And the third "Certified Crazy" award goes to ... me! And perhaps you.

Yes, I've nominated myself, and the jury has unanimously declared ME the third winner of the Certified Crazy awards. Woohoo!!

The case for my insanity: The environment is going down the crapper, basic human rights are being violated on an increasing scale, the discrepancy between rich and poor has never been wider, people in my very own city would benefit from a sliver of my time in many ways ... and I spend a chunk of my time freakin' BLOGGING? By that count, I'm pretty insane (and I'm only telling you half of it).

The case against my insanity: To shield myself from the looming finger pointing at my insanity, I invoke the magic of what I call "moral bubbles". Think about a professional sports player (just avoid basketball if you can help it). Is it "fair" for this million-dollar salary player to ask for more cash if he makes less than his objective market value? In the moral bubble that only includes millionaire players, yes of course it's fair to ask for more. But if your moral bubble encompasses things like children who have no access to basic needs such as food, water, and medication ... well that player looks like a moral boob doesn't he? As far as I'm concerned, I can't spend my time saving the world, and I'm free to select whatever moral bubble suits me. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

The verdict: Moral bubbles are conveniences ... blinders that we put on to avoid dealing with the moral implications of what we do. And the sad truth is that we all have our moral bubbles, and precious few of us have the courage to expand our moral bubbles to the point where we have to give up some of our personal comfort. In the grand scheme of things, I personally don't expand my moral bubble very far, and while it's true I can't sacrifice every waking second of my life fighting against some of the embarrassingly simple-to-solve evils that plague this earth, how do I explain the apathy that prevents me from doing a little more? Well, how about insanity?

There you have it, people. I'm Certified Crazy ... lemme know if you feel the same.