I would like to see a lot more selfishness on this site. I see way too much name-calling, hatred, vitriol, and downright meanness being directed from one Kossack to another. I would really like to see it stop, or at least be significantly reduced.
What the hell am I talking about, you say? Can't one define meanness and the rest as selfishness? I suppose you could. But I don't. Just how do I define selfishness, you say? Follow me below the fold to find out.
I define selfishness as the act of doing what is in your long-term best interest, regardless of what others think about it.
Punching a jerk in the face might be very gratifying at the time, but it just might not be in your long-term best interest. After all, they may punch back. They may press charges. Or, you may feel bad about yourself for doing it.
Calling your congressman or senator, as joanneleon so aptly asks is a selfish act. Why? Lots of reasons. You may help to get them to help stop the cutting of entitlements that the poor so desperately need, and you might feel very good about yourself for having done that. You might not feel so powerless afterwards, nor so guilty because you knew that you could have helped, but you did nothing.
Donating money to a worthy cause, if you have the money to spare, is a VERY selfish act. Why? Well, how do you feel about yourself after you do? How long does that feeling stay with you? If you have donated to a charity or to a fellow Kossack in need, how did that make you feel?
Calling a fellow Kossack a liar is not a selfish act. It may seem appropriate (and true) at the time, but is it in your long-term best interest? If you actually did that, or if you saw someone else here do it, did you notice that the 'liar' did not say "you know, you're right. I see your point and I've decided you were right and I was wrong." No, I didn't think so. If you are trying to make this person see your point of view, name-calling is not very effective. It only stresses you and them out. True, they may be stressing YOU out, but you know the old adage about an eye for an eye, and what that does for everyone's eyesight.
It is my contention that anger, invectives, perjoratives, and general meanness is not in your long-term best interest. You won't win ANY arguments or persuade anyone doing that. All it will do is raise everyone's stress levels. Including your own. So please everyone, be a little more selfish, will ya?