High horses seem to be the preferred mode of travel these days. With noses in the air and heads getting bigger by the second, it appears we would do anything to avoid getting our hands dirty. However, it’s time we shed this illusion of cleanliness and recognize how filthy our actions make us. So let’s take a trip back to reality using public transportation, shall we?
It seems as though we inflate our egos at the expense of others. To make us feel better about ourselves we make others feel worse about themselves and the choices they have made. We amplify their mistakes to minimize our own because it makes us feel like we have the right to stand on a moral high ground. This deception prevents us from learning how to be humble and accountable for ourselves, cultivating an irritating “holier-than-thou” mentality that needs to be stopped. With cancel culture running wild and untamed, we’ve all become way too comfortable with avoiding reflections and pointing fingers. However, another person’s mistake is not an opportunity to put yourself on a pedestal.
To help you get down from your high horse, here’s one of the hardest pills to swallow: You are a bad person. Yeah, you read that right. YOU are a bad person. There has been a time in your life when you were immoral, unfair, rude, malicious and offensive. Consequently, you have absolutely no business shaming others for imperfections when you are also extremely flawed. Picking someone apart does not make you a better person and it certainly doesn’t give you any right to feel superior to another person.
Perhaps being able to criticize behind the safety of a screen has made it okay to dish out opinions with little to no consequences. Every day, someone else is at the center of the shame circle, taking blows from people who have done the exact same, if not worse. We forget that making mistakes is not an egregious act, but rather an important step towards self-improvement. Demanding this impossible level of perfection creates a fear that hinders necessary growth and self-discovery.
One bad choice doesn’t give you the right to write someone off as an awful person, just like one good choice doesn’t automatically make someone a good person. We are all made up of good and bad decisions, which means that one single choice does not account for our entire character. People have the capability to change and grow as they learn from their mistakes. Ostracizing a person for ONE of their choices is absurd and unhealthy. We should be using these opportunities to educate and enlighten, not shame and shun.
You gain absolutely nothing by spending your time highlighting another person’s faults. That energy should be used for self-improvement instead because the only person you have ANY right to criticize is yourself. Take a good, hard look in the mirror and decide if you like the person that you see. Maybe you’re using the flaws of another as a way to avoid confronting your own. Whatever reason you have, consider your option of keeping your mouth shut and focusing on yourself before jumping at the chance to attack someone else.
