I have always been curious and bothered by how others justify their actions. People (and by "people" I mean "most") seem to apply a very different set of criteria on others than they apply to themselves. I find this very odd. (And, I find it odd that am I posting this little rant on the Right instead of the Left, but it seems more appropriate here -- my blog(s), my rules.)

Last night, coming home from work, I am driving on 90W, a 3 lane highway with 60mph speed limit. There is a point where 77S splits off to the right. It's about 7:30pm, so it is not rush hour, but the traffic is still moderate. As I was driving along, about 300m ahead of me, I see a white Cadillac in the far left lane getting hard on the brakes near the point that 77S splits off to the right. The car comes to a complete stop in the left lane! I am in the far right lane, so I am in no danger and have no need to perform any emergency braking, and I pass them with a cautious eye. As I go by, I take a look in the car and see two 40-something males with their heads turned all the way around looking back down the highway. After passing them, I check my rearview mirror and see them whip across (unsignalled) the three lanes of traffic to take 77S. I was shocked. I can hardly believe I was shocked because I see driving actions like that all the time.

I am relatively sure that the driver of that car has seen shows like TLC's World's Worst Drivers and has probably scoffed and made fun of the driver's on that show. And, even if he has never seen the show, chances are, he considers himself a good and safe driver. Hell, it seems 97% of all Americans think of themselves as good drivers; but evidence seems to resoundedly suggest otherwise. So, what differentiates me when I say that I am a good driver from all the other people who say they are good drivers, also.

I get obnoxiously worried about stuff like that. Whose to say whether or not I am a good driver? What if I am not a good driver? What justifies me uttering the phrase, "I am a good driver."

I form a mental construct; a complete independent set of rules that define what a good driver is (I am a stickler for defining things). Anyone adhering to these rules is a good driver. Anyone not doing so, myself included, is not a good driver. These rules consist of items such as:

I could go on for quite a while with that list, but the point of this entry is more general. It is not intended to be a definition of what constitues good driving habits. This is about how we justify ourselves.

I know a single mother who lost custody of her child because she was, basically, unfit to be a mother. She has, since, found solace in one of the activities that led up to her losing custody -- going out all the time and drinking heavily. I know another single mother that constantly berates the other (behind her back, mostly) about being a bad mother. The only problem is, she performs the same activities as the latter single mom. The only difference is that no father of the child or set of grandparents has intervened as in the other example. She is holding the other person to a completely different set of standards than she holds herself to.

So, this is more about how people justify their opinions on others. But, it's applicable to any decision. People seem to give themselves special leeways when justifying their own actions but provide no such thing for judging others. Additionally, it seems that people do not even come up with justifications; they give themselves the benefit of the doubt and do as they please.

But, of course, I am just generalizing. I have terrible OCD; thus, I need to have strict definitions on everything. I have rules, codes of conduct, algorithms, heuristics, methodologies for everything that I do. So, it is probably just me. Or, maybe I am just still suffering from the effects of too much St. Patrick's day. (My sober self is often amused at the handiwork left over from my drunken self.)

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