Responsibility

From Outrage To Understanding: Restoring Substance in a Performative Culture

Living Under the Same Roof: Part III

In Part I and Part II, I explored how moral performance thrives in our hyper-connected world, and how cognitive distortions fuel “righteous” anger. To close the series, I want to shift from spectacle to substance: what we can actually do to restore understanding in the spaces we share.

The Cost of Outrage and Performance

We’re wired to explain others’ behavior by their character (“she’s careless,” “he’s malicious”) and our own behavior by circumstances (“I was rushed,” “the system failed”). That bias, _the fundamental attribution error, supercharges moral performance. It flattens people into villains and snips away context, making outrage feel justified and dialogue feel pointless.

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Why the Law of Attraction Has It Backwards

You’ve probably heard of the law of attraction, the idea that whatever you focus on intensely enough will eventually show up in your life. Want to be rich? Visualize the money. Want your dream home? Picture it, believe it, and the universe will supposedly handle the rest.

This law of attraction critique isn’t about tearing down optimism or mocking hope. It’s about taking a closer look at what this philosophy promises — and what it quietly demands in return. There’s value in thinking positively. But there’s also danger in mistaking thoughts for guarantees.

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