Mostly Irrelevant: The Settling (part 2)

I am writing this particular installment using my own experiences to make a point. It is a subjectively observed, but objectively analyzed, I did my best.

There are a few characteristics of mine which, once known, will make the following post easier to understand, if not easier to agree with.
I prefer objectivity to subjectivity. I enjoy knowing things. I need proof to agree with statements, or at the least some excellent reasoning. I am a hard determinist. I have seen no evidence for gods, and so don't believe in them. My sense of perspective causes me to see most everyday problems as insignificant, and sometimes the people who are involved in those problems as well. I think that faith is a vice. I enjoy comparing things to the rest of the known universe when deciding importance. I will always concede the point if I am wrong, as long as the evidence is conclusive...being loud doesn't mean you are right. I live in Ohio, the son of caring, if unimaginative and religious parents, who disagree with nearly everything stated above...except for the living in Ohio part.

That might cover it.

Now then, I mentioned to my friend Will that enjoy talking to our mutual friend Molly about my philosophical leanings because I feel that she actually is interested in what I have to say. She brings up good arguments, doesn't just agree with me if the point is flimsy, things like that. It is a rare occurrence for me to talk to someone who is not only in agreement with much of what I think, but wants to talk about it. My family does not care in the least about philosophy, particularly my thoughts on it, because if they thought about these things, my conclusions would be repulsive to them. I am an atheist among theists, a (oddly enough) socially-oriented liberal kilt-wearer among every-way conservatives. A determinist among free-willians (awesome).

How does this apply to the title? Just as I considered how irrelevant my career will be, I have also considered how irrelevant I myself am. Ignoring the cosmos for a moment because we are all irrelevant in comparison to the heavenly abyss, I am irrelevant because, idealogically speaking, I represent something to be ignored. Most of my friends are willing to take the conversation only so far, far enough to express their views, but not so far that they might have to change them. Nearly everything that I find fundamental and important is considered frivolous to the people around me. Not only is it frivolous, it is purposefully ignored. It makes people uncomfortable to address questions which might make them reconsider their worldview. I'm not even saying I'm right, or that they might actually have to rethink anything. Oh, also, philosophy on its own, without a classroom or a book deal will not make you money. So, you know, what good is it?

Okay, I've begun to ramble. I may not have quite made my point, but I imagine that should you have made it this far, you're more grateful for the ending than interested in that elusive point anyway. Wait, I got it: A large percentage of people are uninterested in what I have to say, I effect few lives, and in a limited scope. Ergo, I have little relevance to the world.

Part 3 coming soon, in which I hold forth on things which in my opinion are relevant.