Passing Thoughts

Earlier today i came across an online forum where some moral issues and perceived standards were being discussed, so I just had to chip in my thoughts and of course, it rumpled a few feathers; I guess maybe my point of view is a little bit too rational for some. What I believe though is there are always rational explanations to everything that happens, irrationality on the other hand is the much more easy-to-grasp option we choose to understand something we could not understand otherwise. It is really easy to sit in judgement on other people when we ourselves are not completely free from errors.

Most of us try to do the right things in life if only so because we want to look ourselves in the mirror the next day and like who we see. Nobody wants to live with guilt, regrets and/or remorse and with good reason, things like that can be disastrous. I have noticed though that there are certain people out there who feel morally superior to others in their ability to tell right from wrong; these are the ones I refer to as irrational. People like this will usually make an argument based on their religious or moral predisposition rather than on what is probable.
We see ourselves as much more ethical, thereby relegating every other person that does not fit into our ethical and moral criteria. Usually, this behavior stems from a misconceived notion and an inflated unrealistic self-aggrandizing view of ourselves: Criticizing the inaction of others is by far the easiest route to making ones' self feel better. When we say we would never do this or that in a certain situation, are we really being true to ourselves? Okay so maybe we are, but does that make us better decision makers because we never fell short in our lives? Does it entail we were master of our own life-course? At what point does reason get mixed up with cynicism? The fact is, no one really knows how they would react in any given situation unless confronted with that situation.
Statements like, I would never cheat on a test, or cheat on my spouse; never break the law, never behave like that morally bankrupt guy; are all ethically accepted views. But does anyone ever start out wanting to be morally bankrupt? Does the teenage girl next door want to be a mom at 16? I don't think so. Then why do people with a mistaken and inflated moral view of themselves try to weigh the in-actions of others based on their own moral inclination; holding everyone else up to their high moral standards.
Passing judgement on people only serves to make us appear more superior in our own eyes. It leaves me thinking that when an irrational person experiences a situation where their actions falls short of the expectations of others, it might certainly teach them something, perhaps humble them to the point where their expectations become a little bit more rational. He/She might just realize that most behaviors are usually in direct proportion with the situation causing it(cause and effect) and not the moral inclination of the person involved. I do not intend making excuses for immorality, I am only being rational.
We have resorted to setting up double standards for ourselves just to give us enough leeway, so we can look in the mirror and tell ourselves that we are not breaking any rules. We create loop-holes for ourselves and in so doing become hypocrites.
I think we all are a little bit guilty of having the holier-than-thou sentiment built into us. After all, it is not so bad to think good of yourself and to have standards of behavior that are a ideal. The trouble comes when we try to impose our ideals, ethics and moral beliefs on others, and then criticize them when they fail to meet it.