And so there is the Territory of self-righteousness. It is easy to assume that we do not participate in what we are not in the presence of. But if we are members of a society, we participate, willy-nilly, in its evils. Not to know this is obviously to be in error, but it is also to neglect some of the most necessary and the most interesting work. How do we reduce our dependency on what is wrong? The answer to that question will necessarily be practical; the wrong will be correctible by practice and by practical standards. Another name for self-righteousness is economic and political unconsciousness.
Wendell Berry, “Writer and Region” in What Are People For?
This Territory is necessarily related to yesterday’s Territory of historical self-righteousness, and in fact precedes it in the text. I believe this is the Territory I am most in danger of fleeing to most often. I have desired to leave behind the concern with politics I used to have, mostly over a sense of disgust with most of the actors in that field and a feeling that all the stakes in the game are mostly manufactured and manipulated to fool us into a false anger that, in the end, benefits the rich and powerful, regardless of the ultimate policies that “win.”
Getting away from the game of politics is a good thing, but it is really easy for me to sink that into a general apathy about things societal, which is the kind of self-righteousness Berry identifies here. It is a difficult path to walk, the one between the bullshit games of our leaders, and complete indifference, but it is one I am striving to learn, in fits and starts.
Justin DaMetz 