Politics, making bad choices with votes, is mainly what I have in mind…but it’s not limited to that. You see it with anything that requires a choice and a commitment of money, time, effort, etc. By and large people don’t want to admit I made a bad choice and it’s time to cut my losses.
Instead there is lots of rationalizing going on, and I think this leads people down paths they otherwise would not have gone, rinse repeat as things worsen. Small concessions to negative consequences build over time, and along the way the initial bad choices may be forgotten. Plenty of people can be swimming in the messes they made without ever a thought of changing their views.
It never helps to point out the degree to which a person has compromised themselves. That has to be done from within, and that’s exactly what is missing.
I think all of this is a huge problem in the world today. But damned if I know what to do about it.
That’s true, but there’s not always an easy way out and criticism for bad choices probably isn’t going anywhere.
Consequences aside, people are so susceptible to perceived benefits that they’ll set aside their morals and values. Obviously this is not every person out there, but I think most of us have anecdotal examples in our lives and in ourselves.
I first noticed the compromise within myself years ago. It’s easy to give a firm NO to extreme changes, but if the changes come a little at a time acceptance can set in. I’ve striven to recognize this tendency at the outset of a choice and stay firm, but it’s still an everyday battle…same as with anyone else. I’m not sure most people recognize that there is a battle of choices to manage.
So it’s Sunday morning and I’m starting to ramble, but I appreciate your reply and I hope we can collectively find exit ramps for troubled folks out there.