Rules For Realists

I have been on this planet for a while, and I have learned a few lessons about how things work here. This knowledge isn't laudatory; experience and mistakes have been my main courses of instruction.

Over time I have boiled down what I know into a short list. I call it Mangravite's Rules For Realists.

RULE #1: THE WORLD IS NOT PERFECT AND NEVER WILL BE.

This is the first Rule For Realists because the modern world keeps telling us otherwise, relentlessly and to our continued frustration. Technological innovation, mass production and relentless efficiencies give us the illusion that the world is, can be and/or will be perfect, flawless and dependable. It isn't. It never was. It never will be.

We live in a broken world. It's beautiful but it's not quite right. Things go wrong. People did ridiculous things, even the wisest, mistakes are made. Meanwhile, the world can kill you, random tragedy strikes. We can't legislate away this disruption, we can't fix it and we can't expect someone else to fix it.

We can try though. And we can help those whose efforts make the world a better place. And support ideas which over the long run help transform human society and how we all deal with our condition. But that condition at basis is not going to change very much - at least permanently.

The best that realists can hope for is some temporary periods of happiness, however happiness may be defined. The pursuit of happiness may be a constant in human nature; attaining it and maintaining are other matters altogether.

Conservatives are usually comfortable with Rule #1. They know that the world is fundamentally flawed. But that knowledge is not excuse to do nothing in the face of our problems.

Progressives tend to resist Rule #1, that's part of their nature as visionaries and rebels. Their problem is that resistence can turn into narcissistic denial.

I have ten Rules For Realists. Rule #2 next time...