July 4th, Independence Day 2024 arrives.  It is overcast.  The roads were eerily quiet, no traffic.  I nodded to instinct and pressed the accelerator, the car surged to 70 mph in three seconds or so. That was enough. The published speed limit was 40 mph. What is life but to exceed a limit? Karl Walenda, famed high-wire entertainer remarked, “life is lived on the wire, everything else is just waiting.”

Limits are agreed upon, the enforced limits of this society/town/neighborhood which we have made. There are no deeper, spiritual, or metaphysical reasons. Only this limit. – our status quo must be conserved.

Sometimes violating the bright line is necessary, demonstrating to oneself that one is more than just a domesticated herd animal.

What do I owe to others, owe to myself? Who decides what is obligatory? Was it God? God has always been notoriously silent, or at best, ambiguous. The Delphi oracle was famously cryptic.

So, it has fallen to us, to us language-enabled mammals to decide where obligation lies, and to convince ourselves that we didn’t arbitrarily “make this up.” We’ve habitually pointed to God, to Nature, to the Founders, to the Party, etc., etc., as justification for the rules of obligation.

Yesterday, we were asked to consider our neglect of care for our seniors, members of our community, who as consequence of aging, are disabled by failing bodies and minds. A rigorous philosophical treatment of this question could produce a variety of abstract conclusions derived from social analysis/criticism, or utilitarian principles, – some examples of the tools one might bring to the philosophy-work bench.

No matter the result of our efforts at study, – we’d not be satisfied. Instinct tells us that no member of our species ought to be abandoned outside of the circle of care, the zone of concern.

What induces this rationalization, our leaving “on the outside” those we’ve assumed disqualified for inclusion? Rules channel behavior. Always “good” reasons are given for a rule.

Could the faculty of reason be at work? Reason, you know, that higher power which in our vanity we identify as differentiating us from the “lower” orders of nature. Could reason be the inception of this practice? (of which we are reluctant to speak)

There is a lifelong subscription to a theory. The theory of value to which we’ve all agreed: a rigorous quid pro quo.  The “market” quantifies, monetizes everything. The market “decides” what is worth exchanging for what. The market is rational, efficient. America is acclaimed as best because our market is such a success.

I am sure you’ve guessed our theory is: capitalism.

And anything, (such as aging) that interrupts your participation in the market, means that you will be left outside of societies circle of value. Yes, you, will be left out…

Reason is like picking up a knife by the blade. The hand bleeds that holds it.

I can think of one rule, a rule that celebrates selfishness, greed, and ingratitude.  It is past time that we shatter this rule. We could do better!

We need a triumphant, ironic song to hold onto do we not?  I like this one, And When I Die, written by Laura Nyro

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