Shhhh. You’re not supposed to say that.
That’s excellent. Thank you for sharing @Machine_Elf
I take his underlying point about not going along with the herd, but the way he expresses it is a bit off. As our morality has evolved, we have progressively tended to become more tolerant and respectful of the rights of others.
It’s generally true that people are more ashamed to express regressive views than progressive views, unless their peers are uniformly regressive. For example, someone who thinks Black people are inferior would likely be reluctant to express that view unless they were sure that everyone present were also racist. Whereas someone who advocates for far greater animal rights, beyond the current consensus, would not feel the same reluctance.
Unless you live somewhere like Nazi Germany or modern Afghanistan, if you have a view that you feel reluctant to express, it’s unlikely that it’s because it is a more morally enlightened view than your peers. There are of course local exceptions where everyone around you is regressive relative to the zeitgeist.
Let me put it another way. I think there’s a moral version of the Galileo Gambit. If you’re ashamed to express your views, I think it’s generally more likely that your views are regressive and morally inferior, not that your views are so morally enlightened that the world just isn’t ready for them.
This makes me feel better about myself. My dark secrets aren’t bad. They’re independent thinking.
I’m not supposed to say that for a large portion of people suffering from depression, talk therapy and/or medication does not help.