Charity

From my perspective, many American customs, values, and cultural expectations are weird. American attitudes towards charity are among those cultural quirks that have made me raise an eyebrow on plenty of occasions when I observed some odd behavior or attitude for the first time. Giving spare income to charity is probably the best thing a person can do with their extra money. But the customs about how people request help and assist those in need can be rather odd. [Read more…]

Euthanasia

Some terminally ill people experience excruciating pain for prolonged periods of time before they die of natural causes. Thus I strongly believe that euthanasia must be legal and accessible for people who need it. Torturing sick people for no good reason is cruel and inhumane. [Read more…]

Playing with Temptation

For me, temptation is something to play with and pleasure is something I choose to pursue every now and then. Yet for some other people (those who are religious and/or conservative) temptation and pleasure appears to be a source of endless fear. Why? Why fear and desperately try to avoid something that can be a source of harmless fun and enjoyment? Do some people really distrust themselves so deeply? [Read more…]

Pokémon and the Ethics of Interspecies Relationships in Fictional Universes

Like many people, I like fiction. When reading a science fiction or fantasy novel, I am especially interested in worldbuilding (the process of constructing an imaginary world). What fantasy creatures live in some imaginary universe? How do they behave? How different species interact with each other? What kind of awesome technology or magic is there? What about the geography, the planet itself, the physical laws that govern the universe? [Read more…]