Well, I see your point, but does that mean we should never judge people, ever? I should welcome white supremacists and child abusers into my home because it’s not correct for me to judge them for their choices? If I can’t judge someone for having sex before marriage (and in this case, I really don’t care), then where do we draw the line?
I apologize for the typo. This was supposed to say ‘‘Social consciousness OR judgmental asshattery? Maybe a bit of both?’’ And I was specifically referring to myself – if I judge others for not contributing to this world, is it out of social consciousness or my own judgmental asshattery? Perhaps both.
I’m not sure if there is an answer. ‘‘Live and let live’’ is a fabulous life philosophy but there are always examples where almost anyone would feel it acceptable to pass judgment.
Absolutely. I know that from experience.
Damn. No, I suppose not.
There’s really no room for judgment under Buddhist philosophy, that is correct. I am you, you are me, you are Bill Clinton and I am the serial killer two towns over. There is no evil in Buddhist thought, just deluded thinking based on the inability to understand the impermanent and interconnected nature of all phenomenon. Very easy to cognitively grasp, very difficult to live. If you must know, I think as a Buddhist I’m pretty shitty. But at least, unlike when I was a shitty Christian, I don’t have to flagellate myself every time I fall short of the ideal.
This thread has been riveting for me because I’ve been battling an internal war since it first popped up. A part of me believes I am smart and smart does matter–that’s the part of me who got my academic ego stroked on a regular basis growing up–that is the only way I ever felt powerful, as an academic. Another part of me has had to cope with diminished returns over the last few years regarding feeling smart and being rewarded for being smart. I had to withdraw from college for a couple of years for personal reasons. My grades did suffer – not terribly, not like they would end my career – but enough to hurt. I have a ton of regret about my performance in college. Right now I have a bachelor’s degree. I want to go to graduate school but I still have no idea for what. I took a job in a call center so I can use my Spanish and save money for an internship abroad to make me a stronger grad school candidate. The longer I wait for grad school, though, the less qualified I feel. It completely flies in the face of everything I THOUGHT I’d be doing by this point in my life. This has required a mental adjustment, a restructuring of priorities, a new understanding of what life is and what’s important.
I’m not a better person than anyone else, I’m not more intelligent, more enlightened, or having my shit together any more than the next guy. I’m not trying to imply otherwise. But I’m not a complete fucking mess either. I’ve spent a lot of time feeling like I should justify my reason for being here… I know I lack formal debate skills, and I know, hardy har, I really belong on LJ. But this thread has helped me come to terms with how well I fit in here.
I just find it so lovely that on a message board full of judgmental assholes, I can still manage to be a judgmental asshole in my attempt to decry judgmental assholishness. That is the miracle of human nature. Sometimes I tell myself that if I can manage to be morally perfect it will make up for all the other deficiencies in my personality. I used to do the same with academics. I don’t think I am alone in this. But obviously, I cannot be morally perfect, or academically perfect, or physically perfect, or anything perfect. The self-posturing is empty and meaningless, which was my whole point when I entered this thread. Maybe someday I will have that Ph.D, and then, superficially, I will have ‘‘proven’’ to the world how smart I am. But there is always going to be someone smarter than me. Some of us deal with that reality a little better than others. Obviously today I’m not dealing with it so well.
