If Everything is Going to Hell, Why Bother Doing Anything Good?
Let me tell you why.
One of the commentators I follow on Facebook presented an interesting question: why bother? Why should I stop at stop signs in the middle of the night when nobody is around? Why should I bother voting for liberal politicians in a red state? Why should I recycle when so much plastic gets thrown away and sits in the environment forever?
Why bother being a good person in a terrible world?
They then suggested an answer posed by Aristotle: don’t ask what you should do in a particular instance, ask what kind of person you want to be. Do you value the environment? Recycle. Do you value democracy? Vote. Do you value the safety of others? Then stop at the bloody stop sign even if you think nobody is around, you heathen.
Who we are as people is reflected in our actions. It’s easy for me to say I’d go a long way for my friends, but it’s another to actually do it. Being green and caring about the environment is a popular thing to say, but actually doing what you can is trickier. I can write about how much I care about democracy and making sure that America reflects the kind of country I want to live in, but if I don’t even vote, then how does that reflect on me?
Yes, this can be read as a “be the good you want to see in the world” sort of thing, but it’s really more like “be the good you want to see in yourself.” Do good things, both on a small scale and a large one, and do them without the expectation of compensation or praise. Let your actions reflect who you aspire to be as a person.
That said, we all fall down sometimes. The world is a draining place to live, so sometimes you just don’t have the energy to recycle that plastic bottle. It’s okay, sometimes the best thing you can do is to take care of yourself and do your best next time. We live in a world where it is impossible to make 100% ethical decisions. Just be the best person you can manage at any given time.
There is another truism that who we are as people is reflected in how we act when we think nobody is looking. That is true to a great extent, especially in today’s era of performative charity. Many people do a lot of good things for the views — give away boatloads of money, do public acts of charity, and just make a show of being good people.
None of that is to lessen the charity being done in those instances — a million dollars donated publicly does as much good as a million dollars donated anonymously, after all. It always intrigues me, however, when stories come out about what those people do once the cameras are off and the views don’t matter.
An interesting twist on that is the notion that everything we do is for public consumption thanks to the fact that we all have internet access anywhere and carry cameras on us at all times. Bad behavior can be filmed by anyone at any time, uploaded in seconds, and get millions of views in a day. Celebrities who act poorly can be put on blast on Twitter and get blacklisted within a week. It’s hard to put forth a public persona of goodness when Reddit is full of stories of you being a total jerk to anyone and everyone.
On the flip side, it also allows people to spread stories of goodness among those in the spotlight. Brenden Frasier is going through this right now since the internet has decided that he got a raw deal for what a good person he is. Keanu Reeves gets a similarly good rap for just sort of being a chill dude most of the time. Dolly Parton is an internet darling as well, and people like Fred Rogers, Bob Ross, and Steve Irwin get a lot of posthumous love. These people exemplify the good that they want to put into the world at all times, even when the cameras are off.
So, the next time that you are wondering “why should I bother doing this thing,” remember to ask yourself what kind of person you want to be. Will recycling one bottle save the world? Probably not, but it will help, and if you care about the environment, then it’s worth your energy to do it. Are you a liberal in a conservative district in a red state? Vote anyway. Democracy dies when there aren’t enough people who care, and voting is a way to indicate that you care about democracy.
Figure out what kind of person you want to be, what you value, and what good you want to do, then reflect that in your actions even when you think nobody is looking. Sometimes, simply acting out how you want to live your life regardless of who is watching will help you feel better about yourself, and when you put that kind of good into the world, it tends to amplify itself back to you.
Just, regardless of what you care about, please don’t be a jerk to people. There is enough of that in the world right now. It costs you nothing to be kind.
Be well and do good out there.
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