03-29-2015, 08:07 PM
(03-24-2015, 10:17 AM)outerheaven Wrote: "In terms of instant relief, canceling plans is like heroin." - John Mulaney
I don't think the concept is outdated at all.
For example. My friend just sent out invitations last week for his wedding next month(!). His fiance is here on a visa from another country. Ahem, you do the math. Doesn't even sound like he knows her all that well, but ok, whatever.
I'm not crazy about having to travel 500+ miles and book a hotel etc for something that isn't that genuine, but I guess that's a value judgement that I'm making which isn't fair. And to not go would make me feel like a big selfish jerk. So I must go, even though I'm kinda like, ehhhh. Could really put that money towards a vacation I actually wanna take....
So a social obligation, to me, is any social event I don't really want to partake in for some reason but feel I should in order to maintain friendships, relationships, etc.
Unfortunately, more and more social events are starting to fall under this category for me. Maybe I need to find a social group that is more in line with my beliefs/attitude. I just can't stand how casually inconsiderate people are towards others, or how it's OK to just be politically polarized as hell and demonize your "opposition" as vile, thoughtless idiots whose opinions and actions need to be forcibly stopped and corrected ... blah, blah, blah.
I also had a recent experience were I had to attend a wedding I didn't want to go to. It was my brother in-laws wedding, I didn't want to go because neither of them have been particularly nice to me over the last few years. I told my mother in-law I wasn't going. She pretty much reminded me that I don't have a choice because I am family and we live in the same area, and although both of them have been a******* to me, I'd end up looking like the a****** for not attending something so significant.