donheff
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
No one has a moral obligation to live their life like their parent's want them to.
DH and I have the resources and aptitude to be good parents. Some folks use this as a kind of cudgel to beat us with. "You're being selfish." "You are turning your back on the most important thing in life...."
Parallel questions:
- If you are especially fertile do you have a 'moral obligation' to have children?
- If you are butt ugly do you have a moral obligation to stay out of public view?
The background: In recent conversations with my father, he's expressed the position that someone who is "gifted" or might have higher aptitude for success, has some what of a moral obligation to do a job that is deemed more worthwhile, or more important.
No disrespect to your dad - who obviously loves you - but IMHO, anyone who tells anyone they have a "moral obligation" to do anything is being pompous, and if I were there to hear it, I would bust out laughing.
I think that a requirement of happy early retirement is to quit giving a s**t what other people's expectations are of you.
Investment in education by society is a common good; sometimes it will pay off handsomely, sometimes it will be break even, and sometimes it will be a net financial loss. Overall, society benefits. To compel individuals to decades of service based on this is a form of indentured servitude.
In recent conversations with my father, he's expressed the position that someone who is "gifted" or might have higher aptitude for success, has some what of a moral obligation to do a job that is deemed more worthwhile, or more important.
We're just not gifted enough to understand that logic...In any case, the whole preposition that you owe the universe just because you are not dumb and should therefore work ntil death is preposterous.
The OP's question is impossible to answer without knowing the purpose of life.
REWahoo said:Parallel questions:
- If you are especially fertile do you have a 'moral obligation' to have children?
- If you are butt ugly do you have a moral obligation to stay out of public view?
- if you are...
OK, I'll stop now.
Me too.
But I think it is narrow-minded to assume that paid work is the only way for someone to have a positive impact on the world.
Here are the data. Based on gross earnings, assuming hers were average, the subsidy would be equivalent to just over 2 years of full time work.
CIHI - Physician supply increasing twice as quickly as Canadian population
This assumes men have to be taller than the women they pair up with. IMO, this is a stupid social convention which, the sooner we get over it, the better.My friend is gifted in height being over 6 feet tall compared to my 5 feet 9 inches. His two sisters (also tall) insist that as a tall single man he should only date tall women since there are plenty of shorter guys like me for the other women. So, I guess the answer is yes. And, my friend must date long legged, statuesque beauties for the good of society. Poor fellow!
I can see both POVs, but I know there's only one acceptable answer here. This is hardly the place to hear both sides, sorta like asking about the second amendment at an NRA meeting. The question really isn't whether or not any of us are irreplaceable (micro), maybe it's more about the what difference the ratio of productive citizens to non-producing citizens has on our economy/financial well-being (macro)...
This assumes men have to be taller than the women they pair up with. IMO, this is a stupid social convention which, the sooner we get over it, the better.
(He says, being all of 5' 7.5" and was tired of being rejected by 2/3 of women in his single days based on height alone -- and wound up marrying a woman who is 5' 9" anyway.)