It is a terrifying prospect. Mr X has been for decades a thief, a cheat and a liar. He commits burglaries not because he needs the cash but for sport. He’ll pretend he wants to help an old lady to cross the street only to leave her stranded, crying and confused in the middle of the road, laughing his head off as he enjoys the ensuing chaos from a distance. He’ll turn up at a BLM meeting only to extol the virtues of slavery. He’ll gather all the stray dogs he can find, feed them the finest laxatives in the market, and then walk them through busy pedestrian areas without collecting the dog poo. That guy.
Then, after watching the deluxe edition DVD of Bambi, he decides to become the most moral person he knows of. And after watching Bambi’s deleted scenes he finally succeeds.
The question is, would you want such a bad man to become good?
If a person strives for very high morals, they could easily end up as a snob who looks down on everyone who doesn’t have the same morals. They’ll always be fault finding others, instead of accepting them for who they are. I’ve read through a lot of self help books, and in some ways they can make things worse. A person could feel bad every time they slip up.
I used to be a perfectionist, but now I think it’s okay to find a balance between being too self-centred and overly self-less. A person should take care of themselves a bit, and not become a doormat. A person should care about others so they feel more connected to something bigger than themselves (I’m still working on this one).
