The Choices We Make

The Choices We Make

The difference between being reasonable and rational...
"According to the argumentative theory of reasoning, the function of reasoning is argumentative: to find and evaluate arguments so as to convince others and only be convinced when it is appropriate. Accordingly, reasoning works well as an argumentative device, but quite poorly otherwise." ~Hugo Mercier


People are good at being reasonable. Being reasonable involves taking one's own wants and needs, applying justifications thereof out of one's own biases and ideologies, and then making plans to reach those goals (i.e. the wants/needs) in a way we feel is the most efficient or easiest.
Being rational. Well being rational is something entirely different. To be rational one must understand that the choices we make have consequences. Sometimes these are good or bad. They may be advantageous for some while disadvantageous for others.
The problem with being rational - why it is so much more difficult - is because it takes not just empirical evidence, but humanization and idealism as well. Being rational is not just being realistic, but idealistic. Knowing there may be hurdles, but if all things following are also done rationally, an accomplishment can be had.
Being rational requires curbing one's own prejudices and being able to listen and appreciate others' ideas as well.
Being rational also requires one to recognize that there is no statute of limitations to consequences.
The choices we make carry consequences that ripple like a stone tossed in a pond, affecting everything and everyone around us.
There is very little that is wrong in life which can be named so due to one cause alone. It is the culmination of consequences falling like an avalanche that causes the most damage.
How do your day to day choices add up? Will they help or hinder the progress? Did you only take or did you give to the world today?
It is easy to make decisions based on what we believe is right or wrong, easy or hard, advantageous or not. It is much more difficult to wrap one's mind around all of those things at once, and not just see the outcome but the trend it starts, to where it may lead.

Does a man on the streets have only himself to blame?
Do the children in orphanages blame their parents the most?
Does the girl on the corner even know how she got there?
Who shall take blame for the genocide and starvation?
The disease we can treat?
The food that goes bad...
Is there blame to lay for the smog and the smoke, the cancer and the radiation?
Who will our children blame when the oil is gone?

What trend do you lend your will to?
When we make a choice, what is the goal? And what is the path? What is the cause and what is the affect? Yes, affect, not effect.
I think overall, the universal answer is easy. We want to be happy. But do you remember to differentiate between the reasonable ways you go about making rational decisions in pursuit of happiness? Of yours and mine? His and hers?
For example, we should not try to be good people in the prospects of one day being referred to as good Christians (for instance), but be good followers of faith in the hopes of being a better person; a happier person.
We should not lead a life that makes money the goal, but recognize that money can sometimes be the vehicle. It is never the destination.
Either way, there is a vehicle and a destination, and sometimes these things break-down, but the path and the destination are still there, as long as we have the will to find another way to get there; maybe even a better way.
The big house is no good without family or friends to fill it.
No skyscraper will be remembered as more beautiful than a mountain-top.
No blue-screen will be thought more romantic than a sunset.
It is easy to think the choices we make, as such small individuals in a big world, make little or no impact. It is easier to be reasonable and think in shorter terms to attain current goals. Or to think that the trash we threw out the window won't hurt a bird or squirrel (and one bird, eh? who would care anyway right?). It is easier to believe your vote doesn't count; that there is little that can be done.
Yes it is easier to believe we make no impact. But though the pebble we throw is small, the ripple that grows is not.