…addressing differences that you have on justice; but, you could possibly chip away there.
Do you think you can take your friend from the first idea to the second?
One avenue might be her dislike for the kind of thievery that she can acknowledge as unjustified… We share a friend who’s laptop was stolen, it had two years of his screenwriting work on it, music, photographs… If empathy for the one being stolen from can be expanded in the consciousness it might help.
I remember being shown films that were pathetic excuses for social programming when i was in grade school, there is a lot of room for improvement there. Perhaps I can work toward a video that illustrates the various effects thievery has on victim and perpetrator; the psychological implications involved. If the majority can gain a greater understanding of thievery in general they will have a stronger premise to understand what they are doing to the people they take taxes from.
Thieves let themselves get away with what they do by dehumanizing the victim and not thinking about it much, focusing on the ‘prize’.
Consider one idea: everyone must have an equal education, even if they cannot afford it. (In other words, just because the rich kid can have all sorts of spending in school, the government should provide that to poor kids too).
If kids come to understand that school is an investment rather than a charity, they might have a greater desire to repay the loan. If the money a school receives is in proportion to their performance they will see from the beginning how effort yields reward. You would think there would be capitalists who would have a self-interest in harnessing the power of any young mind.
Now, consider a second idea: everyone must have a basic education, even if they cannot afford it. Fact is, the U.S. government has over-spent and cannot afford the money it spends on school and healthcare and all sort of other things. What would the government do if it had less money? Well, whatever it is, it should start doing that now.)
I should ask my friend what she will do if the economy continues to go down. Clamoring for more money from the government isn’t going to help if there isn’t any. If she can find private funding for her school it will be a healthy step toward privatization. I wonder about the jobs the students in her school will move into. Wouldn’t those employers have an interest in investing in the education of future employees?
There is a transition children make out of the helplessness of infancy. I see it with my two year old son. He is very emotionally driven. There are things he can do, yet he pretends he cant because its easier if I do it for him. I think of it as my job as his parent to not let him get away with that, but I try to guide him without igniting his indignant resistance. His irrational behavior and limited communication ability is frustrating for both of us. The greater his ability to reason becomes the easier it gets to promote his self sufficiency.
A similar approach can be useful toward people who don’t get Objectivism. It’s a process of understanding levels of ability in communication, self-esteem, and rationality leading to self sufficiency.
