Raj actually got me thinking. Well, not in maths though. His story about the seemingly insane, coke-drinking, donut-loving, gold rings enthusiast/mother of two deprived children was what got me thinking. That proverbial "Why you liddat?" actually showed that everyone in the World, and probably out of it as well, are selfish.
Okay, before some of you self-righteous ones start jumping to your own defenses, which by the way would classify as a selfish act, please hear me out. First off, name three people who you reckon are selfless, or have done selfless deed(s). To save the trouble of waiting for a response, I have come up with three people who I think most would see as selfless, or who most will think have done something selfless.
Mahatma Ghandi. Also known as The Topless Toppler of The British. So selfless that he chose to keep his wardrobe as light and Spartan as normal decency would allow. So selfless that he led a non-violent crusade to free his home from the British rule. So selfless that he fought, peacefully mind you, for harmony between Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus. Wait, I thought this was supposed to be why I thought everyone to be selfish, Ghandi included. Getting to that, let us see, what was it that he wanted? Freedom for his country. Fighting for it, non-violent or otherwise, is selfish. It just so happens he doing that benefitted many others, hence the selfless tag. He himself a Hindu, was probably tired of fighting against the Sikhs and Muslims, and probably thought it to be wiser to fight for peace rather than supremacy. Again a selfish act. As for his wardrobe, he just wanted to air himself, and never thought of others, how selfish.
Martin Luther King. Also known as The First Defender of The Hood. Most would know of that bus incident which sparked his movement. So selfless he was that he led the movement so wholeheartedly. Going through arrests, the bombing of his house and unfortunately his assasination. He too believed in peaceful fighting. No disrespect to either Ghandi or King, but personally, I think it's rather daft to fight non-violently. More could of course be said of his dress sense compared to Ghandi, but nevertheless, he was selfish like everyone else. He was a young man who famously said "I have a dream." His dream mind you. Which just happened to coincide with many others at the time, only he was selfish enough to carry it out.
Gautama Buddha. Also known as The Supreme Vegetarian. So selfless he made the first foray to understand life and death, spreading what he learnt to people. So selfless he decided to turn herbivorous and save lives of not just humans but animals as well. So selfless he gave up his crown-princeship to be a wandering vagabond. So, it continues to confound me how a self-disciplined vegetarian could get so joyfully round, to say the least. Well, one selfish act on his part would be his demand of offerings. About him giving up his crown-princeship, I guess he grew tired of royal life and wanted a new challenge. Vegetarianism, that was probably a health influenced decision, how extremely selfish to deprive butchers of their business.
So you see, people who are seemingly selfless are in the end still selfish. I am however not playing down any of their contributions. In fact I am trying to show how they being selfish actually made them do these good deeds.
Being selfish is not a sin, if you are selfish in a good way. Being selfish is what keeps us as humans alive. The next time someone calls you selfish, you can say, "Look how well it's working for me."
Getting rejected is like jumping over a fence. Either you get over it, or you get hurt.
Posted on 8/23/2006 09:18:00 PM
