MORAL ARMOR'S Achieving Moral Perfection
Copyright 2005 Ronald E Springer
Spirit Murderers view Self-made Men as those who can do no
wrong. It is the denial of Man's natural pattern of
function to expect men to live in a state of perfect
action-to be infallible. Their own pretense of false
perfection drives the belief that infallibility is
necessary for achievement, which it isn't, and they revel
in seeing us err, enjoying the shame they expect us to feel
at slipping on a pretense which we never practiced to begin
with. The truth is that their premises tied perfect action
to egoism, and in attempting to mimic our earned stature,
we see their false-egoism most blatantly in the insincere
refusal to admit any wrong-doings on their part. False
perfection and false egoism are based on the same default,
to avoid identification of the sub-elements which make our
success possible-rational thought and tenacious effort.
These they fear most of all.
For centuries, perfection has been preached as a futile,
hopeless ideal, an unobtainable height that men must be
measured against, yet can never reach. The Spirit
Murderer's definition of perfection requires that Man not
be human. Animals trip, stumble and fall out of trees, but
Man cannot gain approval if he remains subject to the laws
of gravity, to the inconsistency of meteorological
conditions or if he is not aware of all knowledge in
advance of its discovery. Man cannot be considered perfect
as long as he is subject to the natural flow of life.
Webster's dictionary defines perfection as: "complete in
all respects; without defect or omission; sound; flawless."
This is a proper definition, but the contexts most often
used regarding Man are wrong and demand clarification.
Flying in the face of reasonable expectation, they measure
his worth by whether he manages not to stumble on an uneven
sidewalk, never spills anything, never gets sick, never
says the wrong thing, never gets angry, never pay's a bill
late, never disobeys a law, never talks back, never
disappoints, has the perfect house and the perfect family.
One mistake-one sneeze and your damned.
So what do most people do? Some try to maintain this
impossible pretense, making themselves and those around
them miserable, while the rest accept that Man can be
nothing but imperfect, and end up more prone to
degeneration. All of them avoid looking inward with a
humble sense of unworthiness and guilt, fearing to find out
just how imperfect they actually are. When a man succeeds,
he'll often accept congratulations in silence or deflect
honors, reluctant to recount the difficulties of his quest.
For one, he knows his secret passion-pushing himself to the
limit-is not viewed fondly by most. It is feared, envied
and hated and he feels the tension against its
acknowledgment. He knows what tenacity was necessary to
fulfill his dream, and in mild embarrassment-knowing he is
to be judged by a standard which claims that winners
achieve success automatically, overnight-he knows he cannot
live up to it. This dance of self-doubt is unnecessary.
Look closely and you'll discover that what false perfection
actually damns, is human cognition.
Rational perfection for Man does not require everything he
does to be on cue. The concept of perfection is
inapplicable to whether or not he encounters circumstances
that catch him off-guard, but to what he does about them.
Perfection applies not to whether a man trips, but to
whether he attempts to recover, versus the preference of
falling on his face. Not whether he never gets sick, but
whether he takes steps to cure his illness and to prevent
future illness. Not whether he never gets angry, but
whether it's properly a response to injustice. Human
perfection is found in the dynamic realm of volition:
identifying and choosing the right course-the moral
course-in every important issue of one's life, simple or
complex. Moral consistency in choice is the true gauge of
perfection, but false perfection accomplishes a number of
parasitical goals for a Spirit Murderer. 1) To impose guilt
for later redemption, 2) To justify his own misgivings
"Nobody's perfect," 3) To look down on Man, 4) To kick him
when he's down and 5) To keep his focus on what is expected
and not on what matters.
The proper human countenance weighs all metaphysical
conditions in his capacity to consider-calculating their
effects to streamline his intentions. He moves through the
world according to his own plan, and must interact with,
oppose if contrary and harness if possible, the forces he
encounters along his journey. Part of that journey, is
learning how. He spends a lifetime honing the skill of
processing data related to his causes, always becoming a
greater, more efficient sum, and the result of living well
is his highest pride. He rejects all irrational elements
held as impediments before him by lesser men, knocking
their fear aside to grasp the essence of an issue and gain
proper footing. This constant upward thrust is Man's living
will-the survival of the fittest-his answer to the question
"Live or die?" The quest he was reluctant to describe
earlier, which the discovery of its application to
themselves makes the Spirit Murderer's equally reluctant to
hear, was in fact his pursuit of true epistemological
perfection.
Our true worth is not to be measured by an irrational
standard. From our willingness to breathe and focus our
eyes to our life's work, our self-generated productive
effort determines our worth, and we add to the plus side
with every moral decision-every decision that serves our
betterment, to no one's harm or loss. In a Self-made Man,
his life-preserving provocation is instantaneous; he isn't
defeated in advance. He leaps to his feet, willing to fight
for life until the end-of the storm or of himself. This is
true of him in peacetime as well, channeling his energy
into realms of no lesser spiritual consequence-the tenacity
to succeed no matter what it requires of him. Now that is
heroic moral perfection.
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Ronald E Springer
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