The Dangers of Being Good

We live in a world of polarization and it is of our own doing. It is not enough that we place labels on ourselves and each other, but we make things worse when we place values on those labels. For example, I may not only see myself as an African-American male, but I judge my label to be “good”. Furthermore, I may imply that those who do not fit my label are “bad”.

Once we place a value on the various labels we assign to ourselves and others, we sow the seeds for inhuman treatment, prejudices and other harmful thoughts and actions. It is not enough for some to disagree on the topic of abortions, but because the other side is “bad”, it is okay to bomb their offices or shoot the doctor. Unfortunately, if one views being a Jew or African-American as “bad”, then it is okay to injure or kill them. Another example is if a person who has been shot 41 times by a police officer is seen as “bad”; then the shooting is ruled as justified. Additionally, if the wife of the police officer or his fellow keepers of the law testify that he is a “good” cop; then again the criminal charges against him can be dropped.

So, in a nutshell, the danger of being good has to do with how we use our subjective notions of who is good and who is bad to shape our behavior, relationships and actions. Once we have self-righteously appointed ourselves as “good” and others as “bad”, that opens the door for racism, sexism, ageism, discrimination based on one’s weight, bombings, military invasions, marital infidelity and other destructive behavior.

It is my hope that eventually we will mature beyond our selfish tainted views of morality and free ourselves from the dangers of being good.