Over the last few epochs, I’ve noticed a tendency in people to go to great lengths to justify the things they do, be those things hobbies, work, ways of thinking or even the amount of Leche de Cabra Semidesnatada they place in their English Breakfast tea in the morning. I ask myself why. I suspect it has to do with one of the greatest contradictions of occidental culture I’ve noted. As an infant, I was taught, as I am sure many others are, that we are innocent of any crime until proven guilty. I’ll abstract the word crime here to any action that one goes to lengths to rationalize TO OTHERS. Seemingly, as our infancy peters out, we grow into a culture that pushes us to justify our every preference, our every move.
Does this spring from the idea of currency? We live in a society of currency. Perhaps it is impressed on us that our deeds must have a sort of value and since most hobbies, ideologies and tea additive preferences are not compensated by a lump of cash, we feel they must be justified in some other way. So we babble on and on about why we do what we do.
One goal I’ve set for myself over the last said epochs is to not give excuses for my actions, preferences and especially hobbies. If something makes me happy and it is not impinging on another’s well-being or happiness, why do I have to elaborate? I don’t. And I’d rather not hear your drawn out elaboration, either. Let’s raise our hands to the sky together and chant the mantra: fuck um.
