Overall this feels comfortable and reasonable to me in some situations, but I had a very strong negative reaction to the opening, as I applied it to other situations until I’d read the whole thing.
one is constantly called to account for one’s behavior. At any moment, one may be asked “what are you doing?” or “why did you do that?” And one is expected to provide a reasonable answer.
This sounds like a nightmare. But that depends a whole lot on the frequency and intensity of such questions and discussion. “constantly called to account” just isn’t going to work for me. “able to discuss goals and behaviors when useful and appropriate” is mandatory for happy coexistence (for me). And they’re the same thing, just slight variants.
I think the key underlying context to call out is “presumption of alignment”. Among people who overall share a philosophy and at least some goals, this all just works. Among less-trusted acquaintances, it does not.
My experience is not, of course, that it happens constantly, but that many people expect you to be able to do it immediately on demand. As someone who’s easily startled it isn’t always easy for me!
Overall this feels comfortable and reasonable to me in some situations, but I had a very strong negative reaction to the opening, as I applied it to other situations until I’d read the whole thing.
This sounds like a nightmare. But that depends a whole lot on the frequency and intensity of such questions and discussion. “constantly called to account” just isn’t going to work for me. “able to discuss goals and behaviors when useful and appropriate” is mandatory for happy coexistence (for me). And they’re the same thing, just slight variants.
I think the key underlying context to call out is “presumption of alignment”. Among people who overall share a philosophy and at least some goals, this all just works. Among less-trusted acquaintances, it does not.
My experience is not, of course, that it happens constantly, but that many people expect you to be able to do it immediately on demand. As someone who’s easily startled it isn’t always easy for me!