Knowing the Difference Between “Can” and “Should”
“What can one do?” Clearly, that list is far more extensive than the more important one: “What should one do?” I can this moment walk into my kitchen, find a fork, and jam it into my forehead. I can do all sorts or self-destructive things, but the question isn’t a matter of what I can do, but instead what I should do. Knowing this difference is something we hope to teach to our children with enough clarity and just enough severity that they understand the distinction. It is a lesson far too many seem to forgo on their passage from childhood into adulthood. More often than not, those who do so become annoyed when you point it out. They say in childishly obstinate petulance that “it’s my life(or my body) and I can do what I want.” My question for those who hold this view of life is ever: If nobody doubts that you can do a thing, why do you hold no doubts about whether you should do it? This question is at the root of a deep cultural divide, and it thoroughly explains the collapse of our country.
Governments can do almost anything at all, particularly with the popular support of their people. Does this mean a government should do anything at all? It is not inconceivable that one could form a majority coalition that would demand that we eat the rich. Literally. We can do that, but the question remains: Should we? We could create any number of similar political majorities that would propose equally obnoxious ideas, and seek to implement them in law. Should we? Great disasters in human death tolls made by other men have been carried out on the basis of the idea that since a thing can be accomplished, that it necessarily should be done, but the truth is that ‘should’ doesn’t necessarily follow ‘can.’
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