This might surprise you, but I don't agree with Browne in that letter at all. On paper and in legality it might be true that nobody owes you anything, but it's far too literal an interpretation of the world, too brutal to hold dear as a way of seeing life. It's too Libertarian for me and points to a very lonely path indeed. It denies that there are such things as community or society. We *do* owe each other respect. We *do* have a duty to behave well to each other, to give each other the time of day. It's true that we can't always expect those things from others and we can't take it for granted when we do, but it's only because of people with attitudes like Browne's that we too often don't. "No one has to like you, no one has to respect you," but why wouldn't they? Just be cool is what I say. Be cool to yourself, be cool to others, give people the benefit of the doubt unless they give you clear reason not to. Browne isn't cool going by that letter: he sounds like an uptight prick!
I can see where you’re coming from, but I’m not shocked. He was a radical libertarian and indeed sounds like a miserable prick 😂
…BUT if you boil it down to his two points, a) a hell of a lot of suffering is, erm, suffered due to trying to be someone you’re not and b) assuming that others shouldn’t act in the way they do causes suffering also. The amount of times I’ve wondered “why aren’t they doing X” then get all bent out of shape about it, let’s just say it’s been persistently stressing me out in the background.
One tiny, yet ‘source of huge friction’, example is how I expect family members to come and visit or like my comments or photos on our WhatsApp group. I think “I like their stuff so why can’t they like mine? Or make an effort to visit?”
I can see how you see that it’s a selfish way of seeing the world, but I see it as freeing, how Browne intended the message to be received.
On the government side, I expected disputing a council tax mistake to be plain sailing but ended up with a court summons, a fine, and 65000 emails exchanged, so there you are 😂
Your philosophy of “Be Cool” sums up all up perfectly and it’s much cooler than Browne’s “No one owes you anything”. Maybe you can write your next book and call it “Be Cool”?
I tried to appeal to the rationality that I thought that one of my hyper - conservative Evangelical cousins had, but I guess that said rationality was a MIRAGE, a phantom, a figment of my imagination. Rationality, discernment & CRITICAL THINKING, etc. are pretty much ALIEN to her.
YEP ! If I wore a suit & tie, a cross lapel pin, waved a flag & thumped a Bible she'd probably treat every WORD THAT FELL FROM MY LIPS like I was God's ventriloquist dummy ! But that ain't gonna transpire unless I was possessed by Joel Osteen or Pat Robertson. 😄🤷🤷♂️
This might surprise you, but I don't agree with Browne in that letter at all. On paper and in legality it might be true that nobody owes you anything, but it's far too literal an interpretation of the world, too brutal to hold dear as a way of seeing life. It's too Libertarian for me and points to a very lonely path indeed. It denies that there are such things as community or society. We *do* owe each other respect. We *do* have a duty to behave well to each other, to give each other the time of day. It's true that we can't always expect those things from others and we can't take it for granted when we do, but it's only because of people with attitudes like Browne's that we too often don't. "No one has to like you, no one has to respect you," but why wouldn't they? Just be cool is what I say. Be cool to yourself, be cool to others, give people the benefit of the doubt unless they give you clear reason not to. Browne isn't cool going by that letter: he sounds like an uptight prick!
I can see where you’re coming from, but I’m not shocked. He was a radical libertarian and indeed sounds like a miserable prick 😂
…BUT if you boil it down to his two points, a) a hell of a lot of suffering is, erm, suffered due to trying to be someone you’re not and b) assuming that others shouldn’t act in the way they do causes suffering also. The amount of times I’ve wondered “why aren’t they doing X” then get all bent out of shape about it, let’s just say it’s been persistently stressing me out in the background.
One tiny, yet ‘source of huge friction’, example is how I expect family members to come and visit or like my comments or photos on our WhatsApp group. I think “I like their stuff so why can’t they like mine? Or make an effort to visit?”
I can see how you see that it’s a selfish way of seeing the world, but I see it as freeing, how Browne intended the message to be received.
On the government side, I expected disputing a council tax mistake to be plain sailing but ended up with a court summons, a fine, and 65000 emails exchanged, so there you are 😂
Your philosophy of “Be Cool” sums up all up perfectly and it’s much cooler than Browne’s “No one owes you anything”. Maybe you can write your next book and call it “Be Cool”?
I tried to appeal to the rationality that I thought that one of my hyper - conservative Evangelical cousins had, but I guess that said rationality was a MIRAGE, a phantom, a figment of my imagination. Rationality, discernment & CRITICAL THINKING, etc. are pretty much ALIEN to her.
Prime example, sounds frustrating 😠
YEP ! If I wore a suit & tie, a cross lapel pin, waved a flag & thumped a Bible she'd probably treat every WORD THAT FELL FROM MY LIPS like I was God's ventriloquist dummy ! But that ain't gonna transpire unless I was possessed by Joel Osteen or Pat Robertson. 😄🤷🤷♂️
Haha. So what’s next?