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Just an observation of something I notice in real life AND even on internet forums. People seem to conform to the majority opinion. For the first 6 pages, there were maybe 2 or 3 others taking the position that people were good, but now that more have sided with this view on the 7th page, we see more people commenting and agreeing. Is anyone familiar with the work of the psychologist Solomon Asch? He conducted an experiment in which he displayed two lines of different lengths on a screen. The task was simple; state which line was longer. In each group, there was one "real" subject, while all the other participants were confederates (actors part of the experiment). The confederates would all state the wrong answer and the real participant would then state the same answer as them (majority of the time but it depended if some of the confederates said the right answer).
I know this is completely off-topic, but I felt like it was worth mentioning
Haven't you met even one person that you feel would qualify as good?
No, I really do believe that Good Person is an oxymoron. This comes down to one's definition of Good. I absolutely know that people can DO good. I just don't believe that makes them Good.
No, I really do believe that Good Person is an oxymoron. This comes down to one's definition of Good. I absolutely know that people can DO good. I just don't believe that makes them Good.
So if someone's actions are constantly characterized as good, then that still does not make them good?? It seems like your expectations are a bit high
I can look right out my front window and see dozens of other homes. They are all law abiding citizens and they are all nice to me. Even the 2 or three mutterers who roam the downtown area are harmless to others.
Yes there is crime here, inside some of those houses are damaged people hurting each other, etc., but most people mean well, try to do well, and largely succeed.
So: agreed. Mostly, society works. Mostly, people are worth knowing. The trick is not to expect too much of either. Let them be what they are, don't hold them up to impossible standards of perfection, and you'll be able to get out of them what you can.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yankees1212
So if someone's actions are constantly characterized as good, then that still does not make them good?? It seems like your expectations are a bit high
One could debate that. One could say their good actions are for recognition and are not truly altruistic, since they're pressured to care. Not that I agree, but just playing devil's advocate.
We take care of our inner circles. We are still animals, enough said. We are no more enlightened or peace loving since Nazi Germany massacred millions of Jews. It could happen again. I hate to say it, but it most likely will happen again, until we learn to truly unite.
Keep donning the rose-tinted specs if you wish. I would rather try to accept the ugly truth. We are a cancer to this planet and to ourselves.
It is happening, all the time. The death toll in Syria is anywhere from 8,000 to 37,000, depending on your source.
My philosophy is that there is much in the larger world that I can't control. I can't force anyone to think, believe, choose, or act. But I can first control myself and then reach out to who and what I can. Like at least one other poster here, I came from a very humble beginning, and in fact was homeless when I had my first child, and struggled from that point for the last 13 years into a place of prosperity. I've seen a very broad spectrum of people in a wide range of positions, and always I have been able to find the good. And by courting the good, speaking to the good, and reflecting the good when I can, my life has taken turn after turn to the positive. My journey has taught me that if you sit and cry because you have no luck and no kind people will rescue you, then suffering will be your portion. If you pull yourself up, silence the excuses you want to tell yourself, and work hard to achieve what you can, then you can get very far. I never begrudge anyone wealth, and didn't when I had none, so long as the wealthy man earns it...it is the parasite on society who tricks his way into power and money that I loathe. But usually those people get thiers eventually. I belive in karma, I've seen too much not to.
But the point is that it always has to start in the heart of the individual...if you hate the world and humanity, then you should first see how to be part of something better, work on yourself. If you aren't willing to do that, because you think it's everyone else who has the problem, then you will continue to reap sorrow. It is, as this one site says, like taking poison and hoping your enemy will die.
Anyways, here's what I wanted to share, the short version:
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
Here in the western world we are largely oblivious to the suffering and carnage that is taking place around the world every day.
The dead, IMO, are the lucky ones, the happy ones, they got away form this poor-excuse-for-a-planet! Those left behind, permanently disabled, can never work again, walk again, their family members dead, no one to turn to for support, they're the ones to be pitied, they're the real tragedies!
Yes, I'm forever aware of the suffering going on in the world, but my focus is never on the dead (the lucky ones who got away) but the injured. When I hear of a bombing in the Middle East, and they say: 50 dead, 200 injured, my focus is on the injured! Even in a car accident, which really cracks me up: Only 1 dead, 7 in critical condition!
I work in a Rehab center, and any number of those injured have ended up quadriplegics, brain-damaged, paraplegics.
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