Random Thoughts

Recently, I’ve often heard that hierarchies are bad, supposedly representing nothing but inequality and oppression. This topic unexpectedly surfaces in seemingly unrelated contexts. I encountered it in a book about startup culture, my children brought it up from school, and there was tension in chats on unrelated topics whenever structures resembling hierarchies were mentioned. On one hand, I agree that some hierarchies can be built on force and suppression. On the other hand, I see them more as symbiotic structures rather than tools for power struggles. ...

Periodically, I contemplate a thought from the book “We Who Wrestle with God” by Jordan B. Peterson, which suggests that at the gates of Heaven, we are met by a flaming sword that will burn away everything unworthy of Heaven, everything imperfect. He also discusses how, in life, we encounter these flaming swords in the form of people who are so much better than us that we feel uncomfortable being around them. We avert our eyes from them and avoid them like the blazing sun, or we try to extinguish their light, for example, through criticism, devaluation, and even scheming. ...