Pride v Happiness
I watched the last George Carlin special last night and as per usual, it got me thinking. For those who listen to his opinions, there are some solid nuggets of wisdom contained therein and a few points that really stuck with me, common grounds between the late Carlin and myself, I intend to expound upon here.
Proud to be (insert nationality,ethnicity,etc here).
For those who remember, pride is defined as "sinful" behavior. You needn't share my faith to share my view on that. But I found myself really digging into the point that he was making. America, as a people, are quite prideful. And I don't mean the idle, passive reference to pride that we've become accustomed to. I'll give a few examples of what I mean.
Pride in our children: This is one that I am guilty of in the past. I see my child's burgeoning intellect and I have felt a desire to challenge that intellect. This runs rampant in what Carlin referred to as a general climate of over-emphasis on protecting self-esteem.
The point that he made was that movements proclaim that self-esteem is the key to ridding a society of anger, violence, deceitfulness, when in reality the group with the highest self esteem are sociopaths. Something that I've long agreed with is how our molly-coddling of children that we all proclaim as "special" has left us with children who crack under the strain of living up to that title with no real exposure to the reality of losing. I looked at the difference between "proud" and "happy". I have decided that while "pride" requires my son to be special or above average, happiness only requires him to be my beloved child. A smile and eating yogurt in his peculiar way is all I need to be happy with him, but for me to be "proud", he must be better than the other children. That's a hell of a lot of strain on him that honestly he doesn't deserve. So, I choose to be "happy" with my child and avoid "pride".
Another point that he made that really struck home with me was the inclination for people to be, "proud to be American". Once again, people allowing themselves to feel superiority, or pride, because of a random happenstance that caused them to be born in a particular geographic location. Now it may seem a simple point but I don't think it is. If one were "happy to be American", that would seem perfectly fine to me. The point that I made in conversing on this last night was that pride in ones nationality is both ignorant, and inclining toward nationalist fervor. Anyone else remember what happened in the mid to late 1930's when a group of people decided to express their "pride" in their country. I'm sure a few million dead folks would definitely be able to remind you.
Furthermore, think of the pride that is shown in one's car, one's house. Is that fulfilling or would it simply be better to be happy with these things? Perhaps we shouldn't be proud of our president, and in stead be happy with him. These may seem like obtuse examples but I believe that the difference in mindset between pride and contentment is a great deal of what is wrong with our culture and other cultures around the world to varying degrees. Pride DOES in fact goeth before a fall. Remember that and I would ask that if these words ring true, make a conscious decision to attempt a perspective change toward happiness and contentment. Remember, pride does not equal happiness and I believe that happiness and contentment are a goal that would fulfill most all of us.
Just a thought.
Proud to be (insert nationality,ethnicity,etc here).
For those who remember, pride is defined as "sinful" behavior. You needn't share my faith to share my view on that. But I found myself really digging into the point that he was making. America, as a people, are quite prideful. And I don't mean the idle, passive reference to pride that we've become accustomed to. I'll give a few examples of what I mean.
Pride in our children: This is one that I am guilty of in the past. I see my child's burgeoning intellect and I have felt a desire to challenge that intellect. This runs rampant in what Carlin referred to as a general climate of over-emphasis on protecting self-esteem.
The point that he made was that movements proclaim that self-esteem is the key to ridding a society of anger, violence, deceitfulness, when in reality the group with the highest self esteem are sociopaths. Something that I've long agreed with is how our molly-coddling of children that we all proclaim as "special" has left us with children who crack under the strain of living up to that title with no real exposure to the reality of losing. I looked at the difference between "proud" and "happy". I have decided that while "pride" requires my son to be special or above average, happiness only requires him to be my beloved child. A smile and eating yogurt in his peculiar way is all I need to be happy with him, but for me to be "proud", he must be better than the other children. That's a hell of a lot of strain on him that honestly he doesn't deserve. So, I choose to be "happy" with my child and avoid "pride".
Another point that he made that really struck home with me was the inclination for people to be, "proud to be American". Once again, people allowing themselves to feel superiority, or pride, because of a random happenstance that caused them to be born in a particular geographic location. Now it may seem a simple point but I don't think it is. If one were "happy to be American", that would seem perfectly fine to me. The point that I made in conversing on this last night was that pride in ones nationality is both ignorant, and inclining toward nationalist fervor. Anyone else remember what happened in the mid to late 1930's when a group of people decided to express their "pride" in their country. I'm sure a few million dead folks would definitely be able to remind you.
Furthermore, think of the pride that is shown in one's car, one's house. Is that fulfilling or would it simply be better to be happy with these things? Perhaps we shouldn't be proud of our president, and in stead be happy with him. These may seem like obtuse examples but I believe that the difference in mindset between pride and contentment is a great deal of what is wrong with our culture and other cultures around the world to varying degrees. Pride DOES in fact goeth before a fall. Remember that and I would ask that if these words ring true, make a conscious decision to attempt a perspective change toward happiness and contentment. Remember, pride does not equal happiness and I believe that happiness and contentment are a goal that would fulfill most all of us.
Just a thought.