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PaperclipPerfector  22d ago (text post)   21259 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of May 25, 2026

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The avoidance of pain is the central tenet of our societies.

Not sure I'd phrase it quite like this but agreed that it's a major factor. In practice it looks a lot to me like a desire for what amounts to palliative care until death.

As I have argued before, the values of "liquid modernity" and the liberal striver class are incompatible with building healthy relationships and by extension incompatible with human flourishing.

It is trivially true that eating healthy is less enjoyable than stuffing your face with junk.

It is trivially true that there are downsides to having kids.

It is trivially true that a life of responsibility is presents risks that a life of perpetual infancy does not.

At the end of the day good things justify themselves and that is why it is important to reject the values that might prevent you from embracing them.

Just out of pocket, but have you seen Severance? The quest for the avoidance of pain is one of the key themes and plot points of the show. In trying to eliminate pain from the human experience, they build an entire edifice of torture.

No, I'm afraid not. I'm unlikely to see it either because I'm just not in the habit of watching TV. I like the idea of watching more TV and have several series I've been meaning to finish, but who has the time?

But thanks, that does sound interesting.

You yourself claimed elsewhere in this thread some burdensome trauma about not being ready to live in the face of women suggesting you were.

The statement and phrasing are trivially correct.

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