Social Criticism without Judgement

The title of my new blog is The Micro Moralist, and the hope is that a title accurately describes the issues that will be written about. Just in case the title doesn't do that, here is a brief explanation of my motivations and what you can expect from this blog.

The moralist part of the title might seem self explanatory, but I will not be going anywhere near the moral issues that most people argue about on a daily basis, nor do I claim to be some holier than thou preacher of all things good and virtuous. If you are looking for someone to reinforce your already held beliefs about these issues, then you have clicked on the wrong link. The key to the title is actually the word Micro. Where Moralists might busy themselves with issues of sexuality, abortion, violence, cloning etc... a Micro Moralist, like myself, will be dealing with issues of littering, cutting in line, saving seats, honking, and basically most things that we deal with in social interactions on a daily basis. So why the moralist? Why not something that more accurately describes the gravity or weight of what I am talking about? Precisely because I believe that these smaller issues of daily social interaction are just as important, if not more important that a person's views on abortion, sexuality or even religion. As controversial as these issues are, it is rare that any of us are actually faced with anything near the weight of these Moral choices.

Micro Moralism deals with who you are in every moment of your day based on all the choices you make. Are you selfish? Are you a good person? How do you know? Others might have a more accurate view you in this regard, but if you read my blog on a daily basis, I hope to help you answer these questions. Some of these blogs might be funny, while others may be more serious. I also hope to show that I am not going to be writing about these things from above, but from the very level that all of us inhabit. Today I will tell a story of something I did that made me feel like a bad person, and rightfully so.

Pooper Scooper doofus

This happened when I was walking my dog about seven years ago. We didn't have kids at the time and I walked him way more than I do now. I also took him for much longer walks. On this particular walk, as with most walks, he pooped three times very early in a long walk and I did my duty and picked it up in the little black plastic bags and tied them up. In our apartment complex there were these convenient little trash cans for dog poop, but I was well out of our neighborhood carrying these hot and smelly little bags of poop and I couldn't find a trash can anywhere. I was getting tired of carrying them, and I wish that I could say that when I dropped them behind some bushes in someone's yard that my plan was to pick them up on the way back. Unfortunately, I never had the chance. The owner of the house happened to see my offense and asked what I thought I was doing. My embarrassment precluded any explanations, mainly because I had none, being that I was hoping to be free of those bags. So I apologized, picked up the bags and walked away.

Why did I do it? Because I was thinking only of my discomfort and placing my minor needs above the needs someone I didn't know. I also obviously didn't think anyone was watching, and my risk of being caught or punished was small. Where does that offense rank in the world of crime? Pretty low I guess, but seven years later, I still feel bad. And when someone asks the cliched question of who are we when nobody is looking, I can't help but remember that moment. I was willing to literally toss crap into somebody's backyard because I didn't think anybody was watching. So, by that standard, I am a crap tosser, that's who I am when nobody is watching. I don't just drop a gum wrapper or flick a cigarette butt, I leave hot stinking bags of dog feces in unsuspecting people's back yards. I would like to think that I am still a good person, but does a good person do that? I am pretty sure that if you perused 100 lists of things that make you a good person, that littering poop bags isn't on any of those lists. And I am almost positive that the person who caught me trying to hide those bags behind her bushes doesn't think of me as a good person. The only thing I can do is try to learn from my mistake. So If you ever catch me being overly judgemental in one of my blogs, just remind me that I am a selfish crap tosser.

Should I start my blog this way? I am not sure, but for this journey to be successful, there must be tough self examination. Ask yourself what you have done when you thought that noone was watching or when you thought you wouldn't be punished.