Good vs. the Universe

[applejack_12]

One of my coworkers and I just got into a debate about whether or not the universe will be kinder to good people. He says that the universe will be more inclined to cut you a break for being a good person; I say not. Being good isn't going to have a steady rate of return as far as getting what you want, nor should it. It's not like earning stars

Comments

[foldedfish]

Your co-worker isn't Earl Hickey, is he?

[applejack_12]

Alas, no. I suspect he may be a fan of Earl's, though.

[lono_i_ka_makah]

THE UNIVERSE WILL BE GOOD TO THOSE WHO WORSHIP LONO! (I'M STILL WAITING FOR MY CAP BY THE WAY! IT'S FREAKING SNOWING HERE!)

[applejack_12]

Oh great Lono, will you bestow upon your humble servant a mailing address to which your cap might be sent?

[pseudosilence]

Returns aren't necessarily obvious, but I do think being good slightly stacks the deck. You're certainly not guaranteed anything, and it's definitely not a steady return on effort, but your odds of good things do go up. For one thing, you tend to be happier and better adjusted if you're good, and that has extra benefits. You also tend to know other good people you can count on in a crunch, and that's invaluable. Call it karma if you want, but studies show that optimists and church-goers have better health and longer lives, and I think the same probably holds true for general virtue.

(Virtue, of course, being a very vague term and subject to wide interpretation)

(And either way it's always a good idea to appreciate what you've got, keep an extra couple of thousand of cushion in your bank account, and carry an umbrella)

-PS

[applejack_12]

I have to wonder if optimists have longer lives because they are more inclined to believe they will live to 80 or 90, and therefore treat their bodies well to prepare for it. And I agree that being good does tend to mean that you're more likely to have good friends, but the debate was about whether or not I would get exactly what I wanted in a specific situation because the universe was going to reward me for being good. In my experience, anyway, it doesn't work that way.

[pseudosilence]

Oh, I agree, the Universe definitely doesn't work that way. All I'm saying is that being good does have extra benefits, and karma doesn't have to be metaphysical to work.

-ps

[applejack_12]

Too true. :)

[insomniacat]

I vote that the universe will only give back as much as you put into it. People who are "good" put more goodness into the universe, so they have more saved up in the cosmic karmic bank account. People who are "bad" and still get good stuff are probably just embezzling someone else's karma. The universe doesn't have very good security.

[applejack_12]

Hi, I'd like to report goodness identity theft. ;)

[moonyetpadfoot]

To paraphrase a dead old guy, one of my favoriite quotes is from Henry Fielding's Tom Jones- it is not enough that one is good but one must be careful that they appear good as well. Otherwise, all that inate goodness is just lost on the world at large, and they get screwed over.