Sub-Culture, 2

MOMENTS & MEANING

By TLS

Writing Sub-Culture, 1 got me thinking, I’ve thought of this before of course, many times. But, I wasn’t writing these things out before either. So this is an excellent time to follow this site’s description to “…articulate thoughts and ideas…” and this seems to be an excellent time to dive in on the deeper side.

Am I a hypocrite or viewing others with some sort of double standard? Let’s find out!

First a definition. Oxford defines hypocrisy as: “…the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform…” A hypocrite is then someone who does this.

What are my views? Let’s see if we can make this succinct, or at least under 10,000 words. Right?

Ok, how should a grown man behave? I believe a grown man should be responsible, credible, honest (as possible), hard-working, and dependable. But also friendly, open-minded, and maybe a sprinkle of compassion (so says my wife at least). These descriptors could go on for a very long time but I think this is probably good enough for our purposes. Also, remember from Part 1 “I’m very much a ‘…don’t bother me and I won’t bother you…’ type of person.”

So, do any of these views conflict with the lifestyle of the Proponent in Part 1? I don’t think so. Do I condemn or condone then? How about neither? How about noticeable but indifferent? Do I think this is how a grown man should behave? Not really. Does it have any real impact on my life? Again, not really. Am I secretly participating? Nooope! Also, I’m not doing anything to interfere or impede, that I’m aware of at least.

But what if it did impact me or I did interfere?

If I had to put up with or deal with, some effort-producing level of this lifestyle, how would I react? I suppose that question comes down to the level. And, that position I think can be applied to everybody relating to pretty much anything and everything.

As long as something is not going to cause us problems, now or down the road, we can be indifferent. Here’s something important to remember or consider; a lack of deliberate endorsement does not necessarily mean a stance of condemnation. Sometimes a lack of endorsement simply means I have enough shit to do already.

So, am I guilty of a double standard? I don’t think so. What I think about something doesn’t really matter, whether I notice it or not. What matters are my actions and behaviors and I don’t think there’s any double standard there. But, I could be wrong.

If we’re honest, most of us wrestle with contradictions. We want to believe we’re consistent, moral, and fair. But life’s messy, and so are we. So maybe the question isn’t “Am I a hypocrite?” Maybe it’s “Am I aware enough to notice when I am?” Read. Reflect. Then look in the mirror.

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