ERIC KIM

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Why I’m So Tolerant

I recognize that all is permitted, all is allowed. Freedom of individual choice, activity and thinking is my apex.

I wouldn’t want to live in an intolerant society towards my personal actions

Funny story:

I get my blood cholesterol checked a few months ago and my doctor (shocked to see how high it was) immediately tells me that she put in a prescription for some cholesterol-lowering medicine (I am very very anti notions of these drugs) and essentially pressured me that I must take them.

I nodded, smiled, said yeah, and never picked up the medication.

Why? I would never want to take a statin, nor have any of my loved ones (including my mom who has ‘high blood pressure’) take a statin.

My blood work

What is the problem with statins (blood cholesterol lowering medicines)?

Many problems.

To start, let us note that my HDL cholesterol is 115, which is very high (this is considered very good as the recommended range is ABOVE 39 MG/DL).

The funny thing is in modern science (only recently) that they divided the difference between HDL cholesterol (considered the ‘good’ cholesterol) and LDL cholesterol (the ‘bad’ cholesterol).

If we then consider:

My HDL cholesterol at 115 is a signal that I am very “healthy”.

Now the problem, my LDL cholesterol (the ‘bad’ one) is also insanely high, at 356 (the recommended range is LESS than 100 MG/DL). This then paints a strange paradox:

How can ERIC KIM have so much ‘good’ cholesterol AND have so much ‘bad’ cholesterol concurrently?

Typically the average (unhealthy) American has a pattern which is:

Low ‘good’ (HDL) cholesterol and high ‘bad’ (LDL cholesterol).

I am the black swan.

I personally think that statins are positively BAD for your health — shortening your life, and also altering some important homeostasis in your body. But imagine … I lived in a society in which I was FORCED to take statins (against my own free will). This would be hell. I kind of see China and other authoritarian states and countries heading this direction.

Now whoever says that America is a tyranny, dictatorship, fascist state whatever is patently misled, misguided, or just wrong. I really think that we free Americans should not play around with these very serious words and notions. Because in America, it would be illegal for any doctor to force me to do anything against my own free will — even if the advice was “good” for me.

For example I am very anti Coke and soda but I would never desire to see an America in which you were outlawed from consuming Coke or other diabetes-promoting substances. Same goes with smoking weed, doing shrooms, drinking alcohol, etc.

What is tolerance?

To me tolerance is:

Not forcing others against their own will what you think is ‘best’ for them.

For example, religious freedom in America — thank god. You can practice whatever you wanna practice, and vice versa. In my opinion, a state should not force their citizens to practice a certain religion, or prevent a group of people from not practicing their religion, no matter how ‘wrong’ it may seem.

When should we be intolerant?

My thought:

We should NOT be tolerant towards violent people, or people committing physical violence upon others.

Also:

We should not be tolerant towards people saying things (speech) which can potentially incite violence.

For example, if there are certain peoples who are racist (but in private), let them be racist in private. But once these racists start saying stuff trying to promote or provoke violence, we should lock them up. For example in America, we should be maximally intolerant towards KKK members, Nazi’s, and so forth.

Tolerance towards lifestyle and diet

For example, I love meat. But I do not desire a society in which my vegetarian friends were forced to eat meat against their own will.

Conclusion: The platinum rule of ethics

The platinum rule; synthesis of both the golden rule [do unto others as you want others to do unto you] and the silver rule [don’t do unto others as you don’t want others to do unto you].

My notion of the platinum rule of ethics:

If you hate it when others are intolerant of you and your own thoughts, behaviors, and activities … don’t be intolerant towards others!

ERIC

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