As a kid, I read a lot of Greek and Roman Mythology. I learned some great lessons from the fates, the fabled battles, and the historical interweaving with the fictional. One of the lessons keeps recircling, “Those whom the gods would destroy first they make proud.” Except, the gods/God do not make men proud; men choose pride, then comes vanity, all feeding ego, until that penultimate moment when “Hubris Ante Nemesis” occurs and the bottom is pulled out from under you.
The fates are three goddesses by the name of Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the allotter), and Atropos (the inflexible), possibly the children of Ananke (Necessity); these fates spun out the woven lives of men and women on the tapestry of a grand design. Out of necessity, the fates weave, and what is woven cannot be undone. I can understand the mental comfort people might take from thinking that these weavers hold men’s destiny; thus, all success or failure is the fault of the weavers of fate.
Hubris, in Greek Mythology, is the god of arrogance. Full of wanton violence, insolence, arrogance, and who actively chooses never to exercise restraint. Hubris remains a classic example of extremes. Nemesis is the goddess of fate and revenge. Roughly translating Latin Hubris brings Nemesis to balance the scales. Nemesis is the humbler of men who Hubris have enticed into taking their lives to extremes.
In Judaism, the saying goes, “Pride goeth before the fall.” Or put another way, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” In all cultures of men, this same semaphore is flashing across the minds of philosophers and religious leaders, beware the tides of extremes, choose humility, and caution against arrogance, pride, sloth, vanity, lust, gluttony, and ego. When did we stop heeding this call? Why have these calls been classified as religious and minimized in all societies?
Consider the political leaders of the day, those who think they are beyond the reach of law merely because they think they are the keystone in a democracy and deserve to live better than those who elected them to power. Recent examples of this pride are witnessed in Speaker Pelosi’s husband making stock choices when the company is about to get a massive windfall from the US Government. Al Gore compared climate deniers to the police in the Uvalde, Texas school shooting while jet-setting around the globe. He is preaching moderation and reduced lifestyles while he lives in excess. The list is never-ending, where extreme lifestyles are flashed wantonly, and suffering continues to expand exponentially.
Marie Antoinette was made famous for the starving and suffering by losing her head after supposedly claiming, “Let them eat cake.” Hubris snuffed out by Nemesis in a well-deserved act of humiliation. Yet, one of the things that set Greek and Roman mythology apart from Judaism and Christianity was the ability to repent, achieve forgiveness, and change one’s life being in the hands of the individual, not the destiny of the Fate’s.
Being called to repentance is primarily the realm of religious leaders, and I would not want anyone to think I am making a call for others to repent. Not my job, no authority, no power. Merely, I hope to help raise the perception of those suffering from the hubris of others. I also want to improve how I live. I am not the example to hold up to anyone, except as a warning, but I strive to improve. The poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley rings ever truer, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”
Our world, right now, is suffering greatly. Crime is skyrocketing; theft is out of control; violence, aggression, murder, rape, and so much more are occurring at levels not ever recorded and growing. Yet, Thomas S. Monson authored a book based on a concept of power, “The future is only as bright as your faith.” Consider this for a moment; we can have hope and happiness in whatever circumstances we face as a choice reflecting our personal religious beliefs. Yes, the consequences of crime hurt physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, etc., but the hubris of others can be healed. Victor E. Frankl’s book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” signals the same semaphore, your choices can heal the hubristic consequences suffered, and the future is bright!
Those who have indulged in hubristic actions can find peace, joy, happiness, and forgiveness. Those hurt by the hubris of others do not have to stay hurt, or hurt others, to find the same joy, peace, happiness, and forgiveness. Want to know an exciting thought? I am not preaching religion! Your religious choices are your own, and I respect your religious preferences, provided they do not infringe upon anyone else’s rights to freedom of religion.
I am talking about living without extremes, not religion. How big of a house do you need? Due to my violent sleeping and crazy sleep patterns, my wife and I sleep in different rooms. Because I am a proud person who, after cleaning latrines and heads for the US Army and Navy, hates cleaning bathrooms, we also have separate bathrooms. As a married couple, these changes to the “traditional” style of a man living with a woman have led us to live in a slightly larger home, but this fits our needs. Please note that my bathroom is not a filthy mess, but it is not the surgical clean of a military bathroom either. Nor is my bathroom one step higher in cleanliness above the military than my spouse’s.
How many cars and vehicles does a person need? I don’t know. I have friends who have four-wheelers, tractors, motorcycles, and a host of other vehicular conveyances. I am not here to tell anyone how much of anything they need. I merely postulate that you can make better choices and exercise less hubris through careful consideration and thoughtful discussion. The same goes for food, clothing, entertainment, and every other vice humans invent to fall into. I am not condemning anyone! I suggest that we can live well without the extremes and expect our political leaders and bureaucrats to do similarly.
How expensive is the government because those who claim to be public servants practice hubris with our tax dollars? How complicated a process does a government become when government becomes a jobs program instead of a government? How big does a government become when hubris is practiced against the citizens?
As free-thinking humans, we do not need to be ruled with a brick stick to make better living choices. We do need a moral code to live by, and how you choose your moral code is your business. The moral code should include things like living within our means, not being violent to others, promoting good where we see it, and disdaining socially what should be kept privately, among other things. I cannot stress this enough choosing what you believe is your business. However, hubris hurts others to make oneself inflated, and that is everyone’s business!
Consider for a moment the store clerk who had to take a life to defend himself in a bodega in NYC. That man will be forever haunted by the violence perpetrated upon him, leading to the perpetrator’s death. The hubris of the attacker led to his humiliation but had consequences for society at large. The thieves in San Francisco, Chicago, and other places do not hurt just the business and local communities, they hurt everyone in American society, and their hubris is morally, ethically, and legally wrong!
The murderer’s hubris affects society just as wholly as the hubris of a political leader who lives in excess; I see no difference between the two. Some may complain that murder and living in excess are two different moral choices, but those hurt do not differentiate the wound, so why should I? Is not a life lost in murder? Is not a life lost when the excesses of others lead them to use the power of government to steal, cheat, and lie in the name of government business?
Consider illegal immigration as the theft it is, and we can see how hubris negatively influences the originating country, pushing the poor out and the host country where the poor want to reside illegally. Does this mean immigration is wrong; absolutely not! Immigration includes assimilation, illegal immigration does not, and those practicing illegal immigration, promoting, and facilitating are all practicing hubris for personal power, wealth, and gain. Are there those in the illegal immigration classes who are the “Sons of Mary;” indeed. But the majority are merely perpetuating hubris with the resulting consequences in increased drug trafficking, sex trafficking, disease spread, and a host of other social ills.
I admit the murders of millions in Nazi Germany under Hitler were terrible, but how is this any different from Mao using government powers to kill millions by withholding food, clothing, and housing from those who disagreed politically, religiously, or personally? Or any different than Xi Jinping doing similarly to the Uyghur populations? What is different between Marie Antoinette and Marx or Stalin? How are these actions any other than what the government has done under the excuse of Covid? Did not millions die while political leaders lived in excess, flaunted their hubris, and stole from those who put them in power?
Under communism in the USSR, the people lived in abject misery, while those who considered themselves elite grew fat and lazy, all in the name of helping, providing, caring, and progress. Communist Cuba and the disaster called Venezuela are additional examples of what occurs when hubris corrupts governments and society is left to suffer while the leaders live lives of excess. America used to be a capitalistic country but is now a mix of socialism and communism under the guise of capitalism. The hubristic lifestyles of those in power, their lackeys, flunkeys, and bureaucrats, are all at the taxpayers’ expense. What is the difference between hubris in the communist USSR and America?
I am not claiming that anyone is doing anything inherently wrong. Our choices to live an extreme lifestyle breed pride, vanity, ego, narcissism, and a host of other social ills; these social ills breed expanses to government, creating red tape, tax increases, and socialism/communism as measures to improve equality. What happens when the hubris grows too big, war, revolutionary governments, and destruction. The mythological Greeks would call this the coming of Nemesis to cull the acts of Hubris. Judaism and Christianity would discuss balancing the scales of justice with mercy. Other religions would discuss balance, choice, and compounding accountability for choices. All truths flashed from an eternal semaphore, where man tries to explain the loss, putting morales to the stories and trying to pass along a truth grasped at, that men make choices, and when those choices include extremes, the consequence is death.
Is the future really as bright as our faith; YES! What we choose to believe in, how we choose to exercise belief, and the need for freedom of religion to keep men on equal grounds, are all pillars to helping man live life without extremes. Extremes breed death; living without extremes creates life; can we at least learn this lesson? I hope so.
© Copyright 2022 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images. Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.
Long have I hoped that the government of Justin Trudeau in Canada would have listened and heeded the voices of the truckers, farmers, and citizens of Canada long before writing on this topic. Unfortunately, Trudeau chooses to be tone-deaf to all voices but the ones in his head and those pouring money into his political coffers. Trudeau’s craven, cowardly, and corrupted government remains a disgusting and deleterious mark against the history of freedom. The history books will mark him the “Low-Water Mark” in Canada’s history, as I believe the people of Canada are fed up! Time will tell.
Trudeau, are you listening? Using the tools (Police Officers) to steal fuel from truckers is the definition of theft and is illegal! Encouraging those in government, who have always longed to be a Storm Trooper to act in a manner that removes liberty and freedom while threatening the lives and livelihoods of others, is NOT how to govern in any representative government. Trudeau, Biden, pay close attention; you are authoritarians and have broken the social contract inherent in your ability to govern. Lacking the authority to govern means your only way to escape is to leave power!
Let’s say you do not like the vaccine mandates; in a socialized medicine country, the government says, “Tough! Take the jab!” Then use the power of Storm Trooper bureaucrats to ensure you do what they demand. In a non-socialized medicine country, the government is as powerful and refuses to be idle. As has been witnessed in America, the government continues to employ whatever means necessary to confuse, blind, and sow chaos to win the power to demand you get the jab. Lusting after power that rightly belongs to the electorate has become a game for the government, and insufficient numbers of people understand what is happening and the long-term effects. Worse, the enemies of freedom and liberty already know the long-term consequences and are salivating at the thought of controlling others for personal gain!
In my youth, I watched the Monica Lewinsky debacle with abhorrence! Watching President Bill Clinton use an apology, which wasn’t an apology, for political course correction and stave off impeachment proceedings sickened me! How many times has the same non-apology tactic worked? Let’s ask Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Governors Newsome, Grisham, and Whitmer, as well as countless others who have made non-apologies. Are the fruits of the 7-Deadly Sins and 7-Virtues apparent; maybe not; let’s use another example.
Those who uphold and honor the 7-Virtues in their lives do not plasticize words. For example calling peaceful citizens gathered to importune the government for redress, terrorists, racists, and fascists. Leaders who desire to be honored and kept in office do not spend the public’s money like drunken sailors on a 3-day port visit. Elected representatives embody the 7-Virtues reflecting their commitment to living as an honor of the trust the public has invested in them. These leaders do not take bribes, sell access, and do not execute a lavish lifestyle paid for by big donors to the detriment of the electorate electing them to office.
How do we change the government? First, we, the citizens, embody the 7-Virtues, living better, learning, and choosing a different path. Second, we change how and who we elect to office. Third, we change the laws to protect our society from the vagrants, tyrants, and societal abusers to keep them from elected office: we, the citizens, control and own the government. We must remember this fact and then teach the elected representatives to respect us!
In 1993 one of the biggest hits was a song called “
My wife the other day asked me why I don’t quit jobs I have undertaken. She doesn’t understand the lessons I have learned; I cannot do a poor job. I cannot commit to doing a job and give less than my full potential and all of my talents, skills, and abilities. Even when it means I am surrounded by enemies in a hostile environment where my life is constantly threatened. I have to give it everything I have; I owe this debt to my neighbor that must be serviced. I have earned a working man’s Ph.D. as well as a couple of master’s degrees from the school of hard knocks; I owe too much to those who have taught me to forget these lessons.
Hard work teaches hard lessons, but the lessons learned are worth more than gold and diamonds, and I wouldn’t trade a single lesson learned for all the money in the world and all the fame in Hollywood. Of all the degrees and titles I have acquired in this world, or will acquire, the only one I ever want is that of “Hard worker,” for that single title says it all. When the chips and markers are counted at the end of life, I want to be found pulling my weight. I might be disabled, I might be stubborn as a Missouri Mule with a mean streak a mile wide, but I want to be found pulling my weight.
My deepest thanks to Aaron Tippin for his example and his incredible talent as a singer and person. I have met many military people who sing Aaron Tippin’s praises, and I am very grateful for the talent shared. May I encourage you to consider how well your studies are progressing on your “
Hetro- or Homo- sexual, I do not care. If you and your partner are over the age of consent, generally accepted as 18 years, you may do as you like. All I ask is that you keep your bedroom theatrics in the privacy of your own home.
We can find the same family organizations, the same risks, and the same problems with abuse throughout history. Nothing in the modern family is new or unique. Greece, Rome, Egypt, Babylon, Israel, all communities of ancient date report the same problems in family dynamics, mainly to the detriment of the society practicing any family relationship except nuclear families. I am not the morality police, I am not the thought police, and I am not going to tell you how to live your life and handle your consequences. Heck, I have enough trouble just keeping my consequences dealt with; you may do as you see fit.
Childhood depression is up, anxiety, 
To fully understand the sexualization of children, one must first cut through the hype. The Centers for Disease Control (
I have reports from 
The elected clowns have filled my email inbox with all sorts of marketing emails regarding “The Equality Act.” The Equality Act remedies these disparities by amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, education, housing, credit, jury service, public accommodations, and federal funding. The following are not examples of closed-mindedness, nor am I passing judgment; honest questions, attempting to understand a social issue that makes no sense to me personally, creating too much emotional hyperbole in society.
The one relationship I have had where I did not respect my partner to keep my bedroom choices in my bedroom and not in public, I have regretted it, and apologies never made right my loss of control. I learned harsh lessons about respect and caring about the other person; more, I learned about respecting society to allow social behavior to not interfere with my partner and me.
Modesty in public is more than hemlines, it is an attitude of respect for others, and it is a desire to not inflict upon another that which they do not want to witness. Yet, every day, a person is assaulted in public by behaviors and activities that belong at home, or more specifically in a bedroom. Since the LGBTQ+ crowd seems to have lost their minds the most with respect for their partner/s and the public square, I must ask, why do you disrespect yourselves and your partner/s so much as to take your bedroom into public? Not letting the heterosexual crowd off the hook, the last couple of movie theaters visited had severe problems with respect and modesty in public.
Thus, I ask, what happened to respect for oneself, their partner, and the public in presenting modest behavior in public and controlling one’s behavior until they returned home? What happened to respect for the public square and standards for conduct in public? It is not too much to ask a person to control themselves and respect their partner/s in public!
Pride has several definitions, the first being, according to Webster, Noun – “a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.” The second, “consciousness of one’s dignity.” The third, “confidence and self-respect as expressed by members of a group, typically one that has been socially marginalized, based on their shared identity, culture, and experience.”
Enmity remains synonymous with pride for a reason. Pride is always competitive in nature, where the person possessing pride claims they are better than everyone else, and all must bow and worship the owner of pride. Well, I have removed my consent to be governed by you! Pride is always short-tempered, unkind, envious, and hostile. Hence, I wonder why you choose to feel pride over passing the “Equality Act.” Did you read the act before voting? How many elected supporters got their palms greased, and their special interests paid for with the public’s money to pass the “Equality Act?”
Apathy is all about a lack of enthused concern. Being apathetic is a choice to show no concern, emotional connection to an issue, or interest. The choice to be apathetic is personal and does not indicate that a person is heartless; simply, that the person being apathetic is making different choices where emotion is concerned on a topic.
Here is the problem with all three emotional tools above, they are emotional responses to external situations. Jean-Paul Sartre is quoted thus:
Consider the announcement that someone’s cat has died. What does society say one should do in this situation; take visual cues and match the emotions of the person whose cat died to the environmental situation, and respond in a similar manner. Feel sad the cat died; why it was not your cat that died. What if the owner is feeling relief because the cat had suffered from health or physical defects; do we still emote sadness? What if the owner inherited the cat and is relieved they never have to clean the cat box again, step in wet hairballs, or take as much allergy medicine; do we emote sadness when the owner emotes joy? Thus, one can more easily see, and understand that emotions are a choice, and empathy and sympathy are emotional traps.
Pride, is an interesting element of emotional response and centers around self-elevation and enmity (being actively opposed or hostile to someone). The proud person will say, I am better than someone else and be violently opposed to any influencers who are perceived to threaten the superiority of the person emoting pride. The proud person will always use emotions as a tool for controlling others, which is one of the most compelling arguments against the current business fad, emotional intelligence. Pride, with its underlying core of enmity, is the root of the common conception of, and popularity for, emotional intelligence. Real emotional intelligence recognizes the cognitive, judgmental, and social aspects of emotions, and works to control oneself.
Consider the anger people chose over the death of Rayshard Brooks earlier this year in Georgia. Many people chose to be angry and then expressed that anger in burning down a Wendy’s restaurant franchise, rioting, lootings, clogging traffic, stopping commerce, and other actions considered acceptable expressions of anger by the media who reported the events.
Further emotional outbursts and increased levels of emotional criminology might occur later. Still, at the moment, those actions have reached the limit of justification and the emoter will choose differently to gain favor and approval from the third-party. As witnessed in the Missouri riots that spawned the political group “Black Lives Matter (BLM).” Further, the third-party that controls the justification can turn-on and turn-off those emoting at will, by telling them how they should be responding to a given situation. The third-party possesses considerable power through the justification of emotional outbursts, the same influence as exerted by an owner or a league over a sports team.
DNC-Consulting 