Pages

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Philosophy VS Emotional Reactions

I recently got into a heated discussion about whether hiding one's political leanings is in fact any part of one's political beliefs themselves rather than just an emotional response to the fear of public scrutiny. And it got me thinking.

Is it even possible to both believe that the philosophy one embraces is correct and should be reality but also believe that this philosophy should be hidden?

And I don't mean it should be hidden on a personal level because of one's own discomfort. I mean, hidden on a philosophical level in that the philosophy's very existence is dependent upon it being hidden... kind of like God must be hidden for faith to exist.

It seems to me that possessing political beliefs is completely separate of how one chooses to express those beliefs, no matter what those beliefs are. If one's expression of a belief were an actual part of that political philosophy itself, then we would have to have separate categorizations for:

Closeted/Anonymous
Fair-Weather
Begrudging
Active
Extremist

But we all believe that our political views are correct. That's why it's called a belief. If I believe that a free-market economy is the best solution to global economics, then I'd want to see it enacted. I wouldn't want to see it hidden. And in fact, I can't simultaneously believe that something should be enacted and hidden.

If I believe that a free-market economy is the best solution but I'm afraid to let people know, then anonymity isn't part of that economic belief. It's not part of that political categorization. Anonymity is part of who I am. It's a part of my emotional wiring and my response and is nothing more than the connective tissue between my beliefs and the opposing belief.

Or am I wrong here and it is possible that a person can both believe that something should be enacted while simultaneously believing it should be hidden?

1 comment:

L said...

I worked for the federal government in Liberal times, and voicing any political opinions would not have been well received nor effective. That said, I was always able to act upon my conservative views, as I never had to do anything that was against them. I was never interested in becoming an activist, only a supporter, which i was able to do, always.

Post a Comment