"Wealth without Work
Pleasure without Conscience
Knowledge without Character
Commerce without Morality
Science without Humanity
Worship without Sacrifice
Politics without Principle"
"Wealth without Work"
It is scary how lazy we have become as an American society. Every generation is significantly lazier than the last, and expects more without putting in the effort. A friend recently pointed out how "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars is a fair representation of our generation. Expectations of gaining everything without doing anything are unrealistic. Older generations often complain about the mentality of my generation. It's easy for them to forget who raised us. I think it's a basic human truth that people try to give their children a more comfortable life. In doing this, however, my generation and the generation below me has been catered to so extremely that many young people do not understand the value of work and the value of money. And it's only going to get worse.
"Pleasure without Conscience"
It is unfair to the people who love and surround you to make decisions based solely on what pleases you without taking into account how it affects them. I have been told before that the only person we will definitely have in the future is ourselves so that is the only person we should look out for. I disagree. By having that mentality and only concerning ourselves with our own pleasures, we are securing a lonely future. It is necessary to have a pleasurable life, but when it as the expense of others' feelings without a second thought, we are doing more harm to humanity than good. I believe it is important to please more than just yourself without sacrificing your own pleasure, which can be hard to balance at times. The same holds true for "Commerce without Morality" and "Politics without Principle". As a general rule I think that personal gains are not gains at all if they are costs to others.
"Knowledge without Character"
Charcter-the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.
"People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
I feel like this is saying it is difficult to understant the outside world if you do not have an understanding of your own character and are always working to improve it.
"Science without Humanity"
Throughout time there have been many scientific experiments that have made progress in the science world and have destroyed the lives of the individuals involved. Take the Stanford Prison Experiment, for example. Look it up. Sure, through that experiment it was "discovered" that when given power, people will do horrendous things to other people. I think we already knew that. Science should be used to preserve the human condition. When science begins to ruin the lives of those involved in the experiments, it is not worth the knowledge. because you cannot have "knowledge without character". It does not show character to gain knowledge by scientifically experimenting inhumanely.
"Worship without Sacrifice"
It is easy to worship a God when everything goes as planned in your life. It is more difficult to worship a God when your life is falling apart. It is in the face of hardship and sacrifice that our faith is tested. When we are able to worship in the face of sacrifice, our faith is strong.
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