We All Sing - Eh Hee

Introducing the official song of We All Poop.

"Be wary of those who believe in a neat little world,
Cuz it's just fuckin' crazy, you know that it is."

Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds - Eh Hee

I HAVE SEEN THE ENEMY AND THEY ARE US

The current economic "crisis," among other factors, strongly influenced my decision to begin writing on human arrogance.

Megan McArdle, a superior blogger/thinker, has an interesting piece today on the financial crisis and villainy. Her post is part of a broader discussion, and while I like what she's written, I think she's missing the broader, philosophical point. Read her thoughts, and here's my abbreviated response:

"My key takeaway from this crisis: I HAVE SEEN THE ENEMY AND THEY ARE US.

There are lots (millions?) of villains in this mess...playing the little guy card or plausible deniability or ignorance is no defense as far as I'm concerned.

People, generally speaking, are a rotten, self-absorbed, and arrogant species. I would argue that our susceptibility to acts of hubris is the only thing that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. The only thing. And this crisis, if there is anything to be learned from it, is that people, collectively, need to be much more humble.

But I ain't holding my breathe."

Am I Alone?

I have, for as long as I can remember, despised arrogant people. Truly, deeply despised them; almost to the point of getting physically ill when I am around some of them. I have much improved on this front as I’ve matured, but every so often I meet a particularly conceited person and it takes incredible will-power not to…well…pimp-slap the bitch (which I use in a non-gender specific way, although in the interests of transparency, I should note that my archetypal arrogant is a former, female co-worker).

I don’t think I am alone in feeling this way, but I’ve met no one who truly shares my distaste…even partially. Sure, plenty of people agree that smug people are annoying or declare that smugness is an unbecoming trait, but they do not seem terribly bothered by it.

But I believe human arrogance is the single biggest problem facing the world.

Am I really alone in feeling and thinking this? Is there any truth to my belief?

I do feel alone in this respect, but I (humbly) submit that my belief is well-founded. And I look forward to exploring this idea and many other related ones in the days, weeks, months, and years (!?) ahead.

The First Post

I begin this blog with two goals in mind:

1) Catharsis. There is nothing original in using blogging as an outlet for dealing with life’s many annoyances, disappointments, and frustrations, and I will offer nothing different here except to provide my own voice and experiences. I do not intend for this to be a pure bitch-session blog nor a lot of incessant whining on my part. I do strive to go through life humbly; a trait that many (esp. Americans) too easily confuse with meekness. I hope to dispel entirely the notion of meekness, have some fun (especially if it is at the expense of some over-confident blowhard who lacks the intelligence, realism, or both to recognize how small and irrelevant any one human being is), and learn new things.

2) Insight. I genuinely hope that in writing this blog I can come to understand better the human existence, particularly the more arrogant of our members. To this end, I hope to explore many questions, covering a range of academic disciplines – biology, psychology, economics, anthropology, etc. – and over time create an interesting look into Human Arrogance (and Humility). While my prior bias (in the Bayesian sense) is to despise arrogance and over-confidence, I will do my best to avoid condemning arrogance outright rather than viewing it as a trait and condition to be studied, analyzed, and maybe even appreciated.

In short, I hope that goal #2 – Insight – reinforces goal #1 – Catharsis.

Maybe, I will be able to draw-in an interested group of readers and contributors, and turn this side-project into something more concrete. Unlikely, but if nothing else I hope my writing gets better!