Shame today has been dangerously trivialised. It has become a weapon of private war – a constant and cowardly emission of spite and bile through the air-waves. Children, teenagers and even adults are now ready to globally expose the physical foibles and embarrassments of their temporary enemies. They are also ready to reveal to all and sundry their chance unfortunate remarks. These things can lead to long term despair and suicide. They are literally murderous.

Equally, shame is attached to remarks held to reveal positions about which we are supposed to feel guilt – remarks deemed elitist, sexist, racist, homophobic, islamophobic and so forth. These are seen as abusive in relations to various notions of assumed human right, but the focus on outward shame suggests that rights themselves are now reduced to the correct categorisations and formalisations in mere words. In this way the prime public sin is becoming one of usage rather than deed. Once again this attachment of severe blame to passing or chance remarks scan be extremely violent – careers and relationships are sometimes ruined as a result.  Just as Twitter has reduced reflection to instant emoting, so our judgement of people is being diverted from viewing their records in the round towards castigation of momentary lapses. This seems like a reversion to morality and legality as the breaking of taboo – though in a manner far cruder than the way in which taboo anciently worked.

But ironically, this double abuse of shaming is a mark of our shamelessness. Many people pursue lives wholly without honour in the greedy pursuit of wealth and fame and as result are celebrated instead of shamed – enjoying the plaudits of the quasi-honouring which is fashion.

So we need both more real shaming and none of the fake variety. Real shaming is the reverse face of honouring and we require a culture that honours the true pursuit of human flourishing for oneself and others. The pursuit of the good and true and beautiful. If there were such honouring, as with most human societies hitherto, then people would wish to be recognised in this way because to pursue instead false goals would risk public shaming and then, no doubt, a loss of even worldly goods in consequence.