I am Somebody!
If I decide that I am not somebody I break down like a 48 Chevy. When that great newsreel always running in my head feeds me with constant negative images of myself, I give up. To lose self-esteem is to lose the nourishment that provides the energy needed by a hero. I am a hero because I make a vital contribution to world-life.
Why do many youth in the inner-cities commit violent and criminal acts?--that is one way, perhaps the only way, to be a hero. Why do many youth walk boldly into enemy fire?—to be a hero. Why does a youth strap on explosives and blow up her self and everyone around her?—heroism once again.
Why does a parent delight in the accomplishments of their offspring—such is the parents’ means for being heroes. Why does a CEO demand an income of ten million dollars from her corporation—so everyone will recognize what a great hero she is. Perhaps corporations need to be heroes also and giving their CEO more money is the corporation’s means for self-esteem.
The most important thing a culture can provide to its citizens is a means for becoming a hero in a way that benefits life (good) rather than death (evil). “Its [culture’s] task, in other words, is to provide the individual with the conviction that he is an object of primary value in a world of meaningful action.”
The ego must find a means to navigate the world of customs, rules, and ideas in such a way as to eliminate anxiety; to do this the individual must choose actions that her comrades praise instead of blame.
Quotes from “The Birth and Death of Meaning” by Ernest Becker
Questions for discussion
The books on human sciences I have been reading speak of good and life, and evil and death, as being synonymous. Do you find that characterization is satisfactory?
Do corporations seek self-esteem? Is ‘corporation is person’ an apt metaphor?
If I decide that I am not somebody I break down like a 48 Chevy. When that great newsreel always running in my head feeds me with constant negative images of myself, I give up. To lose self-esteem is to lose the nourishment that provides the energy needed by a hero. I am a hero because I make a vital contribution to world-life.
Why do many youth in the inner-cities commit violent and criminal acts?--that is one way, perhaps the only way, to be a hero. Why do many youth walk boldly into enemy fire?—to be a hero. Why does a youth strap on explosives and blow up her self and everyone around her?—heroism once again.
Why does a parent delight in the accomplishments of their offspring—such is the parents’ means for being heroes. Why does a CEO demand an income of ten million dollars from her corporation—so everyone will recognize what a great hero she is. Perhaps corporations need to be heroes also and giving their CEO more money is the corporation’s means for self-esteem.
The most important thing a culture can provide to its citizens is a means for becoming a hero in a way that benefits life (good) rather than death (evil). “Its [culture’s] task, in other words, is to provide the individual with the conviction that he is an object of primary value in a world of meaningful action.”
The ego must find a means to navigate the world of customs, rules, and ideas in such a way as to eliminate anxiety; to do this the individual must choose actions that her comrades praise instead of blame.
Quotes from “The Birth and Death of Meaning” by Ernest Becker
Questions for discussion
The books on human sciences I have been reading speak of good and life, and evil and death, as being synonymous. Do you find that characterization is satisfactory?
Do corporations seek self-esteem? Is ‘corporation is person’ an apt metaphor?
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