Being good

We're taught not to be good. Not to dare thinking of ourselves as good. At many levels. It's self-serving, prideful... You name it.

Except it's self defeating. Something called the Dunning-Kruger effect, best summarized as

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wise people so full of doubts.

Betrand Russell

In MA, we end up with rather good people saying "Oh, no, I'm just learning!" (which is true) and absolute morons utterly convinced they're Susano-o reincarnated.

And then you have the morals of it. Complete jerks absolutely convinced they're "one of the good guys" no matter how many people they trample in the name of their pet cause, and people who've been through the Dark also convinced they're NOT good people, that they only sort of manage because of other people (kids or wife, as far as I've seen). They're convinced they're "faking it".

And I'm always this close to telling them "prove it". Which wouldn't be fair. I would be punishing them, testing their self-control, just to make my point. But it's also true. There's lots of people who prove every day that they're not to be considered "good", no matter their own opinion. And these guys prove, just by being, that they're not one of those.

But we're taught otherwise. We're taught absolutes. Shining white knights of Good. It's been accepted, kind of, that being "brave" is not being fearless, but working through fear. But, somehow, the equivalent in Goodness is lost.

Makes you wonder.

Take care.