You Either Trust Soap or You Don't

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Sometimes after a particularly difficult shit, I find myself wondering, "How much do I trust this soap?" I smelled my finger and it definitely has shit on it so whatever I do I can't let that finger touch anything I don't want shit on including my face and mouth. Have you ever worried about unintentionally ingesting your own fecal matter? I have. But then I think, "Is it really that bad for you to eat your own shit?"

The following thread seems to be divided on whether it is safe to eat your own poop:

Quora.com
https://www.quora.com/If-a-human-ate-poop-what-would-actually-happen

I imagine that even if I accidentally ingested a fingertip of my own feces I would be fine. The thought of it is repulsive and if I can avoid it I will. So, the good news is I have soap. I trust soap. I have faith in soap. I clean my butthole with my hand and use as much soap as I can get down there. Then a few minutes later I brush my teeth fingers against my mouth to floss and brush my teeth. Then I go to work and eat nuts with my hands. 

How can you clean toilets if you do not trust soap?

What is soap?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap

More Links and Articles:

The effect of soap distribution on diarrhoea: Nyamithuthu Refugee Camp
F Anne Peterson Leslie Roberts Michael J Toole Dan E Peterson
https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/27/3/520/625454

Effect of washing hands with soap on diarrhoea risk in the community: a systematic review
Author links open overlay panelValCurtis(Senior Lecturer in Hygiene Promotion)aSandy
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1473309903006066

I suppose I am a little bit of a germophobe as most people probably do not think about the dirt on their hands as much as I do. I bit my fingernails constantly for around 25 years and so I was always sticking my fingers in my mouth and always assessing the cleanliness of my hands and I still think about it now. I wash my hands regularly and especially after the restroom and before eating. I take a break from my paranoia from time to time when I go camping or as an exercise in control. Sometimes I force myself to not wash my hands to make sure that I am not simply giving in to impulse and habit.

I think it is rational to be concerned about germs, especially those that can cause sickness but I also think that the modern, first world person is probably over sanitizing themselves and their environment. It is another example of overcompensating for the sake of safety. It is better to be overly clean than to risk sickness and death. Also, we do not only affect ourselves when we are unclean and so by being overly cautious of our own germs we can save others from the negative effects of poor our hygiene.

Whether you use soap to wash away the filth or antibacterial sanitizers to kill the germs you have to trust that the microscopic threats are being thwarted. We have to trust science and experience to help us lead healthier and happier lives and hopefully, we do not render ourselves weaker for it. With too much safety and sanitization we might take away from our natural abilities to deal with threats so sometimes we might need to eat some dirt.

Some parting thoughts:

I am worried about antibiotics and how they are becoming less effective.

The Antibiotic Resistance Crisishttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378521/

I think a large part of the instinct to imagine strangers as threats are related to foreign diseases and their potentially fatal effects.

Thoughts On Power

There are two types of power that groups attain. The first comes from the power of physical dominance. This power is where "might makes right" and is the source of the government's power. Then there is the power that comes from wealth. This is the power that comes from trade. Capitalism has created financial powers that rival that of nations and while both are corruptable only one source of power is rooted in volunteerism. Because the government's power comes from the threat and enacting of force it's power is predicated on violence and subjugation. What can we do to fight the corruption that a system based on violence and subjugation creates?

Can we protest? Can we revolt? Can we withdraw support?

Then, we look at the corruption that arises from the capitalists such as fraud, subjugation, and manipulation. What can we do to fight this sort of corruption?

Can we protest? Can we revolt? Can we withdraw support?

To protest is to speak out to others and expose corruption.

To revolt is to enact force and violence which tends to result in more destruction.

To withdraw support is to cut off the source of the corruption's power.

Capitalism is fundamentally the free exchange of value and has the potential to create good, bad and neutral moral outcomes. Strip it of its corrupt bits and you are left with a voluntary system where both members must agree and therefore have the opportunity to end up mutually better for the exchange.

Governments exist to consolidate power and enforce an order. They rely on compulsory adherence and contain a range of involvement from its people from few to many. From dictatorships to democracies they are all based force. Strip away a government of its corruption and what do you have? I'm not sure you can strip corruption away from a system predicated on violence. I'm also not sure how to ensure the free exchange of value without an agent enforces the rules of free exchange. I'm not sure one exists without the other. Even a black market has to have some arbitrator of disputes or do they simply resort to violence? So then the black market is a hybrid between a free market and a collection of small sub-governmental factions (the mob, gangs, etc...) fighting for capital.

Ultimately it comes down to individual interactions. When a person decides to engage in violence as a means to an end they are choosing a chaotic position. One that if it were to be made universal would justify violence for all. If one chooses to engage in free exchange then they are choosing a peaceful moral position. One that if it were made universal would justify peace for all.  How do we get more to engage in free exchanges of value (volunteerism) instead of violent exchanges? How do we get nations to choose peace? Are the "better angels" of our nature going to win out or has humanity always been a back and forth between chaos and peace?

Is violence the opposite of order or is it how order is attained? How do we know if the violence is justified? You would hate to find out later that you were on the wrong side of history. That your war was unjust and that you created more suffering and misery.

Where does pacifism lead? To never defend your self or others seems to allow evil to rule. But if after evil takes power they create order then does it cease to be evil? How can something founded on evil actions not be corrupt at its core and inevitably lead toward more evil?

Is the existence of the nuclear bomb the inevitable outcome of the struggle between chaos and order; peace and corruption? Representing the pinnacle of control and power over nature and each other. Or is it just about defense and survival and there is no evil. There is only to live and die. For what wouldn't you do to protect yourself and loved ones? What is evil when it is life and death? One can not be an angel if one is dead. But the same is true of devils.

Photo Journal 3/3/2018

Cloak and Dagger Barber Shop

No Editing, Canon 24-125 and 70-200

Some photos by Josh Gray

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