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Matt Hein / Philosophy / About /

Osprey Rezkalla

Personal philosophy page.

About.

I decided to go along with writing out this page just to list a number of stances on issues that anyone might wish to read (see bottom) and my personal philosophy of how things act in the grand scheme of things.

This will be a short dossier of what I think, and why.

Religion.

In the view I’ve taken, I find it difficult to believe in one creator, having absolute influence over everything with infinite judgement, with the power to do anything at any time. In my view, everything seems to be a propogation based on the natural law (physical laws, scientific laws). The means and forces that control nature are god, but cannot be appeased in any way ezcept by leaving it alone and not infringing upon it. Therefore, it is not necessary to worship nature, but to merely acknowledge and respect it.

When viewing many religions, I typically notice one concept, which is repercussion to dissent. It seems in many doctrines, there is some statement that dissenting in a belief, or not following the directions set forth by those beliefs will result in some eternal consequence such as being condemned to hell. The belief in dissent > eternal consequence seems oddly connvenient...perhaps a bit too much.

In some beliefs (sucgh as calvanism) the consensus is predestination, which is fatalistic. Certain faiths cite damnatiion as a way to ‘scare’ certain believers into paying credence to the doctrine, and in many ways, ‘scars’ them because of an action of their doing (which they regret) or an action someone else perpetrated upon them (which is not their fault). Certain beliefs cite censorship in lifestyle choices and artistic judegment, whether in print or music. Some beliefs state that in the end, everyone will be judged, but by which merit?

The merit of a number of laws compiled over many years that may be laced with various contradictions? Or by an ulterior one, which does not exist but say, in the mind of said creator?

I beleive that everyone has some good in them, and their innate character can be refined with encouragement and goodwill, as a representative of a greater community. The communuity must educate itself not through just schooling, but a consistent process to ensure that everyone in the community has a keen understanding of what it means to be contributing member to the betterment of a community. ‘Greatness’ does not imply one’s faith to a religious or political doctrine of bylaws and tenets to follow, many of which are skewed. Rather, it implies greatness in character, the abilitty to rationalize and share a common bond in a community in which members work for a common goal in a harmonious way to themselves, their neighbors and the environment. The community must realize that deviant views ‘to a degree in which they do not kill, advocate harm or use pejorative or authoritarian intent towards man, animal, the environment or nature, are valid, whether they are in terms of a political, religious or lifestyle belief.

These beliefs must however, be able to coexist with the society though, and follow similar expectations of keeping harmony and goodwill.

Views expressing the destruction of a culture, the natural beauty of the land or the freedom of others are in essence, a threat to the greatness fo a society, no matter how much they are backed up by doctrine of any kind. The only true doctrine in my belief, is that of exercising good character and judgement to preserve the well-being of a society.

The people should be enriched, educated and taught of the beauty of the world around them, and the importance of preserving it for themselves and later generations to enjoy. It is imperative to know that the nature around them helps to foster the harmony that exists with the world, and that tampering with it could trigger an upset to this harmony.

To me, the only god that exists is the eternal natural spirit, the very laws which govern this world. they are not carved in stone, but rather inscribed in the very actions which define the universe, laws such as gravity and evolution, tenets of chemistry which define to the smallest extent how every action triggers a reaction. Decisions affect choices, disruption of nature affects harmony, hatred evokes destruction. These laws should be known as the governing factor to the actions around them. We live in a paradise already, the beauty of the impeccable world around us. To see the azure ocans, emerald hills and amber sunset is to perceive the very beauty of existence.

Unfortunately, too many people elect to destroy this beauty in motive of selfish profit. Hack and slash industries reap the ‘rewards’ of seemingly avantageous contexts, and few entities control the many (banks control nations). If the world was to completely forego its definition of what is important (to many, it is the materialistic images foisted by major cities as ‘contemporary’) in favor of character and good actions, the controversies which exist today would be lessened. If people around the world were to receive similar treatment and knowledge, future generations would be able to experience the wealth of natural beauty, and to completely understand it.

This is my definition of reality. Much of this is mirrored in ReAka’s treatise, which you may find intriguing to read.

Section two

My stances on various issues and how they reflect with my philosophy.

Tenet: Character affects everything.

Politics- Our nation is controlled by two parties, which define their agenda by ‘party lines’ and ‘party stance’. Those who dissent to both parties agendas are for the most part, locked out of public office since the political environment is so polarized. The party system should be repealed in return for a more effective system in which people identify with no terms, but their personal stands on issues. We use party labels for the most part, to paint the words and stance of our candidate. If one senator is conservative, than he must be for an issue, like abortion, and if he’s against it, he is viewed by conservatives as ‘too liberal’.

Why not have candidates run without money, but the support of the common people? Have dandidates run with NO rich private backers, and no corporations. They do not advertise with signs, which pollute venues, but instead garner support by holding speeches and debates in different types of public venues. Maybe they can write articles to neutral papers to get their point across instead in one sided publications. In this manner, people from all sides of the angle can have an honest vote instead of voting straight ticket, or by name recognition, which diminishes the value of the system.

‘Politician’ should be their job, but they should also serve as a mentor to the citizens and be as reachable as possible when it comes to issues. Their job should be to ‘represent’ and to do so, they must speak with the people so often as they would with their colleagues.

Education - Everyone must have availability to a fine education with exposure to as many subjects of knowledge as possible: such as empathy, philosophy, basic functions of many trades, history, humanities, ecology, the arts and sciences, theories, articulation, character education, civil defence, study of the cosmos, technology. This is intended to make a society as open as possible to calm and rational discussion to ensure its continuity. Education is a great equalizer in this sense.

Lifestyle choices - whatever someone does in their private business is their business, not that of others, so long as that business does not threaten the welfare of another person, animal or the environment, or advocate breaches in character.

Personal liberties of free speech are important so long as they are in good character. This means that it is conducted civilly and do not cast demeaning insults to get a ‘point’ across. Obscenities must not be stated. there are more elegant ways to express them.

Religion choices are equally valid as long as they do not preach doctrine to scare anyone into believing anything but preach goodwill towards others. Religions must never pressure of propagandize to get another to believe things and must stray from warfare with other religons. Boundaries between the church and state must be strictly respected for the sake of keeping the community neutral.

Religion, I think, should be more of a community gathering with absolutely no emphasis on politics. Issues discussed at first would be ways to keep in good faith with nature (keeping the community clean) and assisting those who may need assistance. There should be no emphasis on belief for redemption (meaning following along in some sing-along ritual, raising their hands in the air and shouting ‘amen brother’ entitle them to some narcissistic ticket to heaven.) To me, it seems like being a good person and respecting nature are better sense of entitlement.

Marriage - It is imperative that this contract be based purely on the faith and affection between both parties, and must be only between two people. Diplicity (polygamous relationships) cause more problems than needed and compromises the very meaning of marriage because a true sense of fidelity can only exist between two people.

The bottom line is that marriage is to be regarded as sacred and must be reasonable! If there is a significant age difference between both parties, then marriage cannot take place because of the generational gap and the need for society to prosper in a healthy fashion. Other violations of character include ‘marriages’ to anything that is not human, such as a person ‘marrying’ a pet, or a car.

The key to consider is that everything represented in the marriage must be centered around both participants fidelity and affection. This means that same-sex marriages are applicable in this regard if they are centered around fidelity. If fidelity or affection is absent, then the marriage should not take place to avoid divorce rates. Abstinence is important prior to marriage so divorce and family issues do not occur later. Get to know the person first!

Community policy- must be done without rivalries in office and without grandstanding. The point of community policy is to work for the betterment of a community, not to make a large point and create a legacy. The community itself is the legacy, not the person who went after a program to carve his name in stone. A key of a leader in public policy is to work with colleagues in all offices and the people to find a creative and prudent solution to an issue.

Government- must be held accountable for its actions and must not repress civil liberties. A government must stray from exercising religious opinions of any kind, or imposing any form of doctrine upon those who may have dissenting views. As politics and religion often mix, the result is usually skewed policy in favor of those whom advocate it. The people should govern themselves, not be governed by people who are far away, secure and nearly unreachable. Government must be religiously antiseptic so as to keep its opinion more reliable (as one would typically accept information from a source without a skewed agenda.) The commonly held uniting force of the people/ government should their belief in personal accountability, integrity, character and goodwill towards others in their community for the greater benefit. Government must respect people’s rights to freedom.

Health issues- Chemicals in our food and unhealthful habits like smoking, drinking and drug abuse ultimately harm the society for the benefit of a few who foist them. In selfish habits, the wishes of a few corporations to remain in the past to keep prices low and keep mass transit on the level of the 19th century, releasing fog and particilates into the air. The health of a person is quite an asset, and we tend to take it for granted until an issue strikes or someone is killed by it. (e.g., a common policy called pushing the limit)

Unfortunately, these issues becomes increasingly common with overexposure to the variables which trigger them (e.g., chemicals, smoke, pollution). It is important for the community to realize that efficiency and prudence in selecting habits will increase its wealth and longetivity. Certain habits, like drinking are actually healthful is done in moderation, but fast/junk food, artificial flavorings, smoking and excess drinking only serve to poison the body and thus compromise one’s health. In reality, there is no substitute for prevention of poor habits and a diet of natural aliment.

Considering views of the natural spirit, the universe, etc.

My view on this centers around the natural spirit, or ‘system’ which summarizes the physical laws, trends and nuances of existence. In my view, existence came about from the sheer chance and opportunity for it to happen, and humanity is the result of sheer chance. We are given the opportunity to live and make the most to be optimistic good people. Those who live well, ultimately receive good memories amongst the living, and their souls enrich the world and guide the consciencenesses of the living to make good decisions. They assist to manage nature and become the wind, the skies. Those who live live in acrimony, and express anathema ultimately become forgotten or despised and (if they do not realize their lack of character) live to corrupt the thoughts of the living and spread problems within the system. They disrupt the harmony of existence. The key to living a good life is to preserve the harmony, coexist with others and make the world better for future generations. The reward to doing so gives one the ability to become part of the system, the ‘natural spirit’ and embody a sense of its nobility.

Tenets of this belief :

This natural spirit isn’t a ‘god’ but rather a sense of collective harmonious
laws and trends.
Existence is a product of sheer chance.
Character and actions embody one’s role to determine harmony.

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