"When God was equipping man for his life-journey of exploration, the attending angel was about to add the gift of contentment and complete satisfaction. The Infinite Mind stayed his hand. "No," He said, "if you give him that power you will rob him forever of the joy of self-discovery." - Indian Legend
Sunday 4 April 2010
Man and His Ego - deadliest of combinations
Here I was on a mellow Sunday evening in my Brazilian jersey (yes they are going to win World-cup); nice day for some football; everybody was out children running and the vibe was right. An hour later myself along with everybody else on the field was trying to squash a fistfight (with rocks included). Now one might say, well that's a regular thing right, just sports? Its sad that arrogance has become the norm. Why couldn't one of the two involved take my advice and just leave the field when it was just word-throwing, NO! he had to prove a point, he had to show the other fellow that he's far from soft, and besides, being the 'bigger man' and walking away never wins the crowd over. So maybe the theory about man's animalistic side (defending his territory) applies here, or maybe its just a representation of the sad state our people are in, actions before thoughts and ego before control. And Words, words my friend, what to make of them? History has documented and proven it, the power of words; it made soldiers out of men, men out of boys, it rallied simple minded people to push for a revolution, it also brought disaster where peace reigned. Death and Life truly lies in the tongue, but just as deadly is one's ego.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Very interesting story and sadly this arrogant case has become a trend among many men of today society. It is sad though that many of these egotistical men do not even know what they are doing by acting so idiotic. I must say however my friend that this peice would make a great article. Keep up the great effort well aprreciated,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback and while I can agree that we are only human I must say sometimes we are just stuck on 'stupid'.
ReplyDeleteTrue word. I always say the saying 'actions speak louder than words' is often misrepresented in scenarios such as the one you've described, because people always seem to be guided by the belief that their actions in the heat of the moment will prove greater than well thought out words which may resolve the issue.
ReplyDeleteI think its a vicious cycle that reflects the way we have been socialized; and also how we are being socialized by a culture that has grown to praise and give 'stripes' to impulsive and arrogant behaviour as opposed to rational thinking.
ReplyDeleteMakes u think that if words are so powerful y cant we use them to solve the problems we have instead of our fists?
ReplyDeleteknowledge about the power of words is necessary before you use it to replace your fists, thats where I believe re-socialization comes in.
ReplyDeleteIts funny that in our society today ppl think getting respect comes from using violence, fighting, making a spectacle of urself n yet in doin so they tend to lose their self respect. But its sometime starts from when their kids. A friend of mine told her son dont cry when ppl take things from u kick them, fight them for it, n she watched him do jus that. I was stunned. Now when u teach a child that that's the way to solve things how can we expect them to grow into young men n know that that's not the way. Cause even now, a man walk away from conflict n everybody seh him soft, but its up to him as a man to stand up n know within himself, to have that confidence n self- esteem to know that despite wha ppl seh, u were actually the bigger person for leaving n not fightin it out.
ReplyDeleteinteresting indeed....one can disagree with the theory of man's animalistic side. History points out that in Jamaican society the darkest set of slaves(mentally) were brought to Jamaica compared to that of Barbados, Trinidad, Bahamas etc...Is it that we too proud and filled with pride why we cant walk away from a fight?
ReplyDeleteSo now its a past dictating the present kind of scenario? I believe if you get a boy and nurture him to be a girl you won't change the fact that he is a boy but you will definitely have a young man behaving just like a girl. My point is, while we can't deny the nature of our ancestors I believe the way we have been socialized as a people with arrogance is why we are at this point. It can always be reversed, just change the culture, for example change mothers like the one Marcia described just now.
ReplyDeletewell at the end of the day not only does it come down to the individual but also his culture. personally i subscribe to the age old adage that I'm a lover not a fighter but from birth till death in Jamaica the preconception is that you have to stand up for your right whether you right for you wrong. which is so retarded but oh well we live in a retarded world where two wrongs supposedly make a right. change as small and insignificant as it may be starts with on person and that one person spreads to that one family, and that one family spreads to that one neighborhood, and little by little we rectify the flaws we have as a people; as a nation and then hopefully by the next generation rises the good principles will be the majority and the bad ones the minority or non existent. sorry if it doesn't make much sense just flowing off the top of my dome.
ReplyDeleteIt makes perfect sense, Gandhi said it best, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." and a forest fire only starts with a spark. Keep the thoughts flowing R lol
ReplyDeleteBig ppl ting, though i am very aware n will agree with the negative effect that slavery has had on us as a people i do beleive we also use slavery as crutch to justify our faults n bad behaviors that wi CAN change. We live in a world were we wise enough to see the negative effets that anger n violence have n we still perpetuate the cycle, y? I tell u, start from the younger generation, but we encourage kids, we see them hitting ppl cause them dont get them own way n ppl think its cute. Let me tell u i was in Burger King the other day n this little boy outta nowhere sits beside me n grabs my cell phone case n forces his hand in it. So I tellin him dont do that, n taking it from him n his first instinct is to lift him foot n put it on me to kick me. N let me tell you something, ppl think that cute but mi nuh play n i mek sure tell him dont do that, n i will slap u, right here n now cause that's rude, n him parents betta kno weh dem up to. Mi nah fraid fi correct children when them wrong, or adutls either. But u have 2 set a ppl sometimes, the ones that are afraid to do the right n those who are araid to point out the wrong. But this is something u have to teach, from baby stage. Dont blame slavery when a educated man decides that him ago use him fist instead a jus walkin away. Time we as Jamaicans tek responsility for our own actions, n stop blaming it on what our ancestors went thru. We are our culture, so we are the change but a mi dat, my chat
ReplyDeleteyep its the same trend i see with the lil kids coming up, everybody gotta "prove", few kno the value of walking away from a situation
ReplyDeleteSo lets breathe deeply after that one lol (inhale, exhale, inhale...) but solid point though Marica
ReplyDeletesee mi two cents ya! spend it wisely cah my money ha ha!...
ReplyDeletebut yea i agree with the ego thing like i mentioned cuz most people want to prove themselves nowadays...i think its just how our society is, with all the brainwashing videos and reality tv shows of celebrities proving their ish, some of us tend to be easily influenced. However, I think it all depends on the situation sometimes because honestly, if someone ticks me off to a point that erupts my temper, fight a guh pop; not to prove myself, but just to relieve all the intensive energy. So I wouldn't say everyone fights to prove a point, some people just can't control temper flares. Anyway, can't write too much, 6 page paper due tomorrow lol...but bring on more discussions preacha!
*Brazil to mi ting!*