Why Do We Love Watching People Fall?

If you came here thinking I'm going to try to provide an answer to this question, be forewarned that I won't. It's just become an interesting topic for me to consider, in light of something that happened in an internet community recently - an internet community I usually know nothing about (if you know what I'm talking about, well you know. If not, it's really not that important). The point is, if there's one thing that this drama has made me realize it's how much we love to see people fall.

When I say we, I mean our society in general. And I can't help but wonder what it is that makes it so satisfying. Perhaps it originates from the same innate thrill that runs through us when we hear a particularly juicy piece of gossip. There's something about someone else's flaws being exposed that makes us feel validated - in a strange, twisted, but ultimately human way.

That's not to say that some people's downfall isn't "deserved," in the sense that they are responsible for the decisions that led them there. But deserved or not, I think the way we fixate on people's personal failures is often extreme, and more than the situation calls for.

As I read comment after comment on YouTube this weekend (always a bad idea, by the way), that was really what struck me. We've seen this happen time and time again, not just with Internet personalities, but also with celebrities, with politicians. A scandal breaks loose and we fixate on that person's shame with a sort of fascination. I'm sure the reasons for this have been studied in greater detail by experts, so I'll leave the conjecturing up to there.

But I will say what it has taught me. And that is, mostly, that being well liked by this world truly does not matter. At the end of the day, the only thing that truly matters is that you are true to yourself (to your values and ideals), and kind to others. That's pretty much it. Because people's praise can come and go in an instant, and hate can quickly replace it.

And if all you ever cared about was praise, well, there's a chance you'll be left with nothing.

The fact is, the way people respond to other people's actions usually says much more about them than it does about the person in question. We are flawed beings, and we project our imperfections and insecurities onto each other. Constantly. We criticize. We gossip. We judge and consider ourselves superior, and we see others through the lenses of our own prejudices. So wouldn't it be silly then, to value the opinions of other flawed humans so highly? Wouldn't it be silly to desire praise from people who don't even know where to properly place it?

The hope of it all, is that there is One person who does see things clearly, and He is free of biases and prejudices and all unselfish motives. And I am so, so grateful that a God like that made a way to approve of us. He sees things clearly, and He calls us worthy. And isn't that just the greatest thing we could ask for?