I had some additional thoughts on this while turning oak boards into sawdust today and I can probably best sum it up with one simple question. Is it immoral to use the metric system?
Its a perfectly valid question. There exists more than one system of measurement therefore one does have a choice. And if we can apply the morality question to things as benign and otherwise harmless as masturbation or eating certain foods or working on Sunday then we can also apply to the question of whether or not millimeters are the tool of the devil.
But just because we can, doesn't mean we should. Because if we choose to apply the label of the word to very benign things, the meaning of the word itself becomes diluted.
Almost everyone considers things like rape and murder and adultery to be fundamentally wrong and for good reason. Each of those things is a huge deal and each can cause irreparable harm to others. So its very appropriate to call the morality of the act into question.
But the moment you choose to apply the word to things that are, for lack of a better way to put it, not nearly as big of a deal, you dilute the meaning of the word and in doing so, you dilute the severity of the acts defined by it.
Doing harm to other people is a very big deal to me. Looking at nude pics of someone who, if we're being honest, stands at least a 50/50 chance of having released said pics on purpose to further their own brand, just doesn't carry the same amount of weight for me no matter how you slice it.
If you want to talk about how appropriate or inappropriate the act is, I think that's a valid conversation. But if you want to apply such a heavy word as morality to it, then you've already established that its a pointless conversation IMO because the act simply does not reach the level required to even invoke the work IMO. We may as well discuss the morality of using the metric system because neither one even remotely approaches the level depravity required to kill another person IMO.
Its a perfectly valid question. There exists more than one system of measurement therefore one does have a choice. And if we can apply the morality question to things as benign and otherwise harmless as masturbation or eating certain foods or working on Sunday then we can also apply to the question of whether or not millimeters are the tool of the devil.
But just because we can, doesn't mean we should. Because if we choose to apply the label of the word to very benign things, the meaning of the word itself becomes diluted.
Almost everyone considers things like rape and murder and adultery to be fundamentally wrong and for good reason. Each of those things is a huge deal and each can cause irreparable harm to others. So its very appropriate to call the morality of the act into question.
But the moment you choose to apply the word to things that are, for lack of a better way to put it, not nearly as big of a deal, you dilute the meaning of the word and in doing so, you dilute the severity of the acts defined by it.
Doing harm to other people is a very big deal to me. Looking at nude pics of someone who, if we're being honest, stands at least a 50/50 chance of having released said pics on purpose to further their own brand, just doesn't carry the same amount of weight for me no matter how you slice it.
If you want to talk about how appropriate or inappropriate the act is, I think that's a valid conversation. But if you want to apply such a heavy word as morality to it, then you've already established that its a pointless conversation IMO because the act simply does not reach the level required to even invoke the work IMO. We may as well discuss the morality of using the metric system because neither one even remotely approaches the level depravity required to kill another person IMO.
