Anti-Climacus

LINK: I can only presume the commenters here are engaging in some kind of postmodern meta-irony that, southern yokel I am, I lack the capability to understand. Some of the positions adopted by animal rights activists appear strange to me (in a way that the Genesis account of human responsibility and accountability for the treatment of animals does not), but there's no good reason to stick your dog on the roof of your car. Alex Massie's point about "non-trivial character indicators" is well-taken; the best I could say is that it shows a worrisome ignorance; it's no stretch to describe it as sadistic.

And the general point is valid, too: not that big failings don't matter, but it is easy in the course of normal life to put in sufficient effort to look morally good wherever failure would be obvious. As a gentleman I know who has counseled couples looking to get married pointed out to me a few days ago, anyone who's been in a relationship, even up to the point of marriage, knows something of what it means to manage appearances; so much more would I expect it from someone whose professional life requires that they cultivate the image of responsibility. The small things can be awfully telling.

(this is not to say, of course, that there's no need for interpretive charity when judging others: the balance between the two is a matter of some art. But c'mon: the guy tied his dog to the roof of his car. Man's got some 'slpainin' to do)