Narcissism

“Everything you say can and will be used against you.”

I usually choose dinner guests based on their fun factor, wit, erudition or exoticism. I want to be entertained, have fun, temporarily forget about my concerns.

Some people have a different criteria. They like to rub elbows with the rich and powerful… maybe in the hope that these folks’ good fortune will rub off on them.
They like to bathe in an atmosphere scented with might and money.

The affluent people, unfortunately, tend to boast, to swagger. “I own a boat, a private island, a racing stable, I just purchased two tickets to outer space…”

If you mention this in passing and never talk about it again, you might be forgiven. But if you keep crudely insisting on your wealth, or your IQ, you become an ass, a nuisance subject to banishment. Greenland maybe…

I would never invite again somebody who would  say:

“I’m proud of my net worth; I’ve done an amazing job…The total is $8,737,540,000 USD. I’m not doing that to brag, because you know what, I don’t have to brag.”

“I’m, like, a smart person. I don’t have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day.”

“My two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart…”

Aargh… I am going to barf.

The traditional list of capital sins is: pride, avarice,lust, envy, gluttony, anger, and sloth. Vanity is missing from that record and should also be added to that lot.
And for good measure: complacency, conceit, egotism, pride, self-admiration, self-congratulation, self-glory, self-love, smugness, swelling head…

There is an old saying that goes: “Every ass loves to hear himself bray.”
I truly like donkeys, but when they bray too loudly, they upset me.

When you don’t respect somebody, you oust him/her from your environment.
Fortunately, we are still a (fragile) democracy and there is a legal procedure to preserve it. Be sure to get involved in the electoral process and vote to protect that democracy.

Alain