Posted by Anonymous on 2019/02/16 under Life Now let's back up and talk about how I approach a moral problem. The difference between me and most people is I don't apply my principles first. I apply my principles second and it's very important because most people, they apply their principles first. They look at a problem and like, "okay how do we solve this problem?" And they look at all the solutions which don't violate their principles. And if none of the solutions which don't violate their principle solve the problem, they simply conclude the problem cannot be solved. And not only are they wrong they will actually become the opponents of those actually trying to solve the problem. They get so wrapped around their principles that when someone is actually trying to solve the problem they will oppose them because it violates their principles. So they become the enemy of those trying to solve the very problem they claim to be trying to solve themselves, because all they care about is their principles. It's the classic case of the Perfect being the enemy of the Good. Sometimes in in the real world as opposed to these hypothetical examples, it's not a choice between good and bad—it's a choice between bad and worse. If you have a problem sometimes you have to solve it and that means choosing the lesser of two evils or as I like to say, choosing the least s***ty solution. Now how do you come up with the least s***ty solution? What you do is you put morals aside, at least for a moment, and you look at the problem. And you look at what will solve the problem. You look at everything which will solve the problem. No matter how abhorrent, no matter how barbaric, you look at everything which will solve the problem. THEN you apply your principles second. You look for the least s***ty solution, which will solve the problem. Inevitably whatever solution you come up with, which upon careful examination is the least s***ty solution will still be a s***ty solution. It will still be a hard solution, which will offend the sensibilities of people who don't want to think about solving the problem if it violates their principles. And those people will oppose you no matter what. They'll even call you a hypocrite and say, "well you claim to believe these things and yet you support this!" And I will say, "yes and in a perfect world I would love nothing more than to have a system which conforms to my ideals, but we do not live in that world. We live in a world of messy gray and because we live in a world of messy gray and there's problems to be solved, I will solve the problem in the least s***ty way. In the way which violates my principles the least."