Day 15 - Live and Learn (Who I am)

"The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns yourself more than them." - Chinese Proverb

When I look at those people around me that I'm trying to "love" but am having trouble doing so, I see in them what I don't like about myself. We normally don't like others due to something that we find irritating about them, ironically enough, that thing that we don't like but can't put our finger on, is something we want to change about ourselves but are settle with what we know. I find that, when I look at others, I don't like certain character traits of certain people. For instance, I don't like when I see others jumping to conclusions, getting impatient, wanting to fight, procrastinating, sitting at work on the internet playing a game, others skipping class, etc. I don't like those things because of the following reasons.

• I jump to conclusions and I have found that they are normally incorrect - so you shouldn't do it. 
• I get impatient with people, not things - don't get frustrated at your computer because it has to think harder than you can. 
• You shouldn't want to fight! All it does is cause blood to be drawn that didn't need to be. 
• I can't procrastinate, you shouldn't be able to either. 
• I can't play a game because I'm picking up your slack, do your work! 
• If you don't want to go to class, get out of college. 

I can't stand stupidity, yet that is all I'm surrounded by. People playing mind games to get their way when all they have to do is simply ask for what they really want. Yet, as I say that the things I hate are apart of me, I also play mind games when it would benefit me personally. That make me a hypocrite, and thus something that God doesn't like. This thought process made me think about "ethics." There are multiple theories of ethical behavior - what one ought to do. Which one am I? Which one are you?

1. Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill / Jeremy Bentham) - One is only obligated to do that which maximize the happiness of the whole. (Teontological/ Consequentialism/ Hedonism)
2. Categorical Imperative (Immanuel Kant) - "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law." (Deontological)
1. The first premise is that a person acts morally if his or her conduct would, without condition, be the "right" conduct for any person in similar circumstances (the "First Maxim").
2. The second premise is that conduct is "right" if it treats others as ends in themselves and not as means to an end (the "Second Maxim").
3. The conclusion is that a person acts morally when he or she acts as if his or her conduct was establishing a universal law governing others in similar circumstances (the "Third Maxim").
3. Divine Command Theory - God’s commands are the source of ethics, that God is a moral authority and we ought always to obey his commands, irrespective of the consequences of doing so.
4. Agapism - deontological system of ethics consisting of one simple command: in every situation, do the loving thing, whatever that may be.
5. Virtue Ethics - ethics is primarily about agents, not actions. Being good is thus seen as primarily a matter of character rather than of deeds. Virtues always fall between two extremes, vices of excess and deficiency.
6. So Many More!!!!

 Well, in my opinion, they are all right! Utilitarianism is right because we should try to maximize happiness; however it is incorrect because, no matter how much happiness, or lack of pain, it brings, we should never kill an innocent person. The Categorical Imperative is right in that we should think of, before we act, how it would appear to you if another person acted in the same way in the same situation; how would you view them? The Divine Command Theory is, in my opinion, something that very much happened in the 1 century B.C and during the time of Jesus; still, we should obey the laws that he laid out for us in the Bible. Nevertheless, I don't think that you will see a burning bush if you walk outside right now. Agapism is a very GOOD thought in that this is what I'm trying to accomplish - to love everyone and to act lovingly toward them. Virtue Ethics is a very real thought as well in that people are normally cowards or brave, patient or impatient, prudent or careless, etc. Most people are to one extreme or the other. So, I'm one jumbled ethical theory, I'm what I don't like, I have many flaws, I can't understand a lot of things that I should be understanding, I like to be the center of attention, I don't like others who like to be the center of attention because I want it. I must change. I have to figure out what action will enable me to take the step. Talk is only talk, I must walk the walk. I must overcome my comforts, my expectations, my mindset. I must do what Rene Descartes did and reject all that I know, rethink what I know - Tabula Rasa.

"Who I Am" - Jessica Andrews

If I live to be a hundred
And never see the seven wonders
That'll be alright
If I don't make it to the big leagues
If I never win a Grammy
I'm gonna be just fine
'Cause I know exactly who I am

I am Rosemary's granddaughter
The spitting image of my father
And when the day is done
My momma's still my biggest fan
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
But I've got friends who love me
And they know just where I stand
It's all a part of me
And that's who I am

So when I make big mistake
When I fall flat on my face
I know I'll be alright
Should my tender heart be broken
I will cry those teardrops knowin'
I will be just fine
'Cause nothin' changes who I am

I am Rosemary's granddaughter
The spitting image of my father
And when the day is done
My momma's still my biggest fan
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
But I've got friends who love me
And they know just where I stand
It's all a part of me
And that's who I am

I'm a saint and I'm a sinner
I'm a loser, I'm a winner
I'm am steady and unstable
I am young but I'm able

I am Rosemary's granddaughter
The spitting image of my father
And when the day is done
My momma's still my biggest fan
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
But I've got friends who love me
And they know just where I stand
It's all a part of me
And that's who I am

I am Rosemary's granddaughter
The spitting image of my father
And when the day is done
My momma's still my biggest fan
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
But I've got friends who love me
And they know just where I stand
It's all a part of me
And that's who I am

Advanced Global Personality Test Results

Extraversion |||||||||||||||| 63% Stability |||||| 30% Orderliness |||||||||||||||||||| 90% Accommodation |||||||||||||||||||| 90% Intellectual |||||||||||||||||| 80% Interdependence |||||||||||| 50% Mystical |||| 20% Materialism |||||||||||||||| 70% Narcissism |||||||||||||||| 70% Adventurousness || 10% Work ethic |||||||||||||||||||| 90% Conflictseeking |||||||||||||| 60% Need to dominate |||||||||||||||||||| 90% Romantic |||||||||||||| 60% Avoidant |||||||||||||| 60% Anti-authority |||||||||||| 50%

Wealth |||| 20% Dependency |||| 20% Change averse |||||| 30% Cautiousness |||||||||||||||||| 80% Individuality |||||| 30% Sexuality |||||||||||||||| 70% Peter pancomplex |||| 20% Histrionic |||||||||||||| 60% Vanity || 10% Artistic || 10% Hedonism || 10% Physicalfitness |||||||||||||||||||| 90% Religious |||||||||||||||||||| 90% Paranoia |||||||||||||||| 70% Hypersensitivity |||||| 30% Indie |||||| 30%

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