As usual...

...inspired by something I saw on Amy's blog, I want to run with it a bit. People ding Socialism for its emphasis on equality -- they say "People aren't equal" and view it as "making everybody the same" in some cartoonly dystopic Harrison Bergeron kind of sense.

But, in truth, we are all equal, in that we are all human, and, lacking a standard of human perfection (some would say Jesus would qualify, but even the most fervent Christians fall woefully short of Christ's example). We're all born, we all grow up and old, and we all die. People haven't quite yet worked their way around that, although I know money is being spent on death-avoidance and longevity.

There's another way we are equal, though, not just in our mortality. It is in our own individuality and uniqueness, and in the variability of our talents. Everyone is good at something. Everyone has a talent, something that they are either really good at and/or really enjoy, and which fulfills them.

So much of our society is devoted to looking outside yourself, at externalities -- "If I get X, I'll be happy." -- but I think a surer path to happiness is rooted in some earnest introspection, and an assessment of: 1) what you're really good at, and 2) what you enjoy doing.

Throwing aside issues of profitability, people need to get an understanding of their own talents. Some people devote their lives being lawyers, when really they would have made better dancers. Or instead of being an office worker, they'd really rather be a fisherman. People need to be honest with themselves and follow their particular bliss -- therein lies a more honest Socialism, as I see it, because if everybody did do that, our society as a whole would benefit, and humanity would benefit.

Instead of raising economic expectations as the only meaningful arbiter of value, people need to ask themselves what they're good at, and what they enjoy doing. And if more people began doing that, then we'd have a broader standard of excellence, and a novel equality would arise.

Does that make sense? I mean, people often talk about the jobs nobody wants to do, but there are probably people who would want those jobs, if they paid well enough. The way our society works at present, the nicest, most pleasant jobs also pay the best. The truly rotten jobs don't pay well -- but perhaps if more people began devoting time to exploring their own talents and desires, they'd leave behind those jobs that they're holding just to make ends meet and pursue whatever their particular dreams are, which might then create demand in those rotten jobs that would lead to an increase in wages for those particular jobs.

This probably sounds like liberal drivel, but it makes its own kind of sense to me. Life's just too short to waste doing things you don't want to do, and I think every sane person is honestly good at something. It gets more complicated when you think about people who are good at killing, I suppose, but I think those people are a minority -- I mean, if we were all natural killers, there'd be no need for boot camp to train people to be soldiers!

Anyway, a lot of people spend time trying to do what they think they're supposed to be doing, and they don't pay attention to what it is that they actually enjoy doing, and what they're actually good at. The keys to bliss lead thataway, in my opinion.