Thought of the Day 08.25.09

“Everyone else is doing it, so it must be okay.”

Ignoring for now the troubling idea that rightness flows from popularity, let’s pause a moment to consider this phrase itself, which “everyone” seems to use when talking about things like speeding, resume exaggeration, athletes on steroids, premarital sex, cheating on taxes, and even outdated singles photos.

Sadly, the expression is false. Not everyone else is doing any of these things.

The truth in each case is that, “Many people are doing it.” But if you say it this way, what previously sounded like a tidal wave of public consensus now seems almost trivial, a fact made worse because saying, “Many are…,” immediately invites awareness that, “Many are not….” And if many are not, then the question isn’t whether you’ll swim against the entire tide of your fellow man, but which sort of fellow man you will swim with.

So the next time someone tells you, “Everybody’s doing it,” simply remind him that what he really means is, “Many people are doing it.” At least then you can have an honest conversation rather than one based on an exaggeration.