The Meaning of Meaning

This is an interesting Jonah Goldberg blog entry on the concept of meaning in life, specifically addressing the way we attempt to impose our own vision of a meaningful life on others using the power of government.

Here's a taste, followed by a brief conclusion of my own...

"In [President Obama's] acceptance speech at the Democratic convention he tried to redefine the invidualistic pursuit of the 'American dream' into a more collective...endeavor to achieve 'America's promise.' But for many of us, America's promise is not what we all do together via the government, but what we're all capable of achieving on our own when government gets out of the way.

[T]he best the government can do is provide the means to pursue happiness. That's why the constitution doesn't promise to give people anything beyond basic security and common defense while guaranteeing that it won't get in the way of people trying to pursue their own understanding of happiness (The old Soviet constitution, by contrast, promised to provide everything people needed to be happy, and failed across the board).

Again, the problem is when governments, or political movements seeking to take control of the government, seek to provide meaning to people.... Such an effort, by definition, becomes oppressive because one person's or one government's definition of happiness will inevitably be someone else's idea of Hell."

My two cents: This is why private action is always better than state action. A person offering their vision of a meaningful life to others through active involvement with their church or other social organization (serving or evangelizing in the community) has all the same power to positively influence and enrich the lives of others, but none of the power to oppress in any real way.

Once a person has become convinced that their own rightness (or righteousness) justifies the use the coercive power of the state to impose that view on less "enlightened" others - the line has been crossed. This isn't to say that it's wrong to be certain of your convictions and to try and convince others of the same. On the contrary, it is necessary. But to attempt to force or coerce others to believe something is an exercise in futility, and to force or coerce others to do something is just plain oppressive. Both paths, however well-intentioned, are tacit rejections of God's wisdom and authority to imbue each of us with the liberty to, wisely or foolishly, direct our own lives.