i hate marches, but Sousa loves me!
Yes, it's true, LHS senior awards were today, and i got the John Philip Sousa band award! I was very, very excited when i found out... i wanted this one a lot. I think it actually means something, as opposed to the type of awards that are fabricated by newspapers just so they can publish a story about smart kids (and sell papers to all the smart kids' parents, friends, and relations). It was, at least for me, more of a recognition of a hell of a lot of hard work than an ego trip. I picked up chairs again today after band. Hmmm. Ego trip.
The term "ego trip", and/or the perception of the ego as the root of all societal evils, bothers me a lot. I really shouldn't use it, but i have a hard time finding the proper replacement vocabulary. I think a lot of people have the wrong idea about what the ego is. While i see it at its barest and most relevant definition as a person's self-concept or self-perception, many others just see it as it can be applied to others. That is, they see the negative effects of an ego (a mind) comparing itself to others and judging itself superior without really looking at the facts. This happens when an ego can't deal with the real facts, feeling a need to always "win", whether the "triumph" is deserved or not. The person creates a sort of alternate reality for her/himself, only accepting the facts that support the misguided ego. This is when things get bad. An honest ego, however, can be a great thing. In fact, it's necessary, because if you don't have an ego, a self-concept, it could be said that you don't really think of yourself as an entity, existing. You don't think of yourself as alive, so you don't really live.
This is hard to explain. I'll finish some other time, probably. In the meantime, go read some Ayn Rand if any of this intrigued you.
The term "ego trip", and/or the perception of the ego as the root of all societal evils, bothers me a lot. I really shouldn't use it, but i have a hard time finding the proper replacement vocabulary. I think a lot of people have the wrong idea about what the ego is. While i see it at its barest and most relevant definition as a person's self-concept or self-perception, many others just see it as it can be applied to others. That is, they see the negative effects of an ego (a mind) comparing itself to others and judging itself superior without really looking at the facts. This happens when an ego can't deal with the real facts, feeling a need to always "win", whether the "triumph" is deserved or not. The person creates a sort of alternate reality for her/himself, only accepting the facts that support the misguided ego. This is when things get bad. An honest ego, however, can be a great thing. In fact, it's necessary, because if you don't have an ego, a self-concept, it could be said that you don't really think of yourself as an entity, existing. You don't think of yourself as alive, so you don't really live.
This is hard to explain. I'll finish some other time, probably. In the meantime, go read some Ayn Rand if any of this intrigued you.