Hubris

"Pride comes before the fall." I don't know who said this but I frequently remind myself of this quote when I see pride in others and in myself. I also think then about an episode in Homer's Odyssey where Odysseus outwits the cyclops and on his escape with his crew, he loudly touts and belittles the blinded cyclops. He and his crew almost died because while Odysseus was touting loudly, the cyclops used his ears to approximate his location and threw a tree at the ship which almost sank it. I remember discussing hubris in class. Some pun intended here-- hubris is an Achille's heel for many: individuals, companies, and countries.

Look where 8 years of George W.'s "Cowboy Diplomacy" (i.e. if you are not with us then you are against us!" has gotten us. Loss of respect around the world, corporate welfare, Iraq fiasco, decaying infrastructure, etc. etc. I was FOR going into Iraq. I believed in the neocon idea of "behavior modification." In the case of the Middle East, go and kill the enemy before the enemy stands up to kill you. I know that some would think that this is too simple. But I believe in pragmatism. I used to love watching Rumsfeld and his entertaining bravado. It was a great show and it showed the might of our power. I didn't think then hubris. But as months went on and we were dragged into a quagmire. I relialized that Rumsfeld and the Cheney administration was in a state of hubris and denial. They listened to no one. It was a crusade with no eyes and ears. Bucaneering in the dark at best.

Hubris has been the downfall of many companies as well. Think Enron, think Bear Stearns, etc. They all believed that they were invincible and right.

I have also worked for people who were full of hubris. I haven't seen them fall but I'm certain that the model and the outcome is most likely to be the same.

Just as there is false charm and fool's gold, hubris is false confidence. It's delusional, vane confidence. It's confidence on steroids. Steroids kill.

Our confidence must be tempered with some genuine humility.

My dad once told me, "the trees that don't survive in a storm are those that do not bend." It's true. If one can not bend alittle, one breaks eventually.

This applies to all: individuals, companies, and countries.

Stop shouting. Stop exerting. Be tranquil. Close your eyes and listen. Listen and reason. Behave.

I was thinking about this because we think that we are the greatest country in the world. But we are not. We are the only industrialized nation without universal health care, our infrastructure (roads, telecom) is crumbling, our technology is not the most modern, our diplomacy is laughable, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. We are becoming a second world power, devolving. The Canadian $ is now in parity with the U.S. $. I never thought that I would be around to see it happen. Remember, tortois and the hare?

Pride doest come before the fall.