Do Gooder

  Life is simple. Eat your vegetables. Say your prayers. Go to church. Obey your elders. Don't lie or fib. Work hard. Be responsible. Don't drink and drive. Be polite. Don't take vengeance. Unless you want a balanced diet, or you're at work, or you get sick, or your authority sanctions infanticide, or your wife asks you if she looks fat in that dress, or you've been working all day, or its not your fault,  or you just had one, or they were rude first, or they had it coming. We wax eloquent on the ideals, and we become even more sophisticated with the rationalities, but we all know a good person when we see one, and most of us can't or won't be him or her. That means most of us are hypocrites. If you can't live up to your own ideal, it doesn't mean you're wrong to have an opinion, it means you're wrong to be satisfied with your stagnancy. Ideas are necessary. Discussion is preferred. But ideas without action are meaningless and time is of the essence. The simple pleasures of life are not only procured by philosophizing but by the realization of those philosophies, unless the philosophy is to realize that there is no realization.  And this philosophy has its perks, and also its dire consequences.  

Think about it. A person who does good without a reason is still satisfied by the good deed, for doing good makes one feel good, especially when done with the right motives. So how much thinking does it take to do good? Maybe there are complicated "goods" out there and philosophy is necessary for attaining them, but doesn't it seem more reasonable that philosophizing is an excuse for negligence. Can philosophizing make negligence a virtue by calling it prudence? Surely most goods are understood intuitively, and it is our crafty flesh that works against us, seeping its way into our minds and making rationales out of apathy, or just being ugly malfeasance. We must know what's right. Is it really the situation that makes it so difficult? Have we exaggerated the circumstances?  Are we just too cynical? Did we expect to much? I say to all of these: sometimes. But there is always an opportunity to be proactive about being a blessing, doing good. We ought to take every opportunity we can without being irresponsible.