Welcome

Hey!
In the spirit of this being a new blog, I thought I would start it off right by setting the tone for things to come. I haven't given this too much thought so bear with me. I wanted to present a quote from a book that doesn't really do too great of a job of analyzing mankind, but this quote struck me as profound. The book is Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. It was written in the late 1960s and really carries the tone of the era regarding free love and peace on earth, etc., which is all garbage really, but at one point he is discussing the motivations for the ministers of a new church that claim to do all things out of the goodness of their being. One of the characters in the book, who is the stereotypical wise old man, critiques the salesman-like behavior of one of the bishops and goes on to say:
"Of all the nonsense that twists the world, the concept of 'altruism' is the worst. People do what they want to, every time. If it pains them to make a choice- if the choice looks like a 'sacrifice'- you can be sure that it is no nobler than the discomfort caused by greediness... the necessity of deciding between two things you want when you can't have both. The ordinary bloke suffers every time he chooses between spending a buck on beer or tucking it away for his kids, between getting up to go to work or losing his job. But he always chooses what hurts least or pleasures most."
All of my experience in this world have taught me that this is absolutely true. No one ever does anything for the sole purpose of serving others. There is always a self-serving motive behind their actions. Whether it's as direct as getting the assisted to behave in a certain way that would benefit the doer, or something as discreet as the feeling of holding a moral high ground and gaining access to a wonderful afterlife, there is always a reason for someone's good deeds. When the speaker is discussing a parents care for their children, it is hard to realize what the self-serving motive could be, but the payoff is there. Parents hope that one day their children might care for them as they cared for their children, or at least see to their being cared for. Of course, there's never a guarantee, and that's probably not what a parent is thinking when caring for a child, but the benefit is there.
Governments don't get involved in foreign relations without some form of benefit. Our middle-eastern policy is dictated by the desire for positive trade relations that will result in us receiving oil at lower costs. I'm certain that we would ignore any problems their if there wasn't some jackpot in it for us.
The strange thing is that people deny that their behavior is guided by their own self-interests. US citizens often seem ashamed at the notion that we would go to war over lower oil prices. They seem ashamed of the fact that they help others because it makes them feel good, not because of the feeling the other person has at being helped. Why should people feel ashamed about doing things for themselves? Who decided that was a bad thing? People should serve their own interests. If everyone were to do what best served them, instead of trying to pretend that they want to help others just because, it is likely that things would improve overall. Of course, some people would lose out. If someone wins, then someone loses by default. Not everyone gets to win, but the world would be a stronger place. We wouldn't have people who rely on the kindness of others. Everyone would know that they have to fend for themselves. I'm not asking for isolation, but just the mass realization that coalitions are formed to serve each party's self-interest, not because of some higher calling.
This is a pretty bland blog, and I know it lacks order, but I wanted to lay down the idea that I hope to elaborate on later. As was written once, the story of Robin Hood has been changed in its meaning. Today, people view the hero as someone who distributes wealth among the poor by forcing the rich to hand over what they have earned. The true meaning of the story has been lost with time. Robin Hood was a man who felt injustice for those who had been over-taxed and felt that the only solution to the problem was to take back from the government was wasn't rightfully theirs and return it to those who had earned it. If you don't know whose idea this is, I won't tell you more now than that it's not mine, but I believe it. I'm sure it will become abundantly clear later who this came from.