 It's almost
becoming routine. Another week; another insane video of
someone beating the crap out of someone else. In the last
few months, we've had the school bus fight with the parent
and her daughter, the three 14 year olds beating up a 13
year old outside their elementary school, and of course the
super-classic girl fight that made its way onto YouTube.
And now, we have another one to add to the list. A 91 year
old, World War II veteran was repeatedly punched in the face
in a parking lot by some carjacking thug while at least five
people stand there and do nothing.
So what do those videos have in common? The Real Story is
that we are turning into a society full of narcissists. It's
all about me-me-me; how much money I can make; what things
can I buy; how famous I can become.
You can find evidence of it everywhere. From people who
fight on video just to get their fifteen minutes of fame, to
people who ignore fights because there's no personal
incentive for them to stop it. You can even find it at
work, where employers are now finding that their younger
workers need to be treated differently because they've been
told how great and special they are for their whole lives.
The Wall Street Journal did a whole article on this; they
even quoted a corporate "praise" consultant who says that
when these workers show up late, you shouldn't yell at them
or discipline them -- no, you should wait for a day that
they show up on time and then praise them for it! Almost 100
companies a year are getting advice from this consultant
because they can't figure out how to motivate their own
employees. Older generations may joke about it, but getting
a paycheck to feed your family just isn't enough of a reward
anymore.
We've never been more self-centered and egotistical than we
are right now. There's a survey called the "Narcissistic
Personality Inventory" that's been given to college students
every year since 1982. It's got questions like: "If I ruled
the world, it would be a better place," and yes or no: "I am
a special person."
In 24 years, the average percentage of students who showed
above-average levels of narcissism has almost doubled. It's
gone from just 36% to 66%. Think about that -- two thirds
of all college students are now considered narcissists.
So what exactly does that mean? Well, the lead author of
the study describes it like this...think about how familiar
these sound:
- They favor
self-enhancement and lack empathy for others. Check.
- They are
aggressive when insulted. Uh, yea, I think the videos of
people pounding each other into the ground proves that
one.
- They see
fame, attention, and public glory. CHECK.
- They are
materialistic. Well, considering that a new Pew Research
poll shows that 81 percent of 18-25 year olds say that
getting rich is their generations first or second most
important goal, I think we can check that one off as
well.
It all makes
sense when you look at it through the lens of narcissism.
An elderly woman is mugged and assaulted; a shooter goes on
a rampage and then sends video and pictures of himself to a
news network; our country's borders are left wide open so
that we can eat cheap vegetables and politicians can keep
getting elected. It's all about us; our ego; and our greed.
I have a working theory called the "Glenn Beck Grand Unified
Theory" and it's that narcissism is the one common
denominator among almost all of our problems. It's still a
work in progress, so stay tuned -- but I'm sure it's already
far better than any theory you could ever come up with. |
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