That Kipling poem has always felt really creepy to me, and this post feels creepy in a related way; if doing normal stuff seems bad, maybe the normal stuff is in fact bad? For instance, wars. At least one side and likely more have to be actively making things worse, even if many of them are able to spend normal-to-them days doing normal-to-them activities, often doing lots of direct physical work, staying motivated, and having difficulty understanding the point of view of conscientious objectors who may seem unusually upset, and may in fact end up with worse life outcomes.
That Kipling poem has always felt really creepy to me, and this post feels creepy in a related way; if doing normal stuff seems bad, maybe the normal stuff is in fact bad? For instance, wars. At least one side and likely more have to be actively making things worse, even if many of them are able to spend normal-to-them days doing normal-to-them activities, often doing lots of direct physical work, staying motivated, and having difficulty understanding the point of view of conscientious objectors who may seem unusually upset, and may in fact end up with worse life outcomes.
Related: http://benjaminrosshoffman.com/there-is-a-war/