You can actually learn quite a bit when you decide to live in a foreign country. It’s interesting to see how different cultures live; and the myriad of hassles that will inevitably need to be dealt with are great ways to discover things about yourself that may actually surprise you. This completely unexpected trip to Germany that I have been on for the last eight months has taught me quite a bit about myself and has actually changed me in many ways – most notably in the way I look at people, in general (myself included).No matter where you go, there seems to be two general classes of people – people that are genuinely concerned about the well-being of others and people that are only concerned about their own; or, nice people and assholes. I realize that this is a very broad generalization; however, I honestly believe that it is true. The thing is that the assholes are almost always hiding behind the façade of a nice person; however, without fail, their true colors will slowly (sometimes rather quickly) erode that façade and the nice person that you thought you were dealing with will be replaced by just another asshole.
The thing about this that I still don’t understand is why somebody would chose to be an asshole (and it is a choice). Is it ignorance? We all want the best for ourselves – wanting anything less would be silly – but why can’t the assholes out there (and there are many) understand that the best thing they can do for themselves (and the world) would be to stop being assholes? No, the sad fact of the matter is that, once someone decides that he is the only important being on this planet, he has made an almost irreversible decision to be an asshole for the rest of his life.
Interestingly enough, the urge to become an asshole is usually taught at a young age. Parents, as well as educators, are always teaching that a child needs to learn how to fend for himself. I believe that this is true – one must learn how to take care of one’s self – although the technique of getting the child to think of themselves as “the most important person in the world” needs to be stopped. All it’s accomplished is increasing the population of assholes. Besides, it’s an absolute fabrication. If you honestly believe that you are the most important person in this world then you really need to reassess that belief by analyzing yourself from someone else’s point of view – is it possible that you’re just an asshole? I’d wager that it is…
The truly frightening aspect about this overabundance of assholes is clearly seen when they group together. As the saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together,” and when this “feather” is an artificial sense of superiority, bad things are sure to happen. A few groups come to mind right away (the Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and the Bush administration to name a few) and I doubt anyone can show any good that’s come from these groups…
It’s obvious that assholes have always existed – if you’ve ever wondered what the true reason for the foundation of the plethora of religions was, I’d argue that it was the existence of these assholes. I mean religions have been around forever (well, at least since man decided to create them) and I honestly believe that the purpose behind these religions was to basically reign in these assholes a bit. If you have a bunch of people ignorant enough to think that the world revolves around them, trick these people into behaving better by creating some fictitious being that will punish them for their selfish behaviors. You already know they’re ignorant, so getting them to believe the fairy tale wouldn’t be too difficult. (Of course any of you that have read my Most Intelligent Creatures? and Who’s Your Daddy? posts are already aware that I think the time for religions is over; however I do believe that they once were very much needed…)
So, where exactly am I going with this? I’m not really sure… I’ll tell you what inspired this post though: Not a day goes by when I don’t receive at least one email designed to do nothing more than perpetuate this self indulgent superiority complex. As of late it’s been masquerading as patriotism (and yes, it’s always us Americans) but what is being spread by these chain-letter emails is really nothing more than thinly veiled intolerance –intolerance of foreign cultures and intolerance of foreign people. I think it’s about time that we start considering the well-being of others before America becomes nothing more than a nation of assholes.
Now I realize that all of this is merely my own personal opinion. I also realize that people reading this blog may not agree with me … and that’s fine. If you’d like to add a different perspective, please feel free to post a comment – I completely understand that there are always several ways to look at any issue and perhaps I am the ignorant one here. If that is the case, I would be eager to learn. Perhaps I should start thinking of myself as the most important person in the world… Would becoming an asshole myself somehow make dealing with other assholes easier? I doubt it…
bis später,
Coriolis
Good peopel... what would drive a person to give up their entire life to care for others? In spite of loneliness, persecution, hate, pain, struggle and no personal gain, why would any person give up ever personal comfort, ever personal possession, ever bit of themselves just to care and love others?
ReplyDeleteIf it's good (or right) to be a good person, and a good person cares about other people more than themselves, then it follows that being great is being a great good person caring totally about others more than yourself. Do these people exist? Yes they do. I'll name two: Mother Theresa and Gandhi.
Now what did they believe and discover about people and themselves that "assholes" and "ignorant" people don't, and what maintained their passion to love so much?
And, is it possible that you, Coriolis, can love and be loved that much? Who wouldn't want to be loved that much by someone else? "Assholes" and "ignorant" people think the price is to high or not even possible! They're wrong.
I’m trying to figure out exactly what point is being presented with this comment and I think it was written in defense of the Christian religion. Am I correct in this assertation?
ReplyDeleteIf I am, then I really must admit that there’s not much I have to add to that. Sure, Mother Theresa and Mahatma were very special people; however I wouldn’t want their lives, personally. I’m not trying to suggest that everybody needs to throw away any of their own personal ambitions and live their lives in servitude to others. The only thing that my post was advocating was that people spend a little more time thinking about how some of their selfish behaviors affect others and stop doing things that hurt others.
And to answer the question posed about what Mother Theresa and Gandhi “discovered”, I would say that they didn’t discover anything. Well, I’m sure they discovered much in their lives; however the decision they made to live their lives the way they did was just that – their personal decision. I will freely admit that they are excellent examples of religion working the way it was designed to; however I believe that they are a couple of the “exceptions that make the rule” on modern religion. The list of hypocritical “holy men” that wield religion as a weapon to be used for their own personal gain is far longer than those that actually follow the teachings correctly.
As I’ve said before, if religion works for you, great! It just doesn’t work for me. I don’t think I need to explain why again as I have rather thoroughly already gone over this in my two previous postings.
I do, however, appreciate the comment; although I think you were reading a bit more into this posting than I was trying to say. It was merely a proposal for a little more compassion and a lot less selfishness in today’s society.
No hidden agenda, and thank you for considering my thoughts. I just think you're underestimating your insight and yourself.
ReplyDeleteYou point out what is and then rightly say what can be is better. “It was merely a proposal for a little more compassion and a lot less selfishness in today’s society.” Indeed…! I’m just challenging your premise in two ways:
One, why just a “little more compassion” why not a lot… is there a limit?
Two, since you point all this out, do you have the courage to live this way in a world of apparent indifference, cynicism and relativism. Will you be the one to have the courage to make the difference, or just complain about it, get lost in the pain and then respond by doing little?
If you chose to stand up and make a difference, even totally---I'll be standing with you!
Anonymous brings up a good point here: “why just a ‘little more compassion’ why not a lot… is there a limit?” My response to this is that I guess there really is no set-in-stone limit – Mother Theresa and Gandhi are prime examples of ‘raising the bar’ for the limit of compassion – however, as I have stated, I wouldn’t want to live their lives. I’ll be the first to admit that I am a product of my society and pretty much a slave to its overabundance of conveniences and ease. I’m actually rather fond of its simplicities and have no desire to do without them. I’m just envisioning a world where people can figure out a way to obtain the “better life” without mindlessly (and oftentimes ultra-selfishly) crushing the innocents to get there.
ReplyDeleteHe (or she – anonymity’s tough…) also inquired on whether or not I had the courage to stand up and make a difference. I personally believe that I already have. Perhaps I am mistaken in this belief – anything’s possible; however I have always lived my life with consideration for others (both known to me and unknown). Yeah, I am sure that there are times that I have slipped up and perhaps caused misfortune to others; however I have never done this intentionally to anybody that didn’t deserve it (you need to remember that I am a poker player…). Just let me clarify that I’m not attempting to organize any type of “nice people” cult or anything; I would just like to see all the “assholes” out there finally realize that there are consequences to their actions and discover that the world would be a much nicer place if these people stopped being assholes.