Touch the lives of those around you in a way that
encourages critical thought, tempered by love for humanity. Act as an agent for
human rights wherever you go, engaging those who hold uncivil thoughts towards
their fellow man in a way that encourages compassion.
Defend the basic human rights of individuals
where they are threatened because of their gender, age, colour, sexual
orientation, individual belief and attack those people or institutions that
oppose equality for the aforementioned whether they oppress for personal,
cultural or religious reasons.
Reserve the right to be intolerant of intolerance
or forgo a tolerant society. A society that upholds the rule of law, tolerance
and equality needs to be continuously fought for as it was fought to be arrived
at.
A life that partakes even a little of friendship,
love, irony, humour, parenthood, literature, art and music, and the chance to
take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called
'meaningless'. It could be that all existence is a pointless joke, but it is
not in fact possible to live one's everyday life as if this were so.
Beware the irrational, however seductive it may
seem, don’t be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as
if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out
argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time
for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Don’t take refuge in
the false security of consensus.
Do not live for others any more than you would
expect others to live for you. Be suspicious of those who are confident that
they hold the meaning of 14 billion years of unguided events and that the
universe has a purpose for them.
Life will sometimes feel tough and long and
tiring. Sometimes you'll be happy, sometimes you'll be sad and then you'll be
old and then you'll be dead. Fill your life with learning, take pride in what
you do, share ideas, have compassion, be enthusiastic....and then there's love
and travel, wine and sex, art, kids, giving, mountain climbing and shit...
It's an incredibly exciting thing, this one
meaningless life of yours...fill it.
Good luck.
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