conservatives. I don't agree with them, but I at least have to respect that they have a consistent logic to what they believe, and that it's as sincere and honest for them as it is for me.

I've had some interesting thoughts on the differences between conservatives and liberals of late, but more on that later...