Recently, enlightened by my substitute-teaching experiences in North KC, I've become aware of a fascinating variation on the age-old theme of arrogance. The usual approach, adopted by a number of us, involves an overt swagger and the not-so-subliminal message, I'm all that. A thin (or nonexistent, as the case may be) veneer of playfulness disguises the dead-earnest nature of the assertion.
However, this tried and true approach to ego-expansion is being forsaken by many in our postmodern culture. These days, general ethical uncertainty is regarded as a virtue, and "tolerance" seems to imply that most forms of personal self-assertion are evil. An increasing number of people (showcased by my fairly transparent high school students) prefer a more nuanced approach to self-promotion, a more subtle approach to pride.
Call it "the new egotism." A self-induced air of confusion, fudging of ability and judgment, is becoming mainstream. It involves a kind of chronic self-doubt, resulting in the central tenet of our postmodern heritage--the certainty of uncertainty. Some refer to this as "tolerance."
And, in an ironic twist, this supposed lack of conviction and moral penetration qualifies one for a legitimacy and credence. Implicit in the new egotism is the idea that You should listen to me because I'm unsure, I'm not dogmatic, that is, I'm an authentically "open-minded" person.
Does moral uncertainty generate authority? Are the chronically confused our new top dogs? At least in the classroom microcosm, this new math seems to be at work.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
The New Egotism
Filed in: Culture
Posted by AJ at 3:58 PM 0 comments
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