VIRTUE, THE NEW ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR.

It has been awhile since I have posted anything on DU because of the usual knee-jerk reactions my posts seem to engender. I have been told by some who consider themselves party loyalists, "Why don't you just go to the Green party like your username implies?" I don't mind such outbursts of frustration or disdain. Especially since my username is an attempt to establish my position within the liberal mind set rather than my political affiliation. Let me be clear, I AM A DEMOCRAT! I will remain a Democrat no matter what. Even as I become disgusted by the non-action of my party during a dire time in our nation's history. Even in the face of behaviors by my party leaders that ofttimes have me scratching my head and wondering about what motivates them, fear, greed or the protection of their political careers. Which leads me to why I decided to post about the above titled subject. Virtue.

Let's face a few things first. Judging by the behavior used to achieve success within our current social climate, how would you assess what it takes to "get ahead" today? What standard is being used by those who have already achieved what passes for social success? How are those who are arguably at the top of the social ladder conducting themselves? Did they step on fingers as they climbed over those ahead of them on the rungs or did they get a hand up as they passed by? This is an important question. Because how one conducts themselves on the climb is as significant as how they conduct themselves on the inevitable fall from their lofty positions. It is the natural cycle of things to eventually experience a down turn in fortune. How many of those people we climb over on our ascension to our desired positions would reach out to alleviate our fall when it comes? Because, admittedly, it is far more difficult to reach out with broken fingers.

The examples of what passes for normal behavior by those at the "top" are too numerous to list here. We all know of them. And the conduct of our current crop of leaders sets the climate for anyone who wishes to become "successful" in our culture today. We all know what is the make-up of that climate. We bemoan its actions throughout this site. We castigate them for their immoral and virtueless dealings. We express anger, dismay and demoralized resignation at the fact that there seems to be no justice for their crimes and affronts to decent living. We gnash our teeth over the complete lack of moral and ethical leadership among those who have risen to the upper social strata by virtue of our support. We have become contemptuous over the state of our society and our complete lack of concern for our fellow man. Until there is some kind of disaster which brings out the best in people, we continue, dissatisfied with the current social environment as a whole.

Having been branded while in the Navy by a Marine Corps colonel as a, and I quote, "Wanton non-conformist," I will continue in my natural state and offer the following for your consideration. Being the natural rebel and revolutionary that I am, I have embarked on a course of behavior that started in 1993. Because the climate of behavior that is considered normal within the society I have chosen to be a part of seems to be anything but ethical, moral and virtuous, I have decided to launch my own kind of anti-social behavior. Since I suffer from an acute case of terminal uniqueness and I shiver at the thought of being like everyone else, I have come to the conclusion that in order to stand out and apart from everyone else, it is imperative that I conduct myself in the most honest, open, caring for others way possible. Not because I hold to some established creed of conduct or am a particularly religious person. No, it is much simpler than that.

It's my way of stirring the shit. Challenging the norms and clashing with the establishment. Am I successful in the normal sense? Anything but. Am I rich or famous? Hardly. Do people hang on my ever utterance? Not even close. For the most part, I am overlooked, rarely considered and just as easily dismissed by those in more established modes of acceptable status. But I remain. Consistently, by my perceived lack of normal ambition, desire to achieve financial status or social position, or unwillingness to move up the ladder of success at the expense of those above or below me, I am a constant irritation to those who have gotten where they are by other more "normal" means. I have been conspired against, held back, pushed down and stopped dead in my tracks. But I remain, undaunted in my act of revolution. I am becoming like leaven within my little part of society. And I live in a deep red state. My willingness to help others in the climb, to even push those above me in their ascension up leaves a lasting impression.

I don't do this because of the hope of any reward, at least a reward in this life. I do so because it is at the heart of what it is to be "liberal." It is at the core of the principles of what it means to have a liberal mind set. By living by liberal virtue it is my intention to create a "liberal revolution" by example rather than by label only. It is my act of rebellion. My claim to distinction and uniqueness. One of the first of many shots across the bow of the ship of society. Because, as it was said by another social revolutionary;

"What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?"

I was watching The Corporation last night. Great movie. Depressing as hell. I mean, inside somewhere I knew what they were saying about corporations was true. I had just never let myself verbalize it. We have created a government of Psychopaths with no allegiance other then their desire for money. Big business calls the shots right now.. and big business is freaking shady. Instead of giving them all free reign of our government and letting them pay "us" off with Golf trips and psychopharmical gifts we should be atleast waking up and realizing that capitalism comes at a cost. There is something to be said about social equality. There is something beautiful about communities of people doing caring things for each other.

I wanna go buy a yurt and practice random acts of kindness.