makeshiftmind

• Chuck norris counted to infinity… twice.
• Chuck Norris can touch McHammer.
• According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, Chuck Norris can actually roundhouse kick you yesterday.
• Chuck Norris went to Burger King and ordered a Big Mac… and got one.
• Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
• When Chuck Norris does push ups he dosen’t go up, he pushes the earth down.

Aw yeah…

A good friend sent me a question today that got me thinking:

If you ever have the time, I have a few questions that I would like to see you answer. First, I’d like you to define humility and pride in your own terms. Second; do you think people can be humble? Third; do you think humility is a virtue? Fourth; do you think people are generally prideful, and fifth; do you think pride is a virtue? Feel free to keep these answers as long or short (even so far as not answering) as you want. I await your response or lack there of with great anticipation.

Hmm… let me think about this for a bit. I don’t tend to divide things up into humility vs. pride, but rather realism vs. arrogance. Let me try to explain how I think a person should approach this topic.

We all have skills, talents, achievements, etc., which are things we should be proud of, especially our achievements which are the results of our own effort. Being proud of these things, however, implies that we are realistic about them — i.e., that we don’t make more out of our achievements than there really is to make, and that we realize that anyone who applies themselves can achieve what we have achieved. If we have this attitude, it prevents us from being arrogant — looking down on others who have not achieved what we have, or thinking that they cannot achieve what we have. So arrogance is the real problem, not pride per se.

As for humility, well I think its a word that should just vanish because it has turned into a tool of emotional manipulation that leaves people feeling as though they cannot take legitimate credit for their efforts lest they become prideful or some such nonsense. Again, be realistic about your achievements — that is a virtue. Acknowledge them for what they are, realize you can always do better and that anyone can achieve what you can if they really put their heart and mind into it.

I think that people “tend” to have over-inflated views of their own achievements. But this comes from ignorance — they don’t understand their achievements realistically in the scope of whatever field they make that achievement in (and how it compares on a value scale with other achievements). I think a good example of this is men who can’t give up thinking about the “glory days” of college football. Think “Uncle Rico” from Napoleon Dynamite. His profound ignorance left him with an arrogance that we think absurd because we have a greater understanding of his college “achievements” in the scope of life than he did. So people tend to be arrogant because of their ignorance. The key then is to be like Socrates, understand your limitations, and let that put your feet back on the ground.