As an Indian person, virtue signaling probably one of our culture's worst flaws.
It was ingrained in me as a child, and I hated it about myself when I learned what it was. Virtue signaling is basically a direct "fuck you" to someone who does not share your values. It is about trying to be an upstanding citizen for the mere purpose of being better than someone else. People do this a lot when they have nothing going for their lives because they like the animal feeling of putting people down.
As I have grown as a person, the lines between right and wrong have blurred. Things that I used to think were absolute rights and wrongs have changed as well, and although I try to follow a strict moral structure that has been irreversibly shaped by being born to a Hindu family, I try not to judge people who believe otherwise.
Some kind of judgement is necessary, but I think that the important thing is to judge people by their own set of values. There are problems in even this way of thinking, however, because some people might believe that they are God, and people should submit to them, which is obviously wrong as it manipulates other people.
Virtue signaling lends itself to the sphere of literature as well. We see many writers try to put a moral in their stories, trying to present their case as to whose virtuous stick is bigger, so to speak. But such an act is futile to people who are not easily manipulated by imagery. Moral value is a very individual thing, and it is very rare that a set of principles, any set of principles, should be wholly adopted by someone. It is hard to agree with someone on everything. And we probably shouldn't.
I like a writer, like Murakami, who is like a patient uncle, not letting his politics get in the way of his story. I don't think a work should strive to be apolitical, but I also don't think a novel to claim to know what capital T truth is. After all, for most writers, such authority has not been earned.
There is a sick euphoria when you relate to something with a person. Whether it be our culture, religion, or language, you can bind two people together with a common idea, a shared imaginary.
Such a euphoria is natural, humans are very lonely people, every step of the way, we yearn for community. But we should strive beyond it in our communications with people.
If you take a little bit of time, and have just a little bit of awareness, you can learn to appreciate differences, and even adopt the ones you like.
There are so many ideas in the world, so much room for discourse. Why go out of your way and belittle someone whose ideas could be just as revolutionary, as life-affirming as yours?
No, accept, appreciate, and move on.
