#i am a biology student so pls bear w/ my writing

[chuuyammy]

Pride and Ego: The State and its Manipulation to Man’s Naivety and Vulnerability

"How does the decline of political discourse and critical thinking affect a nation?"

       “Some men believe their own opinions no less firmly than other do their positive knowledge,” said Aristotle. This passage underscores how people view their opinions with so much regards that they seem to equate if from the facts through their subjective beliefs; this creates a negative environment for a healthy political discourses. One of the roles of education is to teach students the difference between the two. Education is also a fundamental need that provides learnings and cognitive awareness to individuals from social issues which develops their sense of morality to decisions that affect the entire nation. Disagreements may occur, but it will help each student gain insights through facilitated discourses. Education hones our critical thinking, decreasing manipulation for false information and it lessens our fear of knowledge. This I think because from what I observed, the more educated a person is, the more they are open to opinions and being educated. However, there are two sides in every coin, the expected and the unexpected- the educated and uneducated. Would you still consider a third party, the educated ignorant? Ignorance is not bliss, people with means to education but can’t seem to differentiate facts from opinions are a whole different dime. So much pride and ego that they only deem their opinion as facts, I’d rather be uneducated than egoistic. Education is efficient, but we can’t say that it is effective in this nation as there are still these kinds of people in broad daylight creating an unhealthy political system. However, do not blame them, blame the state.

        When left unchecked, pride and ego will eat you. Pride happens when the constant feeling of superiority and importance due to maybe achievements, power, or status leads to arrogance and entitlement. On the other hand, ego is simply the individual’s sense of self, how an individual see themselves or how they interpret such events for its impact on their lives. In a sense, excessive pride feeds the ego; then, ego influences pride. This can be seen in the concept of populism and anti-intellectualism. Populist leaders have this altruism-disguised malice which brands them as being pedestal by supporters who are very vulnerable- the marginalized, deliberately simplifying complexities of the nation with a bandage solution. This creates an “I am for the people” image for the leaders allowing them to appeal to the majority nuancing a border between the elite and the poor. In turn, people will then eat up the whole thing because who wouldn’t want a leader who is relatable and people-oriented, right? “People, often deceived by an illusive good, desire their own ruin,” said Niccolo Machiavelli. Appearances doesn’t equate to agenda; remember, politicians are the worst kind of crocodiles.

        Majority of people with nuance to the marginalized with no apparent education are easy to fool. They would rather choose a problematic leader than an educated one because their pride and ego is trampled when a competent leader is in the picture. Populism allows them to feel important regardless their status as they think they are the heart of the movement when in fact, they are just the chess pieces. This is the same with anti-intellectualism as it being reinforced by the ego-driven populism. They portray experts and intellectuals as elitist for spreading information thinking that their beliefs are being disregarded- to the common person, intellectuals are condescending. This conditions people into thinking that their leaders are deserving because they listen and relate to their struggles all while rejecting being educated to not mangle on their remaining ego.

        If these continues to rise, the nation is doomed; probably beyond redemption. Being a democratic nation, the people has the power to bestow power to the public servant to govern them. However, it seems that this power is diminishing without their knowledge and are now being puppeteered by these so-called leaders who takes advantage of their ignorance and vulnerability. Stemming from their means of life and status, people have this inner inferiority complex that makes them unable to be educated because in their eyes, intellectuals are being arrogant and belittling them just because of the difference in education, maybe status also. This is why they seek emotional validation to these leaders who are outwardly expressing their sympathy for the marginalized without thinking if these leaders can actually make their life easier or are just using them for their own selfish gains. Then, the more follower a certain politician have, the more egoistic they become, bolder as time progresses; outright basking in their power and continues to deceive the vulnerable viewing them as merely chess pieces. This is a cycle that is unfortunately slowly being normalized. These dynamics create a political environment wherein informed discussions, critical thinking, and high regards to experts are diminishing, leading to the decline in the quality of political discourse and controlled democratic processes.

       The media plays a bigger role in public opinion and political engagement than one might not expect. At first, media became one of the cornerstone for people to access the events within the nation as it provides easy access to information and circumstances. We ought to think that media can and will still improve as time progresses, however, it seem to evolve backwards. I like to think the media as a double-edged sword. While it brings us information about current events nationwide and worldwide, it is subjective to manipulation. Media in this time fosters drama and emotional sentiments rather than focusing on events that involve serious effects in the lives of people and state of the nation. The media, the state, and the people have their own contributions to sensationalism and I’d like to share my observations from this.

       As I delved above, a man’s weakness is their ignorance and pride, making them susceptible to manipulation. Politicians of course, are aware of this naivety that these people pose. In just a simple fake heartfelt actions, they are easily swayed not caring about rationality of the situation. People are obsessed with everything dramatized, although it’s hypocrite of me if I say I don’t consume such events; the only difference is that, I don’t bury the serious events at the expense of enlightening a dramatized one. Should people be more aware that sensationalism evokes people to cloud our attention away from the actual problem for them, the politicians, to try and resolve the matter unscathed, uncommented; slowly diverting the attention and try to bury it. Sensationalized media is a haven of false information and click-bait algorithm. This has become normalized that people are slowly getting caught to the shackles of media, further entrapping them away from the reality of the events in their own volition without knowing of the manipulation against them. In my understanding, people opt to only consume sensationalism due to the fact that insecurities with being the unimportant aspect of nation is projected to these people and their dramas to somehow appease their remaining pride and ego into thinking that it might be better being unimportant than getting caught with these said scandals and negative press.

      These insecurity, pride, and ego is nowhere the state and the media don’t take advantage of. It is very disappointing to point out that media is now only a matter of quantity over quality rather than vice versa. Due to the demands, audience preferences, and profit pressure, the media has no choice but to appease the market, playing the cards on where the money is at. The human emotion is complex yet simple, and they know how to play with that. Not only do people like dramatized events, they want something to conform to their beliefs allowing them to feel good about themselves; thus, creating a more bigoted perspective. This results to immature and close-minded debates and more leader-follower dynamic in terms of politics. Sensationalized media has shaped people’s minds into thinking that their so-called leaders could do no wrong, lessening opinions and focusing more on grooming people into loyalists. This, I take, decreasing the quantity and quality of political discussions and opinions which makes us wary of the politicians and their hidden agendas.

      According to Friedrich Nietzsche in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, “A state, is called the coldest of all cold monsters. Coldly lieth it also; and this lie creepeth from its mouth: ‘I, the state, am the people.’” In this passage, Nietzsche was not fond of the state, describing it as the coldest among the cold as it does not represent the people, it deceives it. The state, with no regards to empathy and human emotions, facilitate in their own gains, disguising it into subtlety. In this book, Nietzsche argued about how the will for power influences the morality of humans and how certain preaching of morals may not be so out of genuineness, but of power control; the state is no different, maybe worse. The state holds so much power in a democratic nation that people have to conform to policies and be unconsciously deceived. While peace and order is good for a society, unhealthy application of it destroys a nation as it prevents us from becoming a last man, a being conforming in simplicity and lack of ambition; like a succulent on the window just basking the sun. Doing so out of stifling any political discourses with their actions, it is easier for the state to continue their deceit with the aid of media and indirectly, the human emotion, pride, and ego. In conclusion, the quality of political engagements and discourses depends on whether the people would want to be educated, not affected by their pride and ego stemming from their insecurities. In a sense, then man is no better than a dog and will always be a slave; democracy is doomed and people are just going to sit, and wait for their treat given by their leaders.

-ehI