This guilt manifests itself in the way we bend over backwards for marginalised groups, and the way we defend weakness with ferocity.
White guilt, LGBT allies and male feminists abound.
Pith: Behind the Western Guilt Complex
My take on the courage deficit afflicting us.
This guilt manifests itself in the way we bend over backwards for marginalised groups, and the way we defend weakness with ferocity.
White guilt, LGBT allies and male feminists abound.
People are villainised and ostracised for their lack of feeling for those who struggle. You are a bad person if you are against redistribution.
Our judgement of people's character primarily takes place through this lens.
I say this merely as an observation, rather than to dismiss the merits of empathy as a virtue.
I've long wondered why this is, and have been presented with various explanations.
Another is our culture's roots in Christianity, where the notion of original sin breeds a sense of shame.
I've come to the conclusion that it is perhaps more straightforward than this, and is an inevitable consequence of a prosperous, peaceful society.
Meanwhile, cowardice, its shadow energy, becomes the most contemptible of traits.
In such times, the upside of empathy is limited.
In these times, the costs of cowardice are low and largely invisible, mainly falling on the particular coward in question.
All of this makes us susceptible to guilt and shaming.
