My values...

Hi, I'm Ben.

My values are pretty standard, I suppose. Truth is an obvious one. I think it's a bit tainted though, I hate to say. I look at it more like a contextual truth. Flatout lies are a no-no, but what I tell them is different. Sometimes they don't need to know the full story, or not all of it is important to the message I am trying to get across. It may create a bias, but that is impossible to overcome no matter how a person is told. Kind of a social strategy or something like that.

I am sure that there is a word that describes my next value, but I suck with words and don't know what it is. I have general feeling or urge to help people. I see it as a value, but it can also be seen as a weakness, and I have been told so.

Trustworthiness...is that even a word?...one value that I strive to maintain. It has turned me into the person who gets told everything. People know that what I hear, I rarely repeat, so I get all the dirt. Which is cool, but I can't tell anybody what I am told, so it has it's drawbacks.

Critical thinking is another that I cherish. I think I am a little too liberal with it though, because in recent years I have become a conspiracy theorist. While thinking everything is a conspiracy is fun, it's like rocking in a rocking chair. A whole lot of fun, but you aren't accomplishing anything. I get a little too paranoid over some things, and while it has paid off, it has also gotten me in trouble.

Success. This isn't a value that I currently hold, but I do strive to be a successful person. I think it's one of the things that makes our country what it is. It provides motivation to get stuff accomplished, even if the motive can be seen as greedy.

I think the media has pretty positive values. Truth, integrity, knowledge, accuracy and information. But, of course, it gets lost in the process of coming out. It's like communism, a stellar theory, but is all sorts of jacked up when you throw people into the mix. The media has to move to different levels to get attention and keep itself alive; and because of that even the best intentions get lost.

My values have worked themselves in over the years. It's weird to think, but they started to develop after I stopped going to church. I think church is cool, it does good things for people, but not for me. I was a pretty lousy person because of religion, and I think it's because it was a crutch or loophole to do bad things. I knew that no matter what I did wrong I could repent and be forgiven, it's a get out of jail free card. Now I have to find other ways to justify doing bad things, and that's hard to do, so I am a more stand-up citzen.