Two wrongs don't make anything right

September 30, 2014
Day 153

I don't know how many times I'm guilty of this myself, but I certainly notice it in others quite a bit.  Forgive me, but I really need to preach on this for just a few minutes here.

If someone's acting like a bitch to you, or doing something mean, being mean right back to them is only showing you're just as "bad".  No, you may not have been as mean or vicious as they were to you (though you might have), but either way, you've revealed yourself to be made of the same vindictive, mean stuff as them.

Why?  Why do you do this?  Why do I do this?  Why do any of us do this?!?!  Why do we clearly see when something is immoral or just wrong, and add even more immorality or wrong to the situation?

To feel better?  Really?  That's the answer I hear most often, and it makes zero sense.  You see something as being clearly, 100% immoral, mean, spiteful, or otherwise unjust, and instead of trying to right the situation, you decide to wrong the situation.  You add one more wrong to the big pile.

This is like a mother scolding her children for all the muddy fingerprints on the wall by adding some dirty shoe-prints there too, or like a waitress punishing the messy people she's serving by purposely spilling coffee all over the table as well.  It's stupid!  It's silly!  It's causing more mess, more anger, sometimes more pain, and it's a ridiculous, nonsensical exercise in poor judgment!

Because you feel better?  REALLY?!  You feel better causing pain or anger in another person?  You take delight in removing happiness from another person, simply because they showed an unkindness of some variety to you?  All you're doing here is showing your true, unimpressive colors, and bringing more darkness into a dark situation.

Am I some innocent that never does this?  No.  But I'm seeing this foolishness more and more lately, and I can't help but grab the soapbox today to shout about it a little.  Two wrongs don't make anything right.  They only make more wrong.  If we want a kinder world, a more peaceful world, we need to start by eradicating this stupid behavior from our lives once and for all. 

The next time someone does something to ruffle your feathers or purposely pisses you off, feel free to be angry.  Feel free to be pissed.  Feel free to be upset and defend yourself.  But please don't be so dumb as to think you can make anyone, least of all yourself, feel any better by purposely causing pain in someone else's life.  Yeah, they wronged you.  Yeah, that was pretty foul of them.  Yeah, they really, really need to be taught a lesson!  But teach them a lesson of goodness.  Teach them kindness.  Teach them by your actions that their actions are wrong.  Be the cure.  Be the medicine for a very sick situation that's just gone on now for far too long.