holier-than thou

[threadwalker]

....a 10 minute essay on the morning's thoughts. At some point I may actually rewrite this properly. Right now I see many cans of worms, it's just where my brain was at.So just now I was thinking about holier-than -thou behavior. It started with certain environmentalist and vegan behavior and turned naturally towards the Puritans

Comments

[asakiyume]

And oh, threadwalker, I was meaning to make an actual reply to your post, but I got interrupted... I was going to say how perceptive I thought it was that you linked displays of right-think (about whatever--veganism, environmentalism, Good Parenting<--my particular bugbear) to the desire to prove to yourself and others that you're among the elect,metaphorically speaking. I think you're right--it's a way of marking yourself off. I don't even like the concept of purity anymore, because it seems that people use it mainly as a way of feeling superior to other people. It's great not to eat meat, and it's great to recycle, and sure, it would be great if more people did those things... but I think it's not so hot when, because a person recycles, she or he some how feels superior to other people. You never know the other person's story... they may not recycle their bottles, but maybe they're sponsoring an orphan in Uganda or working in a hospice or whatever... I used to feel kind of smug (hate to admit it) because I used cloth diapers... but I could only do that because I had access to a washing machine and the time to do the washing... so not really something to feel so smug about, after all.

[threadwalker]

Yeah, pretty much. :) It's a tricky thing.