The Right To Take (Even Really Stupid) Risks
Writer J.D. Tuccille likes to ride motorcycles. Reflecting on the hobby's intrinsic dangers, he says all people need to ask themselves a fundamental question:
And if we don't ask it of ourselves, somebody else is sure to do us the favor: "What the hell are you doing?"
The question means that we're taking risks, trying something new, or just pushing the boundaries of our usual behavior. It means that we're living, not just existing; to pass through life without facing that question would imply a tightly constrained existence lacking risk and adventure.
Tuccille hits pretty close to Prof. James Otteson in this video:
We can… just think about that core moral insight: what it means to respect a person as a moral agent is to give that person the opportunity to choose even when you know that sometimes they'll make bad choices, sometimes they'll choose things they shouldn't, sometimes they'll choose things even they themselves regret later. Respecting the dignity of a human being is giving that person is giving that person the freedom to choose.
Watch the whole thing: