When I was in college, there was this thing called The Purity Test, supposedly was developed by some students at Harvard. The general idea was to test how many things of questionable morality you had or hadn’t done. Since this test was generally taken at parties, a lower score (indicating a higher level of debauchery) was a badge of honor.
I bring this up for a variety of reasons, with thoughts across a number of conceptual spheres.
I grew up on punk rock, which has always heralded itself as being untainted by commercialism. Some of that had to do with the fact that in the early years, commercial labels wouldn’t go near a punk band. Every time I hear a punk song used in an advertisement, I automatically think “another sellout.” There are people who think the same when a big punk band signs to a major label. I know people who won’t listen to Green Day because they’ve made significant money. (I don’t listen to them because I think they suck.) But it’s a catch-22. Punk musicians need to make money to live and to keep making music, but if they’re commercially successful, they’re somehow not pure.
I follow quite a few bodybuilders on Instagram. I recently unfollowed one because he admitted using steroids, and actually seemed to be advocating for others to do the same. There’s a moral line he crossed – a line of purity. But anyone who follows bodybuilding knows the biggest guys are using steroids. Most of them will admit so privately. Natural bodybuilders not only don’t use steroids, but many don’t supplement at all. They look at the supplements I use, and I’m not pure enough. It’s a wide, fuzzy line.
According to a story I heard this morning on NPR, conservatives are applying a purity test to their candidates. They’re not interested in their abilities to work across the aisle, but in ideological purity. The assumption is that electing more and more conservative candidates who are unwilling to waver on conservative principles will eventually bring about change.
Anytime you look at the essential purity of a concept, you need to consider whether you’re applying purity or closing your mind. Consider the logical implications of that purity. Musicians need to make a living or they have to stop making music. The guy lifting weights next to you supplements to overcome some chemical shortcoming. Your political candidate may not be as conservative or liberal as you like, but that level of purity is unlikely to get anything done anyway.
Purity does not always equal righteousness.