I take the following straight from andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish for October 11, 2008 (Sullivan himself is recommended reading):
Sullivan quotes Theodore Dalrymple on apology projection:
The
False Apology Syndrome flourishes wherever there has been a shift in
the traditional locus of moral concern. At one time, a man probably
felt most morally responsible for his own actions. He was adjudged (and
judged himself) good or bad by how he conducted himself toward those in
his immediate circle. From its center rippled circles of
ever-decreasing moral concern, of which he was also increasingly
ignorant. Now, however, it is the other way round. Under the influence
of the media of mass communication and the spread of sociological ways
of thinking, a man is most likely to judge himself and others by the
opinions he and they hold on political, social, and economic questions
that are far distant from his immediate circle. A man may be an
irresponsible father, but that is more than compensated for by his deep
concern about global warming, or foreign policy, or the food situation
in Africa.
I appreciate the way Dalrymple isolates and damns the phony here. The first time I saw this idea was in a poet's book of prose on poetry. If only I could remember which poet and give credit. Marvin Bell? Philip Levine? Louis Simpson?
