Pride.

What a mess we make of this one, eh?

Well, let's get out the wrenches, and open the hood....


Well, we've got pride in accomplishment, and I'll get into that later....

Then we've got ethnic pride, national pride, rural pride, religious pride, y'know, all the kinds that come from an accident of birth, I beat that to death in meaningless slogans.

Then there's that American ego kind of pride that comes from being rich, or even chasing being rich, the kind Ayn Rand and others think is so great.

It can be based around accomplishment, but that whole "unworthy heir", problem can decompose the whole deal down to that unearned accident of birth shit pretty fucking easily.

And then there's the whole problem of what society says is an accomplishment.

Some think it's your Donald Trumps, some thinks it's your Mozarts, still others think it's your reality TV show stars.

No one can seem to agree, but at the same time, your Randroids and other types of conservatives, seem to think there is an objective standard.

It's usually, if not always, variations on the whole fucking "Social Darwinism", mess.

Then you've got the whole problem with pride going too far, and warping into arrogance.

Then from that, you get that sick type of entitled privileged greed of the upper classes, and the head-games they play on the general populace.

And it doesn't take long for that to turn into,...well, the sort of mess we see on the news lately.

Then there's the whole problem of how all that arrogance gets tangled up with confidence, and becomes twisted by assholes into a synonym for confidence.

"I'm not an asshole, I'm just confident!", you actually hear that from some people.

Well, yeah, assholes certainly think highly of themselves, but it doesn't mean thinking highly of oneself privileges one to be an asshole.

But yeah, that philosophical contortion is right where your Trumps and Cheny's crawl out from.

And then wonder why we're so fucked as a nation.

Well, as with accomplishment, I say, keep it fucking simple.

If you set a task, and get it done, even if it's just raking the fucking leaves, it's accomplishment at it's core level.

Be proud of yourself, go right ahead, life is rough, take what you can get.

The alternative, is to be down on yourself for not having a reality show or some bullshit, and that leads to well....warping into Balloon Boy's Dad.

If you want to chase bigger things than raking leaves, fine, chase your dream, but don't forget, or denigrate the small shit either.

Keep perspective.

I think that's what happens to these fevered egos, they literally lose perspective, and see themselves in a funhouse mirror.

Course, people lacking confidence see themselves in the opposite mirror.

And often times, the former will often lay out that negative mirror for the latter to step in front of.

That's America's other sick little game.

The "I'm not an asshole, I'm confident", types like to twist that game around into the more reasonable sounding "competition".

Bullshit.

Being an undermining asshole is being an undermining asshole.

But, that's the "values", you'll get off the Donald Trump reality show.
Big surprise there.

And that sub-culture (a powerful minority, but a sub-culture nonetheless) is the representation of that one-size-fits-all "THE American Dream", the media and pundits like to puke all over your dinner.

And all of that comes full circle back to my stated mission for the confidence rant.
Be yourself, believe in yourself, be proud of who you are, and don't worry about who you're not.

Because in the final tally, the arguments against it are such total shit, and put forward by well, strutting pricks.

And that strutting prickery is that "American way", they try to shovel onto you along with that "American dream".

Don't sweat either, it's just more ways dreamt up to undermine and undervalue your happiness.

Y'know, to "motivate", you.

Into the head chopping room.