Interesting observations about "San Antone". Having grown up in Texas one other caste I thought was astounding was:
Those Mexicans/Latin-X who had crossed, worked for years and finally become citizens and were in the 50's, were not fond (to say the least) of recent migrants. Not one bit.
Interesting observations about "San Antone". Having grown up in Texas one other caste I thought was astounding was:
Those Mexicans/Latin-X who had crossed, worked for years and finally become citizens and were in the 50's, were not fond (to say the least) of recent migrants. Not one bit.
I found that puzzling. But, it was endemic. Everywhere in TX. Old established Mexicans were WAY better than newly arrived Mexicans (in the minds of the older established Mexicans).
Maybe each of us are so desperate to be superior to SOMEONE that we invent our own hierarchy and, of course, each one of us (in our own minds) is at the top of that invented hierarchy?
Of course we do Mike; that's one of our great failings as humans and source point for our 'blind spots', inherent bias, and so on, as I see it in myself. And of course, I 'always' lean towards believing my own BS; for myself it's a daily active struggle towards being an ongoing, better version of myself, and without doubting myself too much. Some folks aren't self aware and/or reflective, nor flexible enough to accept the faults we tend to have in common. For me, I'm human; I make mistakes often, but work to learn and rectify mistakes with equal vigor. As well, I commit to ever being a student.
Hubris. The Greeks warned us. Amazing what they discovered about humans that we have ignored. My favorite “balancer”: the gods laughed. Laughing at oneself is the best.
"Hubris"..... that's a great word Ginny. I have a great temptation to resist regarding my mental usage of it; my temptation is to recognize it too readily in others, while ignoring my own. Alas, the human condition... harder for some of us than others; it can also be conditional. Then there's the other quite human tendency to take short cuts to complete understanding of people, places, things, and events, by placing our understandings into small boxes that are wholly inadequate to the total task. Objectivity; rational objectivity is hard work. So is self honesty and humility. And yes, not a day goes by that I don't have to laugh at myself, then making it clear in communication - written or spoken, that I'm laughing at myself and not others. I count that as one of my personal foibles that others often find hard to digest when dealing with moi. My 'armor' through life has been my sense of humor and usually good natured irony and sarcasm. Occasionally, without forethought and self right sizing, it can take a bitter edge, and I've found myself harming others without intention, then feeling horrid. Then, all I can do is laugh, rinse, repeat, then try to do better with intention the next day and everyday; those are the intentions I rise and retire with - even today as I emote this missive.
*edit in* - You know how with that human tendency to seek too small boxes for understanding, some 'thinkers' have tried to categorize / generalize generational tendencies, like "the 'me' generation" and so on ? My 'muse' has been turned towards coining era's, rather than generations. I have been long considering that we are all caught within a "hubris era" of humankind.
Yes, the Greeks did warn us, and in assorted, repetitive ways that I'll refrain from enumerating; laughter is the best medicine, yet oddly running neck and neck with acceptance. I wish you joy Virginia....
It would seem to be in our DNA but not everything preserved in a DNA will serve us. In many ways our capacity for learning has largely replaced the encoded instruction that guides a baby sea turtle who wakes up on a beach with no adults in sight. In the schoolyard I am familiar with and in depictions of them I have seen in film from around the world, the "pecking order" is highly evident. Part of the adult responsibility of adults is to "civilize" those urges, those abuses of power, into more benign expressions and actions; for our kids and ourselves. Isn't that what (with our interactions with it's guidance) the US Constitution is meant to accomplish?
Yes!!! And the decline of our education system is proving the truth of your observation. We cannot have democracy without education. Founding Fathers, Age of the Enlightenment, knew that. They learned from Paine and the French.
Joann,
Interesting observations about "San Antone". Having grown up in Texas one other caste I thought was astounding was:
Those Mexicans/Latin-X who had crossed, worked for years and finally become citizens and were in the 50's, were not fond (to say the least) of recent migrants. Not one bit.
I found that puzzling. But, it was endemic. Everywhere in TX. Old established Mexicans were WAY better than newly arrived Mexicans (in the minds of the older established Mexicans).
Maybe each of us are so desperate to be superior to SOMEONE that we invent our own hierarchy and, of course, each one of us (in our own minds) is at the top of that invented hierarchy?
Of course we do Mike; that's one of our great failings as humans and source point for our 'blind spots', inherent bias, and so on, as I see it in myself. And of course, I 'always' lean towards believing my own BS; for myself it's a daily active struggle towards being an ongoing, better version of myself, and without doubting myself too much. Some folks aren't self aware and/or reflective, nor flexible enough to accept the faults we tend to have in common. For me, I'm human; I make mistakes often, but work to learn and rectify mistakes with equal vigor. As well, I commit to ever being a student.
Hubris. The Greeks warned us. Amazing what they discovered about humans that we have ignored. My favorite “balancer”: the gods laughed. Laughing at oneself is the best.
"Hubris"..... that's a great word Ginny. I have a great temptation to resist regarding my mental usage of it; my temptation is to recognize it too readily in others, while ignoring my own. Alas, the human condition... harder for some of us than others; it can also be conditional. Then there's the other quite human tendency to take short cuts to complete understanding of people, places, things, and events, by placing our understandings into small boxes that are wholly inadequate to the total task. Objectivity; rational objectivity is hard work. So is self honesty and humility. And yes, not a day goes by that I don't have to laugh at myself, then making it clear in communication - written or spoken, that I'm laughing at myself and not others. I count that as one of my personal foibles that others often find hard to digest when dealing with moi. My 'armor' through life has been my sense of humor and usually good natured irony and sarcasm. Occasionally, without forethought and self right sizing, it can take a bitter edge, and I've found myself harming others without intention, then feeling horrid. Then, all I can do is laugh, rinse, repeat, then try to do better with intention the next day and everyday; those are the intentions I rise and retire with - even today as I emote this missive.
*edit in* - You know how with that human tendency to seek too small boxes for understanding, some 'thinkers' have tried to categorize / generalize generational tendencies, like "the 'me' generation" and so on ? My 'muse' has been turned towards coining era's, rather than generations. I have been long considering that we are all caught within a "hubris era" of humankind.
Yes, the Greeks did warn us, and in assorted, repetitive ways that I'll refrain from enumerating; laughter is the best medicine, yet oddly running neck and neck with acceptance. I wish you joy Virginia....
Pecking orders live on forever
It would seem to be in our DNA but not everything preserved in a DNA will serve us. In many ways our capacity for learning has largely replaced the encoded instruction that guides a baby sea turtle who wakes up on a beach with no adults in sight. In the schoolyard I am familiar with and in depictions of them I have seen in film from around the world, the "pecking order" is highly evident. Part of the adult responsibility of adults is to "civilize" those urges, those abuses of power, into more benign expressions and actions; for our kids and ourselves. Isn't that what (with our interactions with it's guidance) the US Constitution is meant to accomplish?
Yes!!! And the decline of our education system is proving the truth of your observation. We cannot have democracy without education. Founding Fathers, Age of the Enlightenment, knew that. They learned from Paine and the French.