Prodigal Penguins
01-03-2007, 03:08
Of all attributes a person can possess, the one I value most is conviction. Without conviction, a man is nothing. If you act, act decisively. Make informed decisions and stick with them. It seems recently, however, that I have been on shaky ground. Not knowing what I believe or believe in. (I blame this on Nationstates :cool: )
But that aside, I've been reevaluating what, exactly, I do believe, and why. And it's come down to this: the majority of my problems stem from the fact that I base what I believe on what I associate myself with. And this has created substantial conflict, shaking the very foundations of my personally highly regarded convictions such that I have become what I hate most: a man without conviction. Immediately I make a statement, a decision, and consider that perhaps the other side might be right, and lose faith in my belief.
But even more, I find myself believing in something because it's what I should believe in based on my ideology. Case in point: I consider myself a conservative Republican. At least, this is the party I think I should be associated with. Now, some of my personal views don't mesh with the overall beliefs of the ideology I associate with. And what I find is I am making decisions because that is what I should, as a conservative Republican, believe. And, to be quite honest, this is creating serious problems with my personal conviction; I think I'm mixing cause and effect.
Ideology, in my mind, should be an effect, associations made after you have formulated opinions and developed a stern sense of conviction in what is subjectively right. But it seems that ideology is, for me, a cause; ie, I believe a certain way because of my ideology. And this, I believe, should not be the case.
So, to break this down, the first question is should one base his or her beliefs on whatever ideology they associate with, or should ideology come as a result of what one believes?
The second question is this: if in the course of acting, one should come into conflict with the views of his or her ideology, should one switch ideologies [they associate with] to better fit their conviction or would it be best to maintain the ideology with the knowledge that their personal views differ on certain aspects, and deal with it as an exception to a rule?
I can provide specific examples of personal conflict if it is requested, but I wanted to keep this general so it may be applicable to others as well.
But that aside, I've been reevaluating what, exactly, I do believe, and why. And it's come down to this: the majority of my problems stem from the fact that I base what I believe on what I associate myself with. And this has created substantial conflict, shaking the very foundations of my personally highly regarded convictions such that I have become what I hate most: a man without conviction. Immediately I make a statement, a decision, and consider that perhaps the other side might be right, and lose faith in my belief.
But even more, I find myself believing in something because it's what I should believe in based on my ideology. Case in point: I consider myself a conservative Republican. At least, this is the party I think I should be associated with. Now, some of my personal views don't mesh with the overall beliefs of the ideology I associate with. And what I find is I am making decisions because that is what I should, as a conservative Republican, believe. And, to be quite honest, this is creating serious problems with my personal conviction; I think I'm mixing cause and effect.
Ideology, in my mind, should be an effect, associations made after you have formulated opinions and developed a stern sense of conviction in what is subjectively right. But it seems that ideology is, for me, a cause; ie, I believe a certain way because of my ideology. And this, I believe, should not be the case.
So, to break this down, the first question is should one base his or her beliefs on whatever ideology they associate with, or should ideology come as a result of what one believes?
The second question is this: if in the course of acting, one should come into conflict with the views of his or her ideology, should one switch ideologies [they associate with] to better fit their conviction or would it be best to maintain the ideology with the knowledge that their personal views differ on certain aspects, and deal with it as an exception to a rule?
I can provide specific examples of personal conflict if it is requested, but I wanted to keep this general so it may be applicable to others as well.