This is a thing. It is really a thing! I recently heard a man talking about how white people are putting signs up in their yards that are nothing but virtue signaling. Virtue signaling? That intrigued me.
According to a web site called Simplicable, virtue signaling “is the conspicuous communication of moral values and good deeds, believed to be motivated by a desire for social status and self-satisfaction.” Wow. And, all this signaling apparently comes in various forms. One form is as time-honored as the use of name dropping. I would call this “virtue dropping,” but the experts call it Persuasion.
Virtue signaling for persuasion might be when a sales person mentions that he just got back from Nepal where he was helping to dig water wells. Although it may be truly virtuous, it is completely unrelated to the act of selling, let’s say, truck tires. But the mention of where he has been is designed to make him appear more likable to the buyer.
Then there are those who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. These are the Hypocrite virtue signalers who talk all about recycling (or some other virtuous act) like it’s a religion, they’ll question the neighbors about their water consumption. They act like super greenies, meanwhile they really do very little in the area of eco-action.
I particularly like the term Slacktivism. In the realm of virtue signaling, it refers to those who speak out about issues on social media, filling their Facebook pages with diatribes on whatever virtue they espouse. But slacktivists are all about hitting the “like” button and they somehow believe that this will change the world—without them really doing anything to actively support a cause.
The Self Righteous virtue signalers might be the most common. They believe their actions or affiliations make them morally superior to others. Among other noticeable actions, they tend to put up catchy signs in their front yards that say things like “we love everyone,” which was what the man on TV was talking about. The Radical Chic signalers express support for radical political ideas which make them feel stylishly relevant at the moment, similar to wearing a fashion accessory, says the site.
The list goes on. I don’t know about all of this, but I have seen the yard signs and kind of wonder why people feel the need to put them out. Perhaps they just want to world to know they really really love everyone, (as opposed to you?) But Matthew 6 comes to mind, where Jesus said, “Be [very] careful not to do your good deeds publicly, to be seen by men.”
Maybe virtue signaling is just one of those strange societal blips that goes around and then dies out like the plague, or maybe it’s a wake up call for authenticity in our talk and our walk with both God and man. One thing is for sure, what others think of us is of little importance. We are to live our lives for God, not the guy who walks his dog past our house.
Nancy
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