The Narcotic of Moral Superiority

Just sitting here, listening to a bit of the media frenzy following Trump’s statements on the Charlottesville tragedy, and wondering if the genie is now truly out of the bottle.   He said the apparently unsayable – that both sides of the confrontation shared blame.  You can’t say that in the media’s America.  After all, we’re talking about Nazis here – vile, evil, haters of people different than them.  The story being pushed is that this confirms that Trump and everyone associated with him have exposed themselves as just such vile, evil, white supremacists.

Corporate CEO’s are trampling themselves trying to get out of the White House doors as fast as possible, to put as much distance as they can between themselves and the Bigot-in-Chief.  And all in the name of sanctimonious moral superiority.   I’m left wondering if anyone even understands anymore what morality and virtue really are.

Video from the event clearly shows hate-inspired groups wielding clubs beating on members of the opposing group.  Trump’s claim is that both sides shared blame for the melee.  Said another way, neither side was blame-less.

But such an assertion isn’t allowed, and the reason it’s not allowed is the utter hatred the media/antifa minions have for those who don’t believe as they believe, and to the same degree.  Their hatred issues forth from their claim to superior moral principles.  It’s OK, even praiseworthy, to beat on people who are vile, evil haters of others.  Wait.  What?

There is an epidemic addiction at work today and it’s not just to opioids.  Huge segments of the population are addicted to seeing themselves as morally superior.  Their self-image thrives on it.  Each new sound bite of indignation and contempt feeds their collective high.

What concerns me is that it may no longer be possible to step back from this addiction and get ‘clean’.  As with any addiction, each high demands the next.  We can already see a kind of tyranny of ‘compassion’; a tyranny of ‘right thoughts’ at play here designed to feed this addiction.  Hard to see how it ends well.