Category: Philosophy

Those Without Sin – Reflections Of A Hypocrite

Last night I took part in a kind of twitter discussion with a guy I have never met.  I was advising him on the perils of being judgmental.  I told him:

‘being judgmental does not honor any aspect of human decency.  As to be virtuous enough to judge everyone else you must be blind to your own flaws as a human being.’

 

I look back on my comments with a modicum of pride that I was able to articulate my thoughts so well.  However having a day to reflect upon them I realise now that in one statement I have massively contradicted myself and exposed myself as a stinking hypocrite.  It is not that I do not believe in what I have left.  I do believe it.  I think it is an absolutely vital moral concept.  What troubles me is the fact that I stand at a crossroads in my life and this very statement is at odds with myself.

In the past year and a bit I have done my level best to come to terms with myself.  I have accepted that I am either a writer or a child trapped in a mans body.  Whichever I am I decided to give myself a year to find out, and that year is nearly up.  Conceptually being a writer does not meld well with my above statement.  Supposedly a writer should be an acute observer of the world.  He should make judgments of those around him in order to create a story which resonates with other humans.  If the prior statement is true and the above statement too, then a writer is morally bereft of human decency.  Especially one with a readership of zero and a category entitled people studies.

I confess.  I am a hypocrite.  However I deny that I am a liar.  I believe what I said.  I am just not able to live by it.  Therefore the only question which remains is whether it’s better to be an honest hypocrite or a dishonest liar?  Who am I to judge?

What Doesn’t Kill You Only Makes You Stronger

If the above statement was true I would be Mr Universe.  However it is not and I am not.  It’s shitty world we live in when the only comforting words we can ever find for troubled people are meaningless idioms and metaphors.  As a race, when did we suddenly lose the ability to be sympathetic or understanding.  I have heard my fair share, and of course at appropriate times I have found myself  participating in this bullshit pass the parcel system of comfort.  And you know what?  I have learnt two things.  The first is that it doesn’t actually help.  And the second is that it doesn’t actually help.

The human mind was never built to compartmentalise.  It is not a natural function.  Yet in the vast majority of societies it’s what we are expected to do.  It defies belief.  If you divide the circle of emotions into two groups, honest and dishonest you can instantly discover what a lying bunch of hypocrites we are.  In the honest group we could put anger.  Anger very often makes us speak our mind.  Sadness or melancholy too.  Frustration.  Disappointment.  And many others.  The truth of the matter is that we are discouraged in our efforts to be honest.  It is no longer necessary in society.  It is better you stay silent and not cause a scene, or get yourself fired or some other equally deserving punishment for someone who tries to say it how they see it.

By choosing the kind of life where you have to withdraw and bottle reality up you are rejecting humanity.  The joy of this life comes from the fact that we are alive.  What separates us from animals is the fact that we have this wonderful range of emotions and when we do not accept them we are rejecting the fact that we are really alive.  So say it loud, and say it proud just say whats on your fucking mind.