The younger people are, the more they think their own rules are set in stone. The older you get, the more you realize you have to sometimes re-evaluate them.
Personal “moral” rules change. It’s not selling out, it’s evolution.
- When I was 10, I thought it was immoral to smoke pot.
- When I was 13, I was a vegetarian, and thought it was immoral to eat meat.
- When I was 14, I was a born-again Christian and thought it was immoral to say “Goddamn.”
- When I was 15, I was a pacifist and thought it was immoral to hit back if someone hits you.
- When I was 21, I thought it was immoral to carry a gun. And I thought it was immoral to deal with major corporations or vote Republican.
And I believed it was immoral to deal with major corporations until my late 20s, and believed it was immoral to carry a gun or vote Republican until I was in my early 40s.
You get old the moment you stop being teachable.
–Michael W. Dean
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I’d love to hear how your “absolutes” have changed with age.
Well, when I was 6, I was an altar boy for my local catholic parish
When I was 14, I started to question the church’s intentions when the priest was angry that not enough money had come into the collection box.
When I was 18, I registered to vote as a Republican.
When I was 21, I became agnostic.
When I was 23, I changed my political party to Liberal.
When I was 28, I became an atheist.
When I was 33, due to the fact I raised in such a catholic and republican environment, I finally came out to myself and to other as being a gay man.
Today, I am 39. While I am amazed I will be 40 before the year’s end, I don’t feel that old. You’re right, Michael, you get old the moment you stop being teachable. I know there is so much more I need to learn just as there is so much more I need to teach others.
“The universe is non-simultaneously apprehended”
— Buckminster Fuller
Robert Anton Wilson had his own interpretation of Bucky’s comment. Whether it’s accurate or not, I sure enjoy Uncle Bob’s take on it.
As I translate it, it means: Information doesn’t come to you all at once. You get it in drips and drabs. That new info should be factored into your equation, and the equation re-evaluated, CONSTANTLY.
That is, if you want to be something more intelligent than you were five, ten, fifteen, etc. years ago.
Change isn’t necessarily bad. The great prophet Frank Zappa said: “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”
Which isn’t to say every deviation results in progress, but NO deviation results in stasis, and that ain’t no motherfucking good for anyone, except maybe for people who like to bullshit themselves into thinking things don’t (or shouldn’t) change.
Also, what’s fun is running into people who are tasting things for the first time.
I had my big flirtation with libertarian ideals starting around 1976. I eventually married libertarianism, but we’re divorced now. Still great friends, though.
Now others are infatuated with it and it’s kind of fun watching them. Hope they do better with it than I did.
On the other hand, I’m a complete newb when it comes to audio production so it’s kind of fun orbiting Michael, picking his brain and trying to sharpen my chops. He’s why I bought a Zoom H2 and record some of my stuff in my closet, surrounded by all those sound-absorbing clothes hanging there.
Two newbs circling each other, and the better off for it.
When I was 16 I threw “morals” out the window for good. Rigid rules of “don’t do this, ever” are impractical and silly for the most part. My only “absolute” is that I won’t willingly go along with tyranny, that’s it. So if I HAVE to steal, kill, eat meat, call upon Odin, whatever, to fill that goal…you get the point.
Good article!
Thanks!
MWD
It’s like weight training. If you do the same routines over and over again, you will stall and hit a plateau. You literally stop growing because your central nervous system grows accustomed to your efforts and makes the movement and muscle output more efficient. In order to get stronger you have to change the way you stress the muscle and the CNS.
Matti F.
When I was 6. I used to sit around and smoke Pot with my dad, an extreme Commie Liberal.
When I was 10. my family moved on to a Hippie Commune were my Dad became a member of a group called AIM and he hung around with this radical named Ward Churchill, who claimed to be this freedom loving for the little man radical, and I used to witness him slapping women around and treating them like Crap, this is when I started to become a little disillusioned with Liberalism
until about 16, I did not remember much of my youth because we were always on the move and my family mostly just bummed around. but not long after i turned 16, I noticed my dad started changing, he went out and bought and old Harley frame and built a Harley Ridged Motorcycle, he started loving Freedom a little more and started being more respectful of others, which surprised me because he was becoming a hard core biker and started making better friends.
After I turned 18, I wanted to leave home so bad, I could not stand it, I joined the Air Force and made a career of it for 20 years and over the years I barely had any contact with my family until 1995 when I got word that my Dad had passed away and I went to his funeral and found out he was still a biker, but was a well respected member of a group called The Outlaws.
Today I’m a very fierce defender of Freedom, some people call me a Libertarian, but I call myself a Constitutionalist, and yes to some people I have become the dirty word that everyone hates, and that word is a Christian, I do not believe in any organized Church, nor do I attend any, I just follow the Bible and leave it at that and my Religion is my personal choice and I don’t even mention it to most people.
But mainly I just want to be free, leave everyone alone and let them do their own thing, while I do mine and yes I do have a very large Firearms collection.
Good answers, lowglow!
MWD
I went from not thinking much about it as a child to agnostic as a teen to an athiest as an adult. See how I grew as i grew? I was a luddite of sorts in that i resisted c/d’s till hurricain andrew and a burglary took my vinyl. A lot of shit was getting reissued on c/d so I relented. I used computers only as fancy word prossesers or to find books in the library. I was in New Orleans for katrina and lost everything again. I belive in supporting the bands but I did not feel I should pay for the same shit 3 times so my word prosseser is now also a gloified jukebox. good band name. I finnaly got a Cell phone but that’s a secret. I’ll never hang one those little borg implant things on my ear and I’ll never part with my Matchless tube amps, those little sluts’ll rip the skin right off your ass! So now I’m new at this and can’t seperate paragraphs. Yet. I was happy to find you as I was looking for music. I went to 7 inch punk trying to replace my Roach Motel and I was shocked by what these youngsters think being punk is about. They were actualy appologising for One of the songs: Wetback From 1983 (way befor this current imagration debate) something like: It’s not very PC but, gee, Uh, thats Like, punk rock. The end of the song goes : I’ve got nothing against mexicans personally but if your gonna come to America bring your fuckin green card. You should see their little site rules. Just the idea of those mindless turd fondlers appologising for my buddies lyrics makes me want to superglue earphones to their heads with an endless loop of those heavy metal X-mass friutloops and barry manalow. The older I get the smarter my parents get. I’m finally just clever to know that I dont know shit. This Is why I was just telling someone the other day that I,ll not vote for anyone under 60 to a high office. also As a 48 yr old punk or whatever it is I’ve evolved into I’d at least like my babysitters to be older than me. When I was 21 I thought I would make a good president and rresented the age limits. Dont trust anyone over (or under) 30. Short story long, if I stop modifying my opinions you can start building that raft for my pagan viking funeral.
I was shocked to read that you had no guns till 40′s. but then realized your from Cal. I went to S.F. for a wedding to be told I could not smoke in the park it was held at by the police. I tried to talk all local “Like dude, man, it’s like outside brah.” We ended up kissing the bride, hugging the groom, giving the best man our gifts and a reach around and split for tetra firma in Nola befor the wedding. Cal. used to be cool. And pox on that fag (not that theres anything wrong about that) Judge for trying tho overturn the gay marrage rulling against the voters wishes. He just wants to marry his boyfriend and get a tax break. Tax break for getting hitched. Tax break for breeding. At least he wont be breeding. Thats the golden lining on his little pink cloud.
Rodd,
Yeah, what a long, strange trip it’s been.
MWD
Rodd, I really like your words.
MWD