Your mom's not a community of saints

Here is where I declare to you: I'm a little egoist short and stout, I like bettering myself, so don't you pout. Don't you just love teapots?

But, seriously- what is an egoist, and why am I one?

Simply put- an egoist is just some who believes in pursuing his own interests. Now, this may sound callous, and this may sound cruel, but it really isn't. Why? Try the opposite on for size-altruism-and see what you get: a wasted life. But, you will argue, 'I want to help people, so how is that wasting my life?' It isn't. And you want to know why? Because it's what you consider to be a good use of your life. And so do I. But, I'm still keen on improving Bertram qua Bertram.

And guess what else? Every single one of you who are reading this is an egoist (Every third person who is not reading this blog is a Martian, and they are known to be altruists.) Doesn't that suck? Wouldn't life be so much better if we just did everything for everbody else and didn't care about ourselves?

I doubt it, and seriously. People think that wanting to pursue your own goals is selfishness. I think its what makes the world go round. The Talmud calls it the Yetzer HaRa (the evil inclination) and declares that no one would build house, marry women, chicken wouldn't lat eggs, and the world would generally suck if the were not self-interested. It's called progress, and it comes with all of our stamps of appoval.

Having goals and pursuing them isn't shameful- it's admirable. It's not the only thing in this world., but it is a major chunk of it.

For those who don't get the title, its a reference to John Rawls's essay 'Justice as Fairness' where he fantasizes about altruistic men, and a community of saints. But, neither you, nor your mom, is a community of saints.