The Random Yak

Unfortunately, some days it seems the ones who get it arealways the people already standing on the same side of the mountain.

David at third world county recently posted an entry that hammers home precisely the reason this blog exists at all. (No, it has nothing to do with the fact that people won’t otherwise listen to me. Thats just coincidence.) For those who couldn’t figure it out from the link (or who didn’t bother to click through and read, though I guarantee it’s five minutes well spent): I’m here to Speak Truth toYaks. Not that they generally listen.

A good friend once asked how I “come up with” the things I post here at The Yak. My response: “Welcome to my world. This is nothing more than a small percentage of thethings thatgo on in my head on a daily basis.” To which he responded (reasonably): “That’s a scary, scary concept, and I’m not sure I wanted to know.”

This blog is about humor, certainly. It’s about news and politics and Moonbat antics. It’s about who’s done what to whom for how manyOreos. But mostly, it’s aboutworldview.

The blog started shortly after certain events led me to start reading blogs, when I felt a strong call to write one myself. I didn’t fully understand precisely how, why or what I needed to say -though I’ve always had a firm conviction that someone needs to point out when the Emperor isn’t wearing any clothes, and lately it seems we’ve had a rash of streaking Emperors in our midst.

The archives of this site read like a virtual who’s who of random topics and improperly elevated issues. Stoned owls. Eel slapping. Naked Luge. Chrismukkah. There are those who show up looking for the random, the bizarre and the absurd – and I sincerely hope we don’t disappoint. But I also hope the underlying point isn’t missed. Because anyone who reads here regularly understands that we’re not really about the bizarre and the absurd – thoughI have to admit they makeinteresting window dressing for the real point.

Which is, of course, the concept that absolute Truth does exist and that it’s up to each of us to hunt it down, find it and defend it with all we’ve got. Right and Wrong do not exist only in the eye of the beholder. They exist as absolute, discernable realities despite the attempts of so many people to holler, twist and legislate them out of existence. Unfortunately, many people become so distracted by the hollering, twisting distortions of relativists and Moonbats (Department of Redundancy Department, Line one…) that they cease to see the underlying reality and accept Moonbat logic as truth.

Once that choice has been made, it becomes increasingly difficult to discern the difference betweencapital-T Truth which declares that Some Things Are Right and Other Things Are Wrong and the relativistic, malleable truth which states that “everyone must do what is right in his own eyes.” At some point, it’s even possible to descend so far into Moonbat logic that one ceases to possess the capacity to recognize Truth at all. Truth, to this person, is whatever he or she chooses to recognize as important at the moment, and has no bearing on the larger, eternal, spiritual reality of which he or she is a part. At this point, the person ceases to interact with the world as a whole and moves from one issue to another, moment to moment, caught up so far in the moment that he or she no longer sees connection between this moment and the last, or between this issue and the larger world.

Which is precisely how issues like eel tossing become “news” and issues like the sanctity of national borders become irrelevant (or reversed, so that border sanctity becomes an evil rather than a good). If youfocus onan individual’s opinions and desires, you will not and can not understand the larger picture. If everyone must decide what is right for himself or herself, it doesn’t matter that every person involved consented to the tossing of the eel, and that the eel was already dead, because I didn’t like it and therefore you (plural) must give way. It doesn’t matter that you (massive plural) will have to bear the costs of my medical care, my unemployment, my children’s education and my decision to break your laws – I wish it to be so, and in a world where the individual rules, the needs of the many do not, in fact, surpass the needs of the few.

Relativism and the elevation of the individual’s opinionto moral and cultural supremacy necessarily leads to the improper elevation of irrelevancies to positions of paramount importance and the subordination of both Truth and the greater social good. Most individuals will not act for the good of humankind or society as a whole – though many willproclaim that they do so. Our instincts are largelyselfish, not noble and good.

If you ask me whether I would rather take the day off and eat ice cream or work in afield, I am almost always going to answer “mint chip with whipped cream, and find some other dude to till in the heat” unless I see some personal benefit in the tilling that exceeds the value ofeating ice cream today. What instills those values? The same thing that ensures the growth and benefit of people and society as a whole. The same thing that teaches me that my relationship to people is bounded not by personal desire but by an immutable set of rules laid down at the Creation of the Universe: Recognitionthat ahigher, immutable set of Truths governs not only my existence but that of all other people and living things. Truths that tell me I must deny myself now in order to benefit both myself and others later on. Truths that declare work to be of more value than laziness, and that suffering (even minor, temporary suffering) has a value over and above that of personal comfort. Truths that state there is a universal Right and Wrong, and that I will pay the penalty for failure to observe and obey those Truths.

In short, Truthsthat declare “there’s more to life than my personal desires,” and that not only isn’t it “all about me” – it’s usually not about me at all.

And sometimes, other people get it too.

Linked to the Open Trackback Post at The Bullwinkle Blogand pinged to the permanent floating festival at The Conservative Cat.