The Hubris of America

Welcome to your life, there's no turning back.

Oh how I wish someone would have mentioned this to us at some point during our adolescence.

I remember Rick Hardwood, a childhood friend of mine, uttering some very prophetic words during Jr. High. He said that life decides one day to smack you right in the face whether you're ready or not. It can happen even while we sleep.

One of the things that makes the United States both revered and reviled is the certain amount of hubris that we seem to inherit and embrace just by merely being American. We some how grow up with the general idea that we are better than the rest of the world. It's true. Ask your average Yank and they'll say what Rick said to me our Jr. year. That as Americans it is not only our right but our responsibility to spread democracy throughout the world. It's my own design, it's my own remorse.

We see this hubris in our communities, and at work, but we especially see it in our politicians. They run for the highest of offices because at some core level they believe that they above anyone else, can do a better job than the rest of us. Help me make the most of freedom.

But if you pay attention to the science fiction writers there will eventually come a time when we as a world community will need to come together to save ourselves. It could be against an outside tragedy. Alien invasions are a very popular subject. Most likely we will be called to save ourselves from ourselves. If history is any teacher, the age old conflict of Man vs. Man will be our undoing. I often wonder if we will be good enough to answer the bell when our time comes. Will we even notice? And if we do will we just sit around singing Kum Ba Yah hoping that everything will work out just fine. Holding hands while the walls come crumbling down.

The hubris of America is that when that time comes we will be the nation to lead the world in its plight against calamity. Look around you. It's a theme that is captured in our books and movies. You can find it in our political speeches. It's obvious in our news articles. One headline why believe it. And it is ever present in the way we carry ourselves when travelling abroad. Hell, it's even an undercurrent in the everyday blog post.

So what's the point you ask? The point is this.

Today is February 29th. This is a day that literally only happens once in a while. And while it may be too late in the day to make a social statement that truly matters. On this particular day, I'd like to offer one thing. What if we took a week? Just 7 days to be better.

Not "better" in the traditional USA versus the world sort of way. I mean better Human Beings! All for freedom and for pleasure. Smile a little wider. Laugh a little louder. Hug someone and tell them you love and appreciate them. Open the door for a stranger. Let someone merge instead of cutting someone off in traffic. Answer the phone with a smile in your voice. Vote. Carpool. If nothing else just pretend that maybe this little ball of water, earth and gas that we call home is starting to get a little crowded and we may have to find a way to co-exist.

On day eight we can all go back to hating each other and thinking poorly of our fellow man. Or like me you can berate them for being who they are. After all nothing ever lasts forever.