Get your own
 diary at DiaryLand.com! contact me older entries newest entry

11:46 a.m. - August 20, 2002
On virtue
Asked what is my greatest virtue I stop short, unsure of what exactly constitutes virtue in today's society and secondly, what qualities do I possess that live up to the expectation.

Virtue: L. virtus, manliness, worth. 1. General moral excellence 2. A specific moral quality regarded as good 3. Chastity 4. Excellence in general 5. A good quality

The above courtesy of Webster's New World Dictionary, 1975, whose pages have brittled and warped and kept because the aroma of old paper is a small joy.

Virtue disappeared a while ago, I think. I can't point you to any studies and polls and academic research that supports my contention, but from a layperson's perspective, show me the excellence in general and I'll call you master. I cannot think of any industry or human activity in which the goal is excellence, and I challenge you to think of an example so I can banish the gloom and doom surrounding this entry. There's a gradient within excellence nowadays, I think, and when you give an inch, you may as well concede the battle. Not to dredge up human fallibility and animal instincts, but just think Clinton and our nation's reaction--overwhelmingly, it was none of our business. But doesn't that response suggest that excellence in person and in deed rank low on the conscience-meter? And what about me, can I say that there is excellence inbued in my character, actions, and doings? I steal books from libraries. I'm hostile to strangers. My list is likely as long as your own.

But I help people cross busy streets. I offer my seat to any who will take it. That should count for something, but then I too am a cog in the wheel of getting something for nothing. I'd like to think that there is virtue in everybody but it is disappointing to think that it's watered down and diminished so that everybody has a virtue or two but doesn't overflow. We should aim to overflow with virtue. I should be more virtuous, setting the rudder towards moral excellence. Ah, but there's the deconstructed rub: Just what is moral, and just what is excellence? It seems to me now that virtue is considered a weakness unless kept to oneself.

That's pretty sad.

I can't think of a specific moral good about me.

I'm making a list of things I seek to improve, change, or add to my personality. Virtue should be on the list.

No pat answer tonight, L.

 

previous - next

 

about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!