One of the things that hurts my heart that I see in the world as we all get older, is the lack of good understanding or common sense. Now that makes me sound extremely old fashioned, but I don’t care. I think I am old fashioned, partly in part because of my love of classic literature.
I remember when I was going through a very hard time about ten years ago. I was in a marriage that I disliked immensely, doing a job that I also disliked. On the outside everything was fine, but on the inside, I was drinking too much and dabbled in self harm. So where did I turn during this hard time? What piece of literature did I pick up to salve my internal existential crises? Aristotle’s Nichomachaen Ethics.
No, I’m not kidding. I have always loved classic literature and classic philosophy even more. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m smart enough to say anything interesting about it, but when I needed to make sense of my life, philosophy is where I turned. And did it solve everything? No. But reading about how Aristotle was focused on how to live the good life helped to reorient my life. And now ten years later I’ve completely changed my life.
Ten years ago, I was not living according to my virtue, or Aretē. My ability to flourish was severally hampered dur to the lack of virtuous activity of my soul in accordance with reason. For example, I had used to be religious, and I took my faith very seriously. But later on in my later twenties I had become a disbeliever but had not come out of that closet. Due to my first undergraduate degree, I had reoriented my life to put reason instead of faith first. But due to my context, and my religious in-laws I had kept my newfound disbelief private. And frankly, it ate at me. Family meals were no longer pleasant and the rise of trump and then his first term as the president left me way too many conversations that made me widely uncomfortable. So much so that during a particularly ugly sermon, I just stood up and walked out. I do not entertain any racist or homophobic sentiment at all.
But now? Now I live in a country that is not gripped by fascism. Now, my partner is a scientist. A real life, honest to god scientist. And now I get to have regular conversations with other scientists, like the ones at Affinity Immuno. I get to hear about how they make vials of monoclonal antibodies, antibodies that are used to specifically treat cancers and other auto immune diseases. Now instead of listening to homophobic rants my old white men, I surround myself with bipoc and queer friends.
Good, well-educated understanding, reason, and philosophy will always not orient me towards the future.
Also FUCK Trump
FUCK ICE
FREE PALASTINE
