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Hubris and the Lack of Humility
Afghanistan is a catastrophe on so many levels in terms of the military, governance, human beings, security, with an overabundance of hubris and lack of humility. But, you might say, we have always acted out of hubris in the past and gotten away with it. And why
would anyone expect a show of humility from any president, past or present? The reason is that the current devastation is costing our country, the Afghan people, and the rest of the world dearly, because decisions were made out of gross incompetence and the very attributes I am citing.
I couldn’t help wondering if our pride in the greatness of our country has finally caught up with us. Were we too prideful? Did we refuse to learn from our mistakes and spend all our time blaming others for our problems? Did we believe our own propaganda so thoroughly as a world leader that we’ve been unable to reflect on our own actions or refused to make tough decisions?
And what about our lack of humility? Too often people think that humility is a weakness, that it is passive and ineffective. We believe that because to be effectively humble is very difficult. And many of us don’t want to do the challenging work on ourselves to be sufficiently humble, at the right time and in the right place.
And now we find ourselves stumbling around trying to figure out what to do next, blaming others, refusing to admit our mistakes, and hoping some kind of miracle will happen.
I have news for you, Joe Biden: the time for miracles is long past.
Let me suggest that we take a look at the nature of hubris and why its effects are so debilitating at this time in our history. And then take a look at ways that the president did not practice humility to demonstrate effective leadership. Since this disaster is not going to be finished overnight, maybe someone working close to Biden might give these strategies a try.
* * * *
In looking at the meaning of hubris, I was struck by the fact that it’s been identified as a psychological malady, a syndrome, actually. I don’t think this entire description applies to Biden, given his mental erosion, as well as the probability that he is being guided by others. But I suspect some of his “handlers” might qualify:
Hubris syndrome was formulated as a pattern of behaviour in a person who: (i) sees the world as a place for self-glorification through the use of power; (ii) has a tendency to take action primarily to enhance personal image; (iii) shows disproportionate concern for image and presentation; (iv) exhibits messianic zeal and exaltation in speech; (v) conflates self with nation or organization; (vi) uses the royal ‘we’ in conversation; (vii) shows excessive self-confidence; (viii) manifestly has contempt for others; (ix) shows accountability only to a higher court (history or God); (x) displays unshakeable belief that they will be vindicated in that court; (xi) loses contact with reality; (xii) resorts to restlessness, recklessness and impulsive actions; (xiii) allows moral rectitude to obviate consideration of practicality, cost or outcome; and (xiv) displays incompetence with disregard for nuts and bolts of policy making.
Fascinating, isn’t it? If we take into account that Biden is probably being guided by others who probably have an exaggerated view of their own importance by this time, the possibilities for mismanagement are endless.
I suspect their misguided decisions in the face of contrary facts would include misunderstanding the Afghan people, misreading the Taliban, announcing the departure well in advance, poor management of extricating the Afghan translators and their families, the plan to exit during the fighting season—I could go on, but I’ve intended to show that in spite of information to the contrary, the Executive Group foolishly thought they could beat the odds. They were wrong. And they ignored the recommendations of the military (although there’s reason to believe they would not have been helpful). Which leads to my comments on humility.
Demonstration of humility is a key part of effective leadership. It requires, however, a level of competent self-reflection, a fully functioning mind and a willingness to develop one’s skills in this area. Here is a partial list of a definition of humility. Three attributes that I thought were most important to, and lacking in, Biden and in his handlers were these:
- BE OPEN TO OTHERS’ OPINIONS–Humble leaders seek input from others to ensure they have all the facts and are making decisions that are in the best interest of the team.
- ADMIT MISTAKES—Owning up to mistakes shows a level of honesty and self-confidence.
- SELF-REFLECT—Evaluating decisions, their impact, success and failure is an excellent way to learn and mature on the job.
In my assessment, Joe Biden was probably unable or unwilling to take on these challenges, leading to the chaos in Afghanistan.
* * * *
Pursuing any of these behavioral challenges as President of the United States would be difficult for any man or woman. It requires a level of commitment, competency, intelligence, honesty with one’s self, and integrity.
We find ourselves in a calamitous situation with no end in sight, and no viable solutions, at least at the moment. We have betrayed the Afghan people, shamed ourselves in the eyes of the rest of the world, estranged ourselves from our allies and are floundering in the remnants of our own delusion.
After hearing Biden’s speech the other day, it’s clear his hubris is at an all-time high and humility is nowhere in sight.
I’m very worried.
Published in Foreign Policy
That is true; however, until the last year or so I didn’t think it filtered down to the American people. I was wrong I would venture to say that a great number of Americans no longer have faith in their country and their culture. This is not necessarily a left/ right thing either. I think both sides are having a fundamental lack of confidence in America. That seems new to me, or maybe not quite new but long forgotten.
I think Biden is trying to recreate the whole of the 1970’s in his first four year term.
There’s no question there is something wrong with Biden, but the Afghan withdrawal had to be botched by a good number of people beyond just Biden. I think a number of generals need and National Security advisors/operatives need to lose their careers here. I don’t see this as hubris. I see this as incompetence.
This is probably worth a good discussion beyond this post. I think you’re right.
how about both?
All of this, shadows of Vietnamization. The countries change. The names change.
The stupidity continues. From LBJ to Biden; from Robert McNamara to Lloyd Austin; from McGeorge Bundy to Jake Sullivan. Our “Best and Brightest” who turn out to be our “Worst and Most Stupid”.
And, we “grunts” bear the burden of this stupidity…
Well, every time one takes on a project that has difficulties, one can be charged with having hubris. Did the founding fathers have hubris when they declared independence from Britain? Was the the battle of Normandy hubristic? I don’t know how to assess what is hubris and what is taking on a challenge.
Obviously it’s subjective, but there’s a difference outside the grey zone.
I included a definition of hubris in my post, @manny. It’s pretty extreme at its worst.
This:
But that is every politician. I don’t see that as limited to Biden, or even Democrats. Frankly Trump had that in spades.
Trump certainly had it, but he also was pretty good at assessing information. You and I can disagree that all politicians have the level of arrogance that would qualify as hubris.
Well, let’s take Bush – either one actually – I think they were at heart humble men. But GW Bush got us into two wars, and while Afghanistan I think in retrospect was justified, Iraq was pure hubris. Now if they had found WMDs in Iraq, perhaps we would look at it differently, but was it hubris? Was it hubris to nation build Afghanistan and Iraq once we had decimated the Taliban and the Iraqi army back in 2002 and 2003?
Hubris gets at a motivation that I cannot read. I cannot read the hearts of others. I know hubris is a theme in many novels, going all the way back to Homer! But you can read a character’s heart in a novel. I don’t feel comfortable trying to read one in real life.
I can appreciate your thoughts on hubris. I think that the degree to which a person experiences an emotion or mindset is always tricky. I think it can be especially difficult when it is a negative emotion–do we think we can read a person’s heart in every situation? I don’t think we can. But when I see someone ignoring the data, over and over again, or think that he or she can overcome impossible roadblocks, it’s a challenge.
Historians will (I hope) go back through all the Readiness Repirts, the Progress Reports, the Situation Reports from the military, the intelligence agencies and the state department files, wading through all the rosy projections, hedged predictions, obtuse report wording, financial records.
I’m thinking after Tora Bora, the people in positions to affect t policy just went through the motions.
Like all those who refuse to get vaccinated…lol. I’ve been pretty beat up the last two days from all those who refuse vaccination, so it’s fresh on my mind. Are they being hubristic?
I don’t think the rapidity should be a surprise. Once you have your enemy on the run, going back to Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, the rule is speed of advancement for a rout. The Taliban are clearly trained warriors. Once we left the air power and the Afghan forces pulled out, the Taliban could see the advantage. The surprise is the stupidity of the US military denying air power and not expecting this result. I know that Biden is ultimately to blame, but there are generals here that need to be fired.
You poor guy! I think they are too scared to be hubristic. Most of them probably just wish the whole thing would vanish. I feel sad for those who let fear rule their lives in that way.
The story of my life.
And I do like Jimmy Dore! Though sometimes he grates too….
Like Joe Rogan, when he’s baked, he’s unwatchable. And I don’t watch Rogan anymore anyway.
Money. Specifically, spending.
Spain, France, England, the USSR, spent themselves into extinction. It takes time, pace Adam Smith “There is a lot of ruin in a nation.”
Conclusion: it can happen here.