It is typical of millennials to say they are proud of an identity they didn’t do anything for.
I’m proud to be Sicilian.
I’m proud to be a woman.
I’m proud to be a ginger.
I’m proud to be gay.
I’m proud of my big ass.
We all left our mother’s womb in a certain country, with certain genitalia, a certain hair color, certain bodily proportions and a tendency to like the same sex, the opposite sex, both sexes, or no sex at all. These characteristics are an expression of ancestral chromosome combinations endowed upon us – they are not achievements we worked hard for. We didn’t need to acquire any knowledge or savoir faire to receive them. Therefore, being a blonde Norwegian lesbian with freckles is not worthy of pride any more than being an asexual albino from China.
This addiction of being proud for no valid reason is, along with pathological positivity and the ubiquitous political correctness, a quickly emerging psychological disorder of the new generation. These youth, who overwhelmingly adapt neo-Marxist thought patterns they hear in universities and on social media platforms, fall right into the trap of the divisive identity politics of the radical left. They don’t have liberties to fight for. They can vote, travel, study, and pursue happiness like never before in the history of mankind. The common enemies – men, nazis, capitalists, heterosexuals – have been defeated. So, they created a new one:
The white, western, heterosexual, healthy, successful, intelligent male.
(Imagine claiming you’re proud of having that identity. You would likely risk social isolation and accusations of racism, misogynism, elitarianism, and other -isms that now escape my mind.)
They love ugliness instead of beauty and admire stupidity instead of intelligence. They despise symmetry, harmony and refinement, and worship ostentatiousness, insolence, and vulgarity. Their egos crave being caressed for having no talent. Individuals who do have talent and a remarkable mind have better occupations than to emphasize immutable parts of their identity and to venerate their reflection in the water, like the mythological hunter Narcissus. He drowned.
I rarely hear people say,
I’m proud to be serving meals to the homeless in my free time, or
I’m proud to volunteer at an animal sanctuary on Sundays, or
I’m proud to have donated a thousand euros to an orphanage last month, or
I’m proud to have practiced four hours of violin every day for a decade and play Paganini like a virtuoso.
That’s because those who actually do something to be proud of, give authenticity and meaning to their existence. They find joy in doing just that, without the need to prostitute themselves for likes of other proud people, popping up on their smartphone screens.
Pride is an ugly thing – but if you want to be proud, you have to at least accomplish something. Being born the way you are is just too bloody easy.
One reply on “The Pathology of Pride.”
For decades, socialist associations have been doing everything possible to discredit any sense of belonging to a nation. However, the new self-proclaimed anti-racist associations have reintroduced the notion of racial belonging. The multi-cultural ideology transforms a nation into a simple grouping of different racial, religious and sexual ethnicities that no longer have much in common. Each member of this ethnic group is obliged to defend his or her community without concern for the common good. We have gone from a national community where the common good was a central value to a community grouping where inter-community dialogue is becoming increasingly complicated. We think we have made progress but it is a huge step backwards.