James Mallory's Philosophical Notebook

Some thoughts on work ethic, sexuality, and privacy.

American society is infested with a laughable focus on that which we call 'work ethic'. This work ethic always focuses on the time spent working, rather than the sum of the output of the work. When I hear someone has a good work ethic, I translate it in my head as characterizing obedience and inefficiency.

I am profoundly lazy, and am generally incapable of making myself do something I do not want to do. I can spend hours on things that interest me, and those hours turn out a productive result - but this is not work to me, as I enjoy doing it. I have positioned myself into a line of business in which I rarely consider myself to be working. I try and keep the time spent doing true 'work' to a minimum, and in my mind anyone who's focused on maintaining a good work ethic rather than enjoying their time is an idiot.

This focus on work ethic comes centrally from the Christian fetish for suffering. Pleasure is seen as sinful and we are to live in Jesus' image, suffering for our duty to God and our reward in heaven. Therefore, suffering is virtuous and something to be admired. If you look around you can see this influence everywhere - how many former military members are hosting podcasts who seem to think the aim of life is withstanding suffering?

So, suffering is the measure by which we ascribe virtue. Working is suffering (or, at least, was suffering when working meant working the fields... I am less sure doing Excel is actually suffering). Therefore, maximize work to maximize virtue. This is why you can read a business article lauding some CEO for working 100 hours a week, or why banking or legal careers are seen as prestigious. Jesus never really died, he just became a businessman.

The concept of labeling is a touch absurd in any case (as the labels do not exist sans humans, and yet we argue about them as if they materially exist) but in few areas is labeling as damaging as in sexuality. The binary demarcation of concepts like virginity, gender identity, and sexual orientation 1) denies the fluidity of them in ourselves and 2) creates unneeded anxiety in people due to a need to label themselves.

I reject all sexual labels - I simply do what feels good, deciding in the moment. To me, the end is pleasure, not in needing to uphold any rigid label for myself. To label is deny your own freedom. I am a banker, and therefore I cannot sing, as I am not a singer. No, you are a human, who can both bank and sing!

Even if you are not 'attracted' to the opposite sex, there are undeniably moments in which it would be pleasurable to engage with them. And if the only reason you find it displeasurable is due to being uncomfortable with your own identity or worried about the shame of others finding out, well, I cannot help you. That's no way to live.

I am a deeply private person. The modern fetish for sharing every aspect of your life is insane to me. It brings a whole case of troubles for you, both internally and externally.

Primo, we humans are social creatures. We must care about the opinion of others in our interactions. It is near impossible to do otherwise, although we can try... To expose your life publicly is to constantly feel the eye of the public watching. The actions you take will be judged viciously, and you may find yourself living to satisfy those judgements. I'd like to think I live without much care for other's opinions - in reality, I know I would be affected by them if I exposed myself too much. So I keep it private, only sharing what I choose. These are the internal results of a lack of privacy.

Secundo, externally. There is no doubt we live in a hyper polarized environment. Even using the wrong words to describe the 'right' position can land you in the bad graces of one tribe or another. Moreover, some insane positions are held in high esteem by supposedly respected people of our era. There is little benefit to signing your name to your writings or your work - it can really only cause trouble, providing you are willing to forgo the external validation (which requires truly living for yourself...). The external issues, which has to do with the way people interpret our public statements and actions and seek to impact our lives accordingly, are not worth it.