They talk about the seven deadly sins... or, at least, they used to. Nowadays no one really cares about them and would possibly argue whether or not they are actually sins.
Whether they should be or not is a topic for another blog. We can't be too serious here.
Anyway, I was thinking, what are the seven deadly sins of today? If we were to poll people on the street about the most heinous character traits they can think of, the list might look something like this:
Today's 7 Deadly Sins
OR
T7DS
1. Being judgmental. (Unless of course, you're the one doing it, then it's okay.)
2. Withholding things from those who are trying to force those things from you. (That's selfish.)
3. Being optimistic. (Hello, life stinks, don't you know. Only pessimists are realists. And they're not pessimists. They're realists.)
4. Being hypocritical. (This only applies to others, not you.)
5. Being in the majority. (Only the perceived majority -- if you are considered being in the minority, even if you are not actually in the minority, but you are perceived as in the minority, and you aren't any more, that is still okay. If you are perceived as the majority, and you are actually in the minority now, that is not okay.)
6. Being virtuous. (Because obviously, virtuous people are judging everyone else, right? See T7DS #1.)
7. Being boring. (Some people see this as synonymous with T7DS #6, but there are subtle differences. I mean, you can be un-virtuous and boring at the same time.)
So, today I'm going to come to the defense of those guilty of T7DS #7. Because, I mean, really, who can argue with the first six?
I submit being boring is not the worst thing a person could be.
Is being boring really worse than being selfish, pessimistic, cynical, critical, arrogant, deceitful or rude? A person who drives you crazy, winds you up and makes you want to commit to a homicide is definitely not boring. Those people are the ones who really make me wonder if being boring is such a bad thing.
But I know people who would say yes. I know people who would rather have anything than boring.
Some of my favorite people are what the world calls boring. They aren't covered in tattoos or pierced all over and their hair isn't purple. They don't go to protests and they don't get into political or religious arguments on social media. They don't live alternative lifestyles (gasp!), whatever that is (One could make the argument that today's alternative lifestyle is being married to the opposite sex, having kids after marriage and never divorcing - also, one could argue that this situation is perceived as a majority even if it is an actual minority and therefor qualifies for T7DS #5, but I'm not going there...today.), AND they have regular boring families that do regular boring stuff. (I know, right?)
But despite all this lack of lovely not-boring-ness, they never say clever, nasty things. They don't say interesting things about people who aren't there. They never talk too much and they leave lots of time for other people to respond. They aren't loud or obnoxious, they don't talk over anyone and they treat others with respect. They don't lie, they say it like it is and somehow, even though they are playing straight, they make me feel like I'm loved. These are traits I admire, but then, I hope most people do...
Uh oh... that's T7DS #3....
