There must be a light under the bushel!

Pride and Cowardice

My father once mentioned his interest to me about how some of the seven deadly sins are now considered virtues by many Americans. The utmost of these sins that he addressed was pride.

I've always found pride to be a fascinating trait, particularly because I often feel that I have more of it than I really need, and I see it as a hindrance. I recognize it as somewhat of a defense mechanism in myself, and I've often equated it with arrogance and sometimes ignorance. However, I've never really recognized it as fear.

I see ignorance as a form of fear, and I see arrogance as a form of ignorance. Can they all be connected?

You should have pride in yourself. You should have pride in what you do. We've all heard these statements; many of us may have even said them. Has the meaning or maybe the interpretation of pride changed, or do we really promote the idea that we should bask in ourselves?

If we still interpret the meaning to be that we should recognize our own glory in our accomplishments, does that close our minds to the accomplishments of others? What if their theories contradict ours? If we still have an open mind to others, we might have to accept that someone else could prove us wrong. Where does that leave our self image? Do our feelings about ourselves change, or do we refuse to believe in a better theory?

I just wonder how much of our "pride" is actually a byproduct of fear. At one point in time, we've all held on to a losing argument too long. We knew we were sinking, but we refused to give our side up. Why? Because we wanted to be right? Because we were afraid of looking stupid?

We've all also refused to apologize at some point even though we knew we were wrong. Why? FEAR

Doesn't our pride often keep us from being better people? Because we hold on so strongly to an elitist belief in ourselves or our work, we might be segregating ourselves from others.

I don't knock anyone feeling good about something good he or she has done. I also think it's important to find satisfaction with oneself. I just wonder if our fear of not being good enough rules us more than it should. Is it causing our country to be full of self-centered and self-absorbed people? Are we more concerned that we feel good rather than if we do good? And why are we so afraid to admit that someone else can be better in some ways than we are?

I think I can be as close-minded as the next person at times, but I'd like to think that the older I get, the more open-minded I become. There is a world out there full of people who know things I don't and are better than me in a multitude of ways. As each year goes by, I realize that I know less than I thought I did. I believe it's more of a strength to recognize one's own weaknesses rather than to focus soley on the strengths. At least growth can continue when you realize how much you still have to learn.