Better or Otherwise

There are certain people in the world who operate on a plane high above the conglomerate masses. Whether this plane be of intelligence, emotion, or morality, society is torn between awe and disgust at these figures standing above us.

When say society is torn, I mean that one's views on such a person depends on the individual in question. We can all admire those people who are are clearer smarter and more principled, yet do not place themselves above others. There is another breed of people entirely, who know fully well that they are better than the masses, and do nothing to hide it. These people will drag your face through the dirt and sully your conscience to exert their superiority. And indeed, these people are often master manipulators. Whether this is their intent or not, encounters with such people invariably leave you feeling like a low, low person.

Aspiring to a higher moral character is essentially a self-defeating purpose. Satisfaction derived from being moral will be entirely negated by any acts, or witnessings acts of, immorality. Wasn't English class this year a treatise on the trappings of morality? Did Anthony not deign Stevens a pathetic character for his facade of dignity? Did morality not crumble in the face of tyranny or anarchy? Did it not disappear with the first blooms of ambition? Wasn't the medieval literature a scathing satire on chivalry? Only those crusty Victorians found morality a worthy pursuit, and even then, the exercise of morality led to self-destruction and death.

I don't claim to be an especially moral person. I probably don't have the right to pass such judgment on others. But I doneed to review for my English final.