In many of our blogs we grapple with what we should and should not do in our daily lives. We ask each other to comment on how we can best behave because of the people and principles we care about. We (presumably) use this and other information to go about making the right decisions. When it comes down to it, some of us are trying to be good people.
What does it mean to be a good person, I mean, what does it mean to you?
Does it mean taking care of your family, if so how have you done that lately?
Does it mean doing your job well, if so do you do it for yourself or to provide for the people who count on you?
Does it mean doing things you think are acts of goodwill or doing things that will look good and be recognized in the eyes of others?
Does helping others make you a good person or does the good person take care of their self so that no one has to take care of them?
Does someone who gives a lot of the worst, unhealthy and irrational advice still count as a good person for having the best intentions and your best interest at heart?
Does the possibility of hurting someone else deeply merit lying or is honesty a necessary evil to the good person?
How we’re feeling has a lot to do with our opinions of ourselves and our assessment of how well we’ve fulfilled the necessary responsibilities that define who we think we ought to be. Many of us agree we are not perfect, but are trying to be good. Often we coat our canvas with a wash of grey to begin with when we paint a picture of ourselves. This time instead of finding how many ways in we can defeat ourselves, perhaps the truly challenging exercise involves digging deep to find the circumstances where we sense that we are good: pleased, accomplished, recognized, altruistic, sensible, empathic, skilled, heroic . . . .
Was there ever a time when you righteously declared “You can’t do this to me!” or “This can’t be happening to me . . . I am a GOOD PERSON!” And the moment it came you out you briefly but seriously considered ~ “What can I say to back that up with?” Of course the police officer, highway patrol, feisty meter-maid, customer service rep, mugger, mall rent-a-cop, cranky professor, red-tape-bound administrator, etc. never actually call you on it, but you’ve started building a response already. And after you’ve walked away, whether with a ticket, punishment or completely empty handed, you continue to obsess over why this shouldn’t be happening to a good soul like yours. Maybe the best way to figure out what makes you a good person is to tap into what it is that made you feel you deserved a more favorable outcome in those moments. In a given scenario where being a good person counts, what bankable qualities could you count on to merit you a better deal or at least a less severe punishment?
AFTERALL:
~What does it mean to be a good person?~
The page you were looking for no longer exists
MikoFabulous posted on Oct 05, 2006
| views: 2579
Comments
-
MikoFabulous said on Oct 05, 2006....
This is a very open ended piece, with a lot of suppositions that I wanted people to join in on and add their own wisdom too. Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than thought provoking comments that make for great tag team efforts on blogs.
I do want people to realize that I use the word "good" as a very broad, umbrella term for a great many adjectives. I don't mean it in the religious sense alone, although in some people's minds that might be how they define good. I hope to hear what you consider feel falls under that umbrella too.
This blog is very much in writing what I consider freestyling to be in dancing.
-
silverwhisper said on Oct 05, 2006....
god but i have a lot of thoughts on this...i'll have to come back when i've gathered and organized them somewhat.
ed
-
FaithfulDisciple said on Oct 05, 2006....
The basic definition I would have for being good is summed up in one of the two basic Christian commandments. Love your neighbor as yourself.
A good person is someone who would'nt do anything harmful or hurtful to another person. Acts of charity and works of mercy are good deeds performed voluntarily by a good person.
-
aeschylus said on Oct 05, 2006....
Miko ...
I want to comment on this but I've got take care of something for a few hours, so I'm commenting here so it will go into my conversations link.
Sorry to be so lazy.
aeschylus
bai ming sheng
-
MikoFabulous said on Oct 05, 2006....
I have to admit I really am interested in hearing back from you.
-
StrangeOne said on Oct 05, 2006....
I would go essentially with FaithfulDisciple's definition. Or to put it simply: someone who does not cause suffering. But I would change just one thing: not someone who is simply not hurtful to another person, but someone who is not hurtful to another LIVING BEING. A person who is nice to people but kicks their dog is not a good person in my book.
Of course, this opens up a can of worms: that of the suffering directly caused to animals by the process of raising and killing them to eat them and use their skins etc., and indirectly by those who simply eat them/use their products. And of course there are also those who do scientific experiments on animals as well.
However, most people, who do not actually do the slaughtering, experimenting, etc., are blissfully unaware of the suffering that goes on. And they probably don't want to think about it. By my definition, then technically that would make many people "bad." But I suppose there is only so much cognitive dissonance a person can live with without losing their sanity. Continuing the tradition of eating animals while carefully contemplating their suffering would cause lots of difficult cognitive dissonance, and I can't really blame people for avoiding it. Thus, I figure they mean well, and thus they are basically "good".
The further can of worms this opens up is, don't we cause suffering to living beings by eating fruits and vegetables as well? Cutting down trees? Using plants to make textiles etc.? That's a tough call. On one hand, maybe not, since they don't possess a nervous system. On the other hand, books such as "The Secret Life of Plants" indicate that some studies seem to suggest that perhaps they DO experience suffering in some way. But seeing as we are not plants, however, we can never truly know the subjective world of Being a Plant. Perhaps it is simply impossible to live in this physical world without inflicting some degree of suffering on other living beings. If so, then "good" can only be considered a relative term, not an absolute...
-
Blade said on Oct 05, 2006....
You can’t truly define what makes a good person. That’s very much open to subjectivity. I never thought child molesters were good people. But the republicans would have you believe that Congressman Mark Foley is a good guy who just made a mistake.
Seriously though, that’s a really hard one to define. What is definable, though, is how to make people think you are a good person. For example, if every time some office jerk wad comes up and wants to talk to you for a half hour about their mentally unstable sister you actually feign interest, that person will walk around all day telling everyone what a good person you are. If you debate with that uber nerd in class about who was a superior captain, Picard or Kirk – he will let you cheat off his math test for the rest of the semester.
Personal relationships are typically based on deception. If someone is a ‘good’ person, they’re probably getting something out of it.
-
MikoFabulous said on Oct 06, 2006....
Blade, that is a very interesting perspective! I like the interpersonal aspect of what you're implying.
-
Blade said on Oct 07, 2006....
Thanks. I do like to put a cynical spin on everything I read. It’s not to imply though that there aren’t a few decent people out there who merit friendship, because there are. Just be aware of swindlers and watch for deception. There are slick people out there who will work you over to feed their own egos.
-
aeschylus said on Oct 07, 2006....
Miko and Blade ...
I really have to go with Blade's line of reasoning on this without going into a long-winded comment.
However, Blade ... I don't think you are being cynical at all. Seems sometimes we end up in a mass of deception before we even realize it. And the ego frenzy and desparation seem to be at a high these days.
aeschylus
bai ming sheng
Comment on "What does it mean to be a good person?"
Related Posts:
Hegemone
posted 6 days ago
| views: 63
|
Beware, there MAY be fowl language ... work is NOT going the way I want it to ... very bad idea work ... bad things may happen ...... read entire post