[secede] -- coffee and cursing
And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
-Mark 5:9
Enemies of freedom benefit from a culture of weakness. If everyone indulges in weak behaviors every day, it becomes very difficult to act courageously when the time comes. Covid demonstrated this conclusively. The best way to create a culture of weakness is to move slowly and imperceptibly.
Coffee is a prime example. Even suggesting the idea that coffee is a weakness, or more properly, a positive evil, will cause most people to throw a fit. The facts, however, paint a different story. Coffee’s primarily function is to cover up the much more pressing issue of sleep deprivation. Caffeine is a diuretic, raises blood pressure, and increases anxiety. By no means can coffee be called a healthy drink. Furthermore, if a coffee drinker is deprived of his “fix”, he will become completely nonfunctional. Coffee addicts, like drug addicts, are easy to break.
Cursing is an even greater offense. Ancient cultures universally prohibit profanity not only because of its degrading effect on public discourse but also because a person’s actions affect his interior state. How do we feel after a cursing streak? Does it put us in a position to act virtuously? The best way to feel calm is to act calm. Cursing demonstrates a fundamental lack of self-control that will inevitably bleed over into other areas.
Posts like this risk being mocked as puritanical. However, if we accept that all choices are not equal, it follows that there are correct and optimal ways to do things. Paying attention to what comes in and out of our mouths is a good place to start.