(no subject)
People at the center of attention devalue others for their own sakes. Even their friendliness has to be grander and better than others. So everyone else can say that such a person is so nice implies that others could be nicer, and this makes that person into a celebrity, a step above the common ruck. But when did nice become a competition?
Is dependency a good thing? It has a certain social value, giving general guidelines as to what is socially acceptable; we are social creatures after all. But there has to be a line between influence and independence, and whether I want it or not my actions are acknowledged. And there is no escaping this framework of acknowledgment. Even if I throw away the thoughts of others as asinine, I still have to cope with their words and actions that are influenced by my own. To do otherwise would make me into a hermit with no place in the world. So there is some degree to which others have to be taken into account, but at what point do I sublimate my own importance to nonexistence?
How can I be selfish and selfless at the same time? There doesn't seem to be any way to avoid contradictions.
Is dependency a good thing? It has a certain social value, giving general guidelines as to what is socially acceptable; we are social creatures after all. But there has to be a line between influence and independence, and whether I want it or not my actions are acknowledged. And there is no escaping this framework of acknowledgment. Even if I throw away the thoughts of others as asinine, I still have to cope with their words and actions that are influenced by my own. To do otherwise would make me into a hermit with no place in the world. So there is some degree to which others have to be taken into account, but at what point do I sublimate my own importance to nonexistence?
How can I be selfish and selfless at the same time? There doesn't seem to be any way to avoid contradictions.