fandomhigh | Practical Philosophy, Monday

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practical philosophy

Practical Philosophy, Monday

"There are those of us who come here believing very strongly in duty," Ender said. "Others who come here to escape it - and some to who it's absolutely not a part of their lives."

He smiled a little.

"I had a mentor, once," he said. "I was told that people were free, unless humanity needed them, and that humanity never asked us to be happy, merely to act on its behalf - for its survival. Happiness, he felt, was a luxury that at times we could scarcely afford. To opt out of doing our duty at such a time was the worst crime imaginable: a crime of stupidity."

He took a sip of water. "I've met people who disagreed, since," he said. "I've also met people whose lives were so intricately bound to these rules they didn't even know where they stopped and the rules began. Some of you have already made your views fairly clear already, but I'm curious as to everyone else's input, too.

"How important is duty? Do we people all carry some grand responsibility to our species, or should we exist only for ourselves and the development of our self? And if we live for duty, then when does that end? Is there some point where all of us may be afforded personal freedom, or are we perpetually tied to our responsibilities, whether we flee from them or not?"

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"Again with the binary," Joker complained. "I mean, I know you're trying to stir up discussion, here, but the answer's pretty solidly 'both'. Everything you do -- starting with just 'being alive' and going from there -- comes with inherent rights, and inherent responsibilities. If you shirk your responsibilities, you're a dick. On the other hand, if someone piles on responsibilities to the point that they violate your rights, they're a dick. It's a balance. And if you can't handle responsibilities, don't agree to take them on."

"And what if the responsibilities are handed to you? What if saying no was never an option, but that wasn't anybody's decision? If it was simply a quirk of fate, the way the world was turning at the time?"

Okay, so ruling a kingdom wasn't impossible, obviously. People had been doing it for generations before Elsa ever came along. But most of those people had more backing them up than two or three servants and a sister who knew nothing about her. And she was pretty sure none of them had to worry about accidentally freezing their subjects or something.

"Well, that's not really fair, now, is it?" Joker told her. "You didn't get a say in it, and you make your own destiny. If you really, truly don't want to do it, then... well, don't. It sounds like you still feel like it's your duty, though."

"The only person really expected to be fair in this situation is me," Elsa admitted, smiling faintly. "I could choose not to be, I suppose, but that never ends well for anybody."

Least of all, the kingdom.

"I'm just intimidated, I think. It's a lot of responsibility to shoulder all at once."

"Well, for what it's worth, I believe in you," Joker told her. "You're a good person, and you'll be a very fair, just, and benevolent... uh, person in charge. Of your 'place'." Joker shrugged. If she wanted to keep things vague, he could keep things vague. "Of course, there's always the option of letting the people run things themselves, if you want to give that a go."

"Run things themselves?" Forgive Elsa's dubiousness, Joker. She'd read about democratic societies, sure, but had yet to see one in action. Even Fandom Island wasn't really one of those. "Just abandon them and let everything turn to anarchy?"

Yes. Because they were all terrible anarchists in Arendelle.

"Democracy," Joker corrected. "Maybe it's not the best way to run a c-- place, but it's no worse than any other."

Sigh. That 'place' was going to haunt her and leave her feeling guilty for the rest of her days. Or until she just out and said it. It probably wasn't terribly surprising by this point, anyway.

"Kingdom," she muttered, another flush colouring her cheeks faintly. "And I wouldn't even know where to start, if I were to begin seriously considering putting something like that in place."

Joker whistled. "It is so weird hearing you say that," he told her. "You know, you don't have to hide it. It's nothing to be ashamed of!" He looked her over, trying to see if there was anything magically different about her, now that he knew.

"So, I want to say, first of all, that I think any country would be better off with you behind the helm than some sleazy elected official. And there's that old cliché that the best person to rule is someone who doesn't want the job. That being said, if you want to consider modernizing your government, Professor Lyman would be the one to talk to."

"I wasn't ashamed," Elsa protested lightly. "I just never really got around to saying anything, that's all."

She hadn't wanted people looking at her like a future queen, rather than a classmate. It had worked well enough, but it seemed ridiculous to dance around it, now.

"I... might have to talk to him at some point, if only to get a feel for what a 'modernized' government would entail."

Arendelle was not all that modern.

Re: Talk.

fly-so-serious.livejournal.com - 2014-05-20 02:27 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Talk.

iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com - 2014-05-20 02:58 (UTC) - Expand

"What if you don't mind being thought of as a dick if it means people would just leave you alone?" Cade asked.

"Well, that depends," Joker told him. "Are you running away from real, actual responsibilities, or the kind of crap that the lovely ladies over here got dumped in their laps?"

"Do I have to be a lovely lady for my stuff to just be crap?" Cade countered.

"Well, I have to admit, I'd give you more leeway if you were easier on the eyes," Joker replied. "But what I meant is, is the crap something that got stuck on you without your say, or did you agree to stuff and then try to back out of it? I mean, if people are just pissed at you for not carrying on Mommy and Daddy's legacy, then they can go suck it."

"Just the dad," Cade said. "Mom took off a long, long time ago."

"Wow, even better. Sounds like you really got the short end of the stick, man. Legacy can be a pretty bullshit thing." He shrugged. "...I mean, unless you're running away from some kind of 'only the One True King can pull the Sword out of the Stone and save the World from Evil' kind of thing. That, you'd kinda have to man up and go back to."

Cade rolled his eyes. "Kark that. What if there were really a hundred guys who could pull the sword and they just annoyed Arthur until he did it? He could've gone away and waited for the next sucker."

"You're not answering the question," Eleanor said, lifting a shoulder. "You say that as if there's a clearly-drawn line that everyone ought to be able to see. And what about responsibilities one never agreed to at all?"

"Well, no, it's not a clear line. It's a big muddy gray area. It's also not an either-or, freedom or responsibility. Everyone's got both, that's all I'm saying."

"According to you," she said. "What gives you the right to speak for everyone?"

She didn't mean to sound cross. This topic made her itch, that was all.

"Yes, according to me," Joker emphasized. "I don't have the right to speak for everyone; I'm just speaking my mind. What's rubbing you the wrong way, Babe?"

Eleanor wriggled uncomfortably. "How you're saying this," she managed. "That ... there's some line to hit, some bare minimum, you need to care this much about random other people or else you are officially Not a Good Person. In that case, I suppose that I'm not. Feel free to think less of me for it, then."

Edited 2014-05-20 02:11 (UTC)

"Well, it's not that much of a line," Joker tried to tell her. "'More than zero', that's all I'm saying. It's not like I'm some hero-type over here with a stick up his ass."

"I didn't say you had a stick," she replied. "But you are the hero type. You want to join the military and save the world. Or the galaxy. I don't ... have that sort of drive."

"I wanna be a pilot," Joker countered. "Saving colonies from pirates is just a bonus. You don't want to do that? Don't. I'm not saying you have to."

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