Accept the choices of others
Josh Mannen
Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: Opinions
Now you may wonder why the man's preferred cheese even matters. He is still the same man, only with different tastes. I may then ask the question, what if it weren't the man's preference in cheese that was altered, but his preference in lifestyle, religion, or sexual association. Would the man still be seen from the small town society as the same man, only with a minor adjustment? Which version of the man would be superior? Would it be the Buddhist man? The Christian man? The homosexual man? If one adapts the idea that growth is positive, as in change from one state of being to another is an evolutionary step forward, wouldn't one decide that the previous man was far inferior to the new version? But what if the society the man lives in doesn't condone the practice of Buddhism? Logically, the man's transformation from Christian to Buddhist would clearly be seen as a negative alteration by the general population.
Now back to the cheese metaphor. As previously stated, logically, the man's growth from understanding and knowledge accumulation makes him superior to a man limited to one cheese. And any society limiting that man's quest to dabble in the cheeses of the world would be silly. Shouldn't the same apply for a man transforming any facet of his being in search for world knowledge? Sure, we all come to the conclusion of course it is silly for society to blockade any man's search for understanding, whether it be religion, lifestyle, or otherwise. The truly unfortunate thing is how often society does exactly this. Men and women are persecuted every day across the world in their search for self. Practically every religion of the world finds itself clearly superior to almost every other. The same goes for any lifestyle or cultural choice; especially in the United States, where most American's find foreign cultures preposterous, even before they fully understand them.
By considering such a mundane idea as cheese preference, one can understand how these independent shards never represent the entire crystal that is each person. Of course, each one of us will go through life, growing and learning, never ceasing in our quest for happiness. But what we should recognize is how we should never underestimate anything based on one facet of being. The one cheese man may still love his one cheese, but that will never actually define who he is. Just like people all around the world spew forth condemnation based on their own tunnel vision, we all judge each other every day based on either our appearance or our way of speech. And the society we live in only reinforces this idea. It must be up to each one of us to comprehend and understand how unethical and hypocritical this is. Each one of us changes every day; we are never the same John or Mary more than once and we never place thought as to which one of ourselves we prefer. It all comes down to whether or not we want to live in a world where each person is allow to explore everything this Earth has to offer without the fear of being killed for it. I only hope we can all agree on letting the man find his own cheese preference.
Now back to the cheese metaphor. As previously stated, logically, the man's growth from understanding and knowledge accumulation makes him superior to a man limited to one cheese. And any society limiting that man's quest to dabble in the cheeses of the world would be silly. Shouldn't the same apply for a man transforming any facet of his being in search for world knowledge? Sure, we all come to the conclusion of course it is silly for society to blockade any man's search for understanding, whether it be religion, lifestyle, or otherwise. The truly unfortunate thing is how often society does exactly this. Men and women are persecuted every day across the world in their search for self. Practically every religion of the world finds itself clearly superior to almost every other. The same goes for any lifestyle or cultural choice; especially in the United States, where most American's find foreign cultures preposterous, even before they fully understand them.
By considering such a mundane idea as cheese preference, one can understand how these independent shards never represent the entire crystal that is each person. Of course, each one of us will go through life, growing and learning, never ceasing in our quest for happiness. But what we should recognize is how we should never underestimate anything based on one facet of being. The one cheese man may still love his one cheese, but that will never actually define who he is. Just like people all around the world spew forth condemnation based on their own tunnel vision, we all judge each other every day based on either our appearance or our way of speech. And the society we live in only reinforces this idea. It must be up to each one of us to comprehend and understand how unethical and hypocritical this is. Each one of us changes every day; we are never the same John or Mary more than once and we never place thought as to which one of ourselves we prefer. It all comes down to whether or not we want to live in a world where each person is allow to explore everything this Earth has to offer without the fear of being killed for it. I only hope we can all agree on letting the man find his own cheese preference.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Grant
posted 7/15/09 @ 2:03 AM EST
I agree whole heartedly with the importance of being an indevidual and to make your own choices based on what you feel is right. Over the last two years I have undergone a complete inventory of my belief system to determine just what it is I truely believe. (Continued…)
Post a Comment