The Tao of Zen Nihilism
I’ve often used the phrase “The Last American Journalist” when talking about Bill Moyers. Thankfully, my attribution is more hyperbolic than correct, but here’s an example of why “journalists” like the small fellow below really shouldn’t mess with the bull. You get the horns.
Bill O’Reilly (not a journalist) sent one of his producers to “ambush interview” Bill. Get some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the show.
Dirty Money is “part 3” of an unofficial trilogy that started with Nobody Runs Forever and Ask the Parrot: two novels that prove Stark is just getting better with age.
The book isn’t in my hands yet (Amazon sent it today), but I can’t wait. If you want to read an excerpt and see why Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) is one of my favorite authors, you can read the first chapter here.
One of the biggest criticisms I hear about books such as The God Delusion and God is not Great is this:
“Where does an atheist get his morals?”
Ah, see. We’re begging an important question here.
Sonny, I don’t have morals. I have ethics. Ethics trump morals. Let me explain.
When we talk about crimes in American culture, we talk about the big three: violence, theft and privacy. Everything else pretty much falls under those three. Now, we ask a question: why are these three things so important? Because we live in a culture that has come to reasonable conclusions that these three things are important. In other cultures, such as
(I leave it up to the reader to come up with arguments as to why murder, theft and invasion of privacy are Good Things and should be celebrated by our culture.)
Now, like I said, we came to reasonable conclusions based on logic and solid argumentation. Almost 2,000 years worth of arguments. We began with primitive ideas, then progressed forward. The evolution of ethics: strong memes thrive, weak memes perish.
But again, if I must continue to emphasize this, we come to reasonable conclusions based on good argument, reason, logic, etc.
Again. Reasonable arguments. Arguments that have survived criticism and debate.
So, in American culture (and others as well, but I’m an American, so I can only speak for myself), when you commit violence against another citizen, the crime is a violation of that citizen’s rights. When you steal from another citizen, the crime is a violation of that citizen’s rights. When you invade his privacy… a violation of that citizen’s rights.
Murder isn’t an issue of morality–is it wrong? is it right?–it’s an issue of ethics. Everyone in our society has a right to be alive.
Theft isn’t an issue of morality–is it wrong? is it right?–it’s an issue of ethics. Everyone in our society has a right to keep what they earn.
Privacy isn’t an issue of morality–is it wrong? is it right?–it’s an issue of ethics. Everyone in our society has a right to be left alone.
Not an issue of morality, but an issue of ethics.
When we bring morality into the question, we start deluding the water. Why? Because what I consider to be moral and what you consider to be moral are two entirely different things.
For example, if two consenting adults decide to trade sex acts for money, you may find that offensive, you may find it disgusting, and you may even find it repulsive… but who’s rights are violated? The right to be alive? The right to keep what you earn? The right to be left alone?
What actual crime has been committed? Or is it just that someone has inserted their morality into our ethics?
If a same-sex couple wants to enter into the same kind of legal contract that a different-sex couple can legally enter into, who’s rights are being violated? The right to be alive? The right to keep what you earn? The right to be left alone?
What actual crime has been committed? Or is it just that someone has inserted their morality into our ethics?
If a citizen wants to drink liquor–a clearly damaging substance–or smoke cigarettes–a clearly damaging substance–or watch Sex and the City–a clearly damaging substance, do we leave them alone? Yes. But if they want to smoke pot, snort coke, or drop LSD, suddenly, we have a crime. But who’s rights are being violated? The right to be alive? The right to keep what you earn? The right to be left alone?
What actual crime has been committed? Or is it just that someone has inserted their morality into our ethics?
Morality has nothing to do with our legal system. At least, it shouldn’t. But some people want us to believe that morality has everything to do with our legal system.
“Forget the Ten Amendments! Make the Ten Commandments the Law of the Land!”
Morality. Ethics.
“If I want to murder my daughter because she’s shamed me, it’s my right!”
Morality. Ethics.
Don’t get confused. Morality and Ethics.
Don’t get confused. One of these is mutually agreed upon and based on reasonable arguments. The other is an appeal to the authority an invisible power that no-one can prove.
Morality. Ethics.
Here endeth the lesson.
When I recommend Choke, I often add in a little quip: “It’s got the world’s funniest rape scene.”
When I say this, most folks just… you know… look at me that way. The way that says, “You need therapy.”
For your viewing pleasure, the prelude to that scene…
And folks, that ain’t even the funny part. 😀
The premise is simple. An aging porn queen wants to go out with a bang. A gang bang.
600 men, one woman, breaking the record, setting an impossible task for any woman to follow. And yes, she plans to be dead at the end.
The last Palahniuk novel I tried to read was Diary. I didn’t stop because the novel was bad; I stopped because I was in the middle of my divorce and every page hurt like a kick in the chest. I’d start reading and I’d start crying every third page. Not just little drops of sadness, but rivers of absolute hopeless sorrow. Diary hurt me, like putting my hand on a hot oven, so I put it down half-way through.
I own Haunted, but I haven’t read it. Sounded sufficiently creepy/scary/gory, but I just couldn’t get into it. I wasn’t in the right place.
And then comes Snuff.
I have to admit, this one is fun. Not challenging like Fight Club and not clever like Survivor or Choke, but almost like the cotton candy Palahniuk, playing for laughs and gasps. I won’t be thinking about it now that it’s over, but I laughed a lot when I was reading it. I saw through the plot right away, but it didn’t matter. I was still laughing, right up to the end.
And no, I won’t be giving any hint to how it ends.
Sweet and sour on the lips with no aftertaste. Enjoyed. Thank you, Chuckie-P!
EDIT: And thank you Daniel Mighty Mighty Solis for this… Chuckie interviews the star of Snuff, Cassie Wright!
Chuck Palahniuk’s fourth book, Choke, is one of my favorite books evar.
And here’s the very promising trailer.
(Iron Man was fun, The Dark Knight will be, too, but too much sugar makes me hyper. Gotta get me some hot and sour sometimes.)
Unfortunately, I will not be voting Libertarian this year. Not for this guy. Hells no.
From Scientific American: six studies that demonstrate how non-unique humanity really is.