This is only my opinion, for what it's worth. No matter how hard selfish tries to push aside and dominate selflessness, true ethical selflessness will always win out in the end.
Selfless and selfish are adjectives, not nouns, so each is an "it" and not a "who."
This post was edited by Stu Spelling Bee at September 6, 2020 12:28 PM MDT
Amazing to me how meaningless technicalities in grammar can destroy the understanding of a question---obviously, the word "person" is to be understood as the true subject of the question, and "person" is the noun to which both the adjectives that you have a problem with modify.
As I've suggested on here before (and quite recently) if you don't understand a question, diagram it before you try to grade it.
I believe there are more selfless people in world, we just don't hear about them as often as those who are selfish. To some extent, I see more selfishness in young adults today, but perhaps that's because of the way they were raised. Parents need to understand that while those kids may be the center of their universe, they aren't the center of the universe. Raising children to think they are the be all and end all does not prepare them to deal with the outside world, which will most likely not have the same opinion of them.
Apples don't fall far from the tree. As the twig is bent so goes the tree or something like that. Selfish people raise selfish people. They are unequipped to do otherwise. So they beget what they are which begets which begets to infinity. Which is why we are in the tragic state in the US we find ourselves in. Selfish around and under and over 24/7. "What's in it for me"? Asking that question the dipstick thinks is intelligent admirable and praiseworthy. LIke all his ilk. Worthless useless mindless heartless. Thank you for your reply L! :)
It isn't just the way their parents raise them. They are also influenced by the Internet, by what they see in politics, what they see in corporate greed. There are many factors, but parents have the first opportunity to send them on the right path. Fortunately, my nieces and nephews were raised well and have their feet solidly on the ground. I expect they will raise their children the same way, but they are still young and it's too early to tell. :)
What chance do children have in life if their parents are adoring worshippers of the dipstick? They are bombarded daily by fear and hate as scripted by the dipstick. Their parents reinforce what they hear from the dipstick which you cannot escape unless you do not turn on the TV. These parents drag their kids to rallies I betcha. A very rigid stern inflexible template. How can a kid escape it? Pity them for they will be the future adoring worshippers of others like the dipstick. QANON is congratulated. White racists are encouraged to come out march speak up. The deck is stacked against them. Anyone who can escape to the side of sanity is probably brilliant which according to the DNA of the parents is highly unlikely. Thank you for your reply! :)
The song in South Pacific is among my favorites. "You have to be taught to hate". I wonder why the need to hate "the other" is so strong in some people that they devote their lives to it and teach others how best to do it? That is not a life well-lived in my opinion and I pity those whose entire lives have been immersed in it. Thank you for your reply L.! :)
I think people who always have the need to denigrate others are lacking in self-esteem. They put others down to make themselves feel superior when, in fact, they really aren't.
Self-interest almost always wins, true altruism is rare. Some never grow out of being toddlers - and the first word a child learns after "no!" is "mine!".
I agree with thee R. BUT back in the day didn't we admire alruists? Those who would put the interests and problems of others ahead of theirs? I mean that's what soldiers do. It comes with the territory. There is a GREATER GOOD which is located beyond the self and we used to honor it celebrate and reward it. But the view of the dipstick finds it offensive and without merit. When did things change? What was I doing that I didn't notice? Thank you for your reply and Happy Wednesday to thee and thine. I'm going to ask. It is very perplexing.
Which, ironically, when allowed to possess what is "mine" and determine its distribution, a child who is granted that right turns out to feel powerful enough to share as he matures.
Stu Spelling Bee 