Zero Tolerance (Absolute Truth is Disastrous)

My brother, the philosopher, by way of his bachelor's degree in philosophy, and the hundreds of books he claims to have read (which I do not believe), has talked with me about the concept of situational morality. Even though I tend to zone out when he and I are talking, largely due to his tendency to lecture me about things I could give two craps about, I listened about situational morality. It makes a lot of horse sense to me.

Another of his statements, which is so brilliant that I bet he stole it, is "hell is other people." He exemplifies that statement in the way he interacts, he can be that hellish other person, as can I, and most other people can be. If we were totally honest with each other, about how annoying we are to each other, the world would be at war, on an interpersonal level. I feel that God had an obvious good idea when he allowed us to keep our thoughts to ourselves. We would be so pissed off that other people dared to think what they thought about us, that we might completely forget that they also loved, respected, and even liked us. It is far better, in my opinion, to put up with, and find the joy, in dealing with each other. Focus on the positives, and yes, ignore the negatives, when they are small enough to do so. Do not look for perfection from other humans. You do not have it to offer in return.

Do not think that you can hide behind simply being honest, when you choose to hurt or dominate people, because they will see that you are using the truth as a sword, instead of as a flashlight. That will be part of the truth about you, and it will be a sword against you. Even though I am a hypocrite for only quoting the bits of the Bible that work for me here goes: "judge not, lest you be judged." In my own words, quit trying to look down at people for being human, and stop trying to be so absolute in how you see things.

I am not saying to give up on your standards, but understand that if you are judgmental, you will be perceived as intolerant, and condescending. In short you will have become part of the communication problems between you and others who have differing opinions. If people feel that you look down on them, or simply impose your world view on their lives, why the heck would they open themselves up to that? What's the payoff?