Let's Get Something Straight
or Clarification
Let's talk about selfishness for a moment.
This is what being selfish REALLY is: bettering your own quality of life by knowingly and willingly reducing the quality of life of others. Spending the money you earned on a new CD is not selfish - stealing $5 from every member of your household to buy a CD is. Putting aside a little money each week as a rainy day fund is not selfish - dipping into your childrens' college fund to go to Europe is. Making excuses for a job done poorly is a lame attempt at saving face - trying to take down an entire department with you is pure, unadulterated, downright hatefulselfishness.
I can hardly comprehend how anyone could be so dispicably selfish, yet I see a lot of it every day. How could anyone take more than their due without feeling guilty? How could anyone have so little regard for anyone else but him/herself? It's just like the constant lectures we heard in middle school about put-downs: bullies only use put-downs to bring everyone down to their level and to make themselves the kings and queens of mediocrity. These truly and disgustingly selfish people, however, are even one degree worse: it's not merely about bringing people to an equal level, it's about rising above other people at any human cost other than one's own.
Are you getting the picture yet? Maybe you don't think I have any authority or room to talk when it comes to morality. Maybe you're right. However, nobody with half of a functioning brain could fail to see the distinction I am making here. All I'm asking is that you keep this thought in mind. Next time you call on a scapegoat to cover your own behind, next time you beg (or worse, steal some sort of principle) for something you haven't earned, next time you try to tell yourself that Christmas isn't really that close and and you've saved up more than enough money to pay for everyone you want to buy gifts for and that you have been so good about not shopping lately that you really deserve that item you've been coveting for the longest time, and the next time you try to pull your holier-than-thou bullshit by pointing to someone that you believe is a lesser person than you, I just want you to realize that the lesser person of the two of you is the one pointing the finger in judgement.
or Clarification
Let's talk about selfishness for a moment.
This is what being selfish REALLY is: bettering your own quality of life by knowingly and willingly reducing the quality of life of others. Spending the money you earned on a new CD is not selfish - stealing $5 from every member of your household to buy a CD is. Putting aside a little money each week as a rainy day fund is not selfish - dipping into your childrens' college fund to go to Europe is. Making excuses for a job done poorly is a lame attempt at saving face - trying to take down an entire department with you is pure, unadulterated, downright hatefulselfishness.
I can hardly comprehend how anyone could be so dispicably selfish, yet I see a lot of it every day. How could anyone take more than their due without feeling guilty? How could anyone have so little regard for anyone else but him/herself? It's just like the constant lectures we heard in middle school about put-downs: bullies only use put-downs to bring everyone down to their level and to make themselves the kings and queens of mediocrity. These truly and disgustingly selfish people, however, are even one degree worse: it's not merely about bringing people to an equal level, it's about rising above other people at any human cost other than one's own.
Are you getting the picture yet? Maybe you don't think I have any authority or room to talk when it comes to morality. Maybe you're right. However, nobody with half of a functioning brain could fail to see the distinction I am making here. All I'm asking is that you keep this thought in mind. Next time you call on a scapegoat to cover your own behind, next time you beg (or worse, steal some sort of principle) for something you haven't earned, next time you try to tell yourself that Christmas isn't really that close and and you've saved up more than enough money to pay for everyone you want to buy gifts for and that you have been so good about not shopping lately that you really deserve that item you've been coveting for the longest time, and the next time you try to pull your holier-than-thou bullshit by pointing to someone that you believe is a lesser person than you, I just want you to realize that the lesser person of the two of you is the one pointing the finger in judgement.
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