values taken seriously...

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Peter Kropotkin
Posts: 1455
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2022 5:11 am

values taken seriously...

Post by Peter Kropotkin »

in this thread, we take values seriously... but what are values?

we know that among values, exist such values as Peace, love,
autonomy, balance, beauty, fairness, fun, growth, humor, justice,
kindness, optimism, respect...to name just a few values...
my handy dandy dictionary says this:

Value: 1. the regard that something is held to be deserved;
the importance, worth, or usefulness of something..
"Your support is of great value"

2. a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is
important in life.
"They internalize their parent's rules and values"

I have said before and I will repeat this, I hold that values are what make
life worth living.. but the question becomes, which values should we be
holding and why those values, and not other values?

We in America, at least until recently, have held voting to be a value
worth holding... we advocate that what makes us "unique" is our ability
to vote... I hold that that all Americans should be able to vote, over the age of
18.... no matter what someone may or may not have done.... but the MAGA/GOP
has laid it down that only certain people should have the right/value to vote...

I advocate for a total and complete democratic system, where we don't even
vote for senators or congressmen... we ourselves vote on the issues, on
every single issue.. it takes 50% plus one to raise taxes, go to war, to write
out treaties, to government entitlement programs....
and we can do this now with the modern technology of computers..

now the GOP/MAGA wants to reduce voting down to those who have
"value" which is white, landowning, Christians....
but the real question comes down to what justification does the
GOP/MAGA crowd use to limit voting rights?

How do we justify our use of limiting people's actions?

for example, a value is freedom... but the GOP/MAGA crowd wants to
remove women's right to choose, to reduce their freedoms... how can
we justify this reduction of freedoms for some, but not for all...
and by that we know that upper class women have the choice to
have abortions... they will be called "procedures" and done quietly...
money buys access and health care that poor people cannot get...

so some will have the freedom for abortions and some will not...
but how do we justify the difference? how do we justify that some
will have the freedom to act and some will not?

and therein lies the problem... how do we justify some getting values
and others do not get the same values?
for freedom to work, it needs to be for all, or none, it cannot be
justified for some, but not to others...

and that is the point of values, they must be for everyone or for no one,
but they can't be for some, because how you justify having a value available
to some, but not to all? freedom must be for all, justice must be for all,
hope must be for all... you can't have some people being able to
get a value, and others not being able to get a value....

values must apply to all or to none... there is no middle ground because
how do you justify some holding that middle ground but not everyone?
There is no criteria that will allow some to hold certain values, but not
others..... how do we overcome this denial of values to some, but
allow it to others?

either everyone is allowed values or no one is....

Kropotkin
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