The Conspiracy of Being a "Good Person"

The conspiracy I am speaking of is that of being a "good person" and the idea that being a good and virtuous person is a goal all people should seek.

Most religions hold such virtues as honesty, compassion, generosity and selflessness as their most righteous goals. Our western society idolizes and sanctifies those people that we feel most embody the ideal of a "good person", Mother Theresa, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, even those people who would otherwise be considered selfish businessmen can change their image through humanitarian actions. Those members of society who are known for being concerned with only themselves are often maligned and hated, made to be modern devils and held up as examples of what not to do.

Though I have studied much and, in the past, have sought to embody these positive concepts as best I can, I must admit that I no longer believe these goals to be worthwhile. It doesn't take much knowledge of religion or philosophy to see who gains the most in our society. This is no modern occurrence as a brief study of history will plainly show that those who have succeeded the most, who have gained the most, were ruthless, selfish, self serving and merciless. This is true for almost every facet of life both modern and historic.

Experience proves that the more one gives, the more others will take. The more you do for others the more they will expect you to do for them. It is undeniable that there are certain situations where total honesty will result in direct misery to one's self where as deceit will offer one both comfort and the ability to continue such deception. Selflessness and generosity may help another to succeed but self service, ambition and desire will help you achieve what you want out of life. There is, however, one underlying necessity to the attainment of life's goals in such a manner and that is the fact that others will attempt to be "good people" and you will be able to gain from their generosity, honesty and self sacrifice.

Therein lies the conspiracy. The concept that we should all try to be "good people", the idea that "good people" get into heaven, that the righteous will have their reward, that self sacrifice is appreciated and that generosity always offers a much higher return is what keeps us in line. This concept is what makes it possible for those with merciless ambition to rise above their fellow man and possibly come to dominate them whether it be financially, politically or through religious means. The idea that we should be good is ingrained in us from a very young age and most people will buy into it. In order to carry this concept through life people are required to deceive themselves to such an extent that dissonance is inevitable when people are confronted with the reality of the world around us. In simple terms, we know that the good person concept is wrong, we see it every day yet we still cling to it in desperate hope that one day we will be rewarded, that our selfless actions will be appreciated. We tell ourselves that while we may not have riches or power we are somehow better than those that do because we labor selflessly and in obscurity, never expecting praise or appreciation. It is exactly this mode of thought that allows others to dominate us.

The only way to succeed in this world is to serve one's self. One must have ambition, one must be ruthless, cunning and deceitful. You must prey on other people's poorly conceived notions of "good" and use these to your own end. If you want something and you must lie to someone to achieve it then your only options are to be deceitful or go without. The decision is one that we must all make, will we accept that fact that false virtues are nothing but a tool to constrain the masses or will we buy into the lies told to us by those who do not practice what they preach? The only true path to both success and peace in one's mind and heart is to be honest with yourself, if you know, intellectually, that the world works in one way then you must not tell yourself differently and act contrary to what you know to be true.

I feel I must clarify one thing before I finish and that is that one must be perceived as a good person who deserves what they gain in life. You can not go through live taking and praising yourself like a spoiled child. People must like you before they will give to you, people must think you are fair or they will not follow you, you must seem compassionate or they will not listen to you. You must always keep your machinations secret for if your true motivations are discovered people will react negatively and all your plans will fail. You must always be perceived as a righteous and virtuous person and people will be entirely influenced by what you do and say. This is a fine art and requires much study and practice but is something that can be used to much effect in all aspects of life. If done correctly one may use other people to one's own gain and people will be grateful for it, simply offer them what they want and they will give you anything in return.

People may judge what I have said negatively but it is the way of the world in which we live. A well rounded person sees the world for what it is and acts accordingly. A fulfilled person sees their interactions with others for what they truly are and does not attempt to deceive themselves with altruistic philosophy. Live yoru life however you wish, attempt to be Christlike if you must but do not bemoan your lot in life when you realize that you have been used, are unhappy and have not achieved those things which you desire.

reply to post by Shadowflux


/x/?



I'll read your post now!! just had to rofl at that!! nice!

reply to post by badw0lf


lol, forgot to edit that

reply to post by Shadowflux


It may be true that the good guy usually finishes last, but at the end of the day, it's myself that I have to live with. I have learned that being generous does lead to being used... not always, but quite often. I'd rather be broke than to take advantage of people, though. I guess it all depends on one's conscience. I'm convinced that some people just do not have them, though.

Sadly, I agree with the majority of your post, but I feel that's why it's important to be happy with the REAL things in life, such as family, friends, and life itself. When material things don't really matter so much, there's no need to be greedy. Easier said than done, but that's my take on life.

As I have been saying for a while now, human evolution is no longer 'survival of the fittest', but 'survival of the ruthless'

reply to post by gemineye


It's true that we all must live with ourselves at the end of the day but I've found that we also have to live with the concept that we may not achieve what we want out of life by only being a good person. This idea of a conscience is part of what I'm talking about in regards to the conspiracy of being a good person. Why should we feel guilty for doing what we must to get what we want? I feel that it is society, religion and politics that have corrupted our conscience. You may feel guilty for lying to someone but would you not also feel bad, at the end of the day, knowing that you were used by someone who gained by exploiting your concept of what a "good person" is?

It's true that there is more to life that material goods, wealth and power, I know this better than most. My attempt to be a good person was a vigorous and heartfelt one. I do believe that if everyone worked together, if everyone truly sought altruistic goals, that this world would be a better place. I just feel that it is undeniably obvious that the world does not work that way, I also feel that concepts like good people being rewarded in the end are fallacies and are used to keep us subservient.

In the end, though, it really is a personal decision we must all make, can we live with ourselves if we succeed by the means of our world or should we labor, sometimes to our detriment, under the notion that good, while it may not always prevail, is the right path?

reply to post by BombDefined


I would say that it has always been survival of the ruthless. More over, I might offer the idea that ruthlessness, in many situations, is what makes someone fit enough to succeed and thrive. Lets say we are in a survival situation, we have enough rations to last us and our party through the winter, then we find a few other survivors who have no rations. Should we be "good" and share our rations even though it might mean the death of us and our party or should we be ruthless and leave them and ensure our own survival and the survival of those we are caring for? Sometimes the ruthless are the fittest

Once you have learned compassion, you must learn wisdom. The wisdom with which to apply that compassion. Help those of whom you can help, walk past those who seek not help, but instead choose to manipulate your compassion in an inappropriate manner. "Cast not your pearls to swine" J.C., comes to mind. Do no evil. My definition of evil is, an intentional act meant to hurt another. It's all in the intent. You can still be a "good" person, a compassionate person but nobody's fool as well. Therein lies the Art of compassion with wisdom.

PEACE & LOVE to you all.

Namaste

reply to post by HUMBLEONE


I like what you've said and I think it goes along well with what I've been saying. I'm not endorsing the idea that we should actively hurt others, in fact, hurting others would act to your detriment in situations where other people are a necessity. In fact, I am saying that trying to live by the concepts of "good" that we have been fed will act only to hurt ourselves. If we succeed in this world then we may very well have the power and resources to effect positive change for a larger portion of society than we otherwise would.

If you don't like living in a society with Christian values (whether people are Christian or not) go to a society that hasn't been touched by white man, like a tribe in the Amazon or something.

We cannot try to be good in order not to be bad, to be good, and loving, and selfless, must be it's own reward in matters of the heart, while of course remaining aware that sometimes there can be a fine line between holiness and assholiness, and thus not get carried away with our "sainthood".

But the a-hole will learn and he'll reap what he sows, and you can't take anything with you in the end. In matters of the heart and soul, even of life itself, and the eternal life, which we must seek to enter into, while alive by dying to self - the "payoff" for being authentically and truly good, is astounding, and while the apparent material benefit may seem to go to the merciless - in the fullness of time and history, we all get what we deserve.

It is the Godless man who must conclude that he simply MUST be willing to go to any lengths to get whatever he can for himself while he can. The spiritual person on the other hand triumphs in the final analysis, simply because he had the intelligence to first place his heart on the kingdom of heaven.

To give is to recieve, and is to grow and expand as a self aware being. To take for one's own self, is to contract, and DIE, even though you might possess the keys to a Mercedes Benz!

When will we learn, and come into understanding..?

You dont become a good person to benefit the well being of others, but instead you push yourself to become a good person for your own personal advancement.

You gain by doing good, you learn and you evolve as a human, you create a wider level of understanding and personal happiness. Im not into the whole karma or law of one scenario exactly, but I do essentially believe that the energy of this universe mirrors that which we put off, and in turn creates your reality.

So in my own opinion, doing good in the world is the ultimate selfish act, it is bringing good to the world for the benefit of one's own soul and personal enlightenment.

I /x/eeded my 4 hour window to edit.. I forogget//




[size=12]:^)

reply to post by badw0lf


That's freaking FUNNY! You're funny!

But he had the courage to be honest, and I admire that actually, but his mind and viewpoint is based purely in a materialist monist framework and worldview, as trained. And from that perspective, who can blame a man for such reasoning, but it's faulty reasoning, and leads only to death, although you could amass wealth and treasure, even temporal power in this life. Flip it inside out, however and my God THERE IT IS! So he's just one step away, and might have to have this experience, even for this or perhaps many lifetimes to recognize, that he was only ever one step down, and of course, therefore, never alone in the stadium again!

These threads are fascinating! Life and death, the rise and fall of men, all in the course of a few posts, maybe even only one roll of the mouse scrollwheel.

reply to post by Shadowflux


I'm in complete agreement with you. I don't know how many times I've said, "I'm finished with being the nice girl!" It's an internal battle for sure. I like helping people and like making people happy, but I've known a few people that have really taken advantage of generosity... both mine and that of other people. Sometimes it's even family that does it. I'm a "forgive and forget" kind of person though, so I probably put myself out there to be taken advantage of. It doesn't make me feel guilty when I know I've been taken advantage of, but it does make me angry at myself.

However, I do have to say that I have known some EXTREMELY generous people who have always been there for me when I needed any sort of help, and I didn't even have to ask for it. Fortunately, the "good people" have outnumbered the bad, in my experience. I've come to recognize the traits of a greedy person and I tend to stay away from them. Honestly, I could probably count the people who I consider to be truly good, on one hand.

As far as religion goes, I've known atheists who treat people better than most Christians. I've also a few Christians who are truly good and who are always giving without expecting anything in return. I don't think religion has a whole lot to do with it. I think it all comes down to the individual person. I'm very fortunate to know a lot of good people, but I'm still in agreement with you. I've been taken advantage of and seen other people taken advantage of, far too many times. It is hard to have faith in humanity sometimes, but there are a few good ones still out there... people who give without making a big show of it.

I still agree with what you said, though.

reply to post by Shadowflux


Well I guess it depends on what you have defined as the goal in your life.
If you are going to subscribe the view that whoever has the most stuff at the end wins then your right being nice will not necessarily help, it also won't necessarily hinder you either, it's perfectly possible to go through life being greedy, unfriendly, unhelpful and still end up poor and miserable.

If you define yourself by comparing your life to other peoples and comparing what you have or haven't got then you are always going to be miserable no matter how much you have got as there is always going to be someone with more then you

There is a diabolical truth to your post, in which one can plainly sense the subjugation that is religion.

Dear OP.

Let me get this straight and to the point. You believe that being good means being taken advantage of, and thus you are sick and tired of it and want to be bad, ruthless or at worse, apathetic?

All it really takes to be a good person is hurt or harm no one. Just one simple law.

Those that seek to hurt or harm you and certainly not good persons, and thus you have no reason to be 'good' to them should they take adavantage of you. Only a fool would let such people do such thing to oneself.

Dont you feel better within your self when you do something nice for someone?

I know I do but then I all so think "Am I selfish for doing something nice just because it makes me feel better than treating people like a James Blunt"

Im not a religious person and have in the past done some bad things to people in retaliation for things they have done to me, but I still cant help feeling bad for my actions, My mind just seams to slip into their head and I think about what id feel like if it was me on their in their shoes.

reply to post by BombDefined


They are so impolite. it's a sociopsychological issue. Don't start telling me about women, they've got their hand in so much 'misunderstandings...