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Quote of the Day: Humility and Politics
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left. — Oscar Levant
I tell my kids and I tell proteges, always have humility when you create and grace when you succeed, because it’s not about you. You are a terminal for a higher power. As soon as you accept that, you can do it forever. — Quincy Jones
Recently, I read that humility and high-level politics are incompatible; after all, a person in politics needs to have an inflated ego to believe he or she can win political office at the highest levels. But I found this opinion very unsatisfying, whether or not it’s true.
For example, I look at Joe Biden, and I’m pretty sure you can’t be a humble narcissist, an oxymoron at best. There are also many politicians who don’t impress me with their humility; perhaps, if you are going to essentially be the leader of the free world, relying on humility may not be the best tactic. Some people would probably say humility is a liability, because powering ahead at all costs is the only way to be successful.
People make the mistake of believing that humility means being insecure or non-assertive. That’s simply not true. On a personal level, some of the finest people I know practice humility; that doesn’t mean that they are humble in every area of their lives, but it does mean that they realize that even if they are knowledgeable and wise, they know they are fallible and they need to be willing to recognize their own arrogance and ask themselves if they are certain of their opinions or if the positions they are holding are flawed.
Who are the rare politicians who practice humility? Joe Lieberman comes to mind. Tom Cotton is another one. How about Chuck Grassley? I’d even put Jim Jordan on the list.
Are there politicians to whom you would ascribe humility?
In a world rampant with narcissism, especially in politics, is there any room for humility?
What do you think about humility and politics?
Published in Group Writing
Calvin Coolidge comes to mind as a president with a sense of humility. Although I only know this through his writings and other histories. I think humility was a more common trait in politicians when we were a more religious country.
I agree with you on Coolidge! And I’m pretty sure the decline in religion has played a part in humility’s decline. Thanks, Raxxalan.
I hope that Vivek Ramaswamy approaches international relations with more personal humility that he has shown so far, whether his political ambitions advance or not. He’s too smart to hold his stated positions.
That’s a concern of mine, too, Percival. He is brilliant, but I wonder if he’s a bit too full of himself.
Although my original intention for this post was to focus on humility and politics in today’s legislators, Raxxalan’s comment on Calvin Coolidge reminds me that humility was not always absent from politics. One only needs to think of George Washington and U.S. Grant to remember that these two men and many more understood the role of humility in their lives. Their self-confidence and perseverance didn’t interfere with their humility. So I’d be happy to see references regarding humility from the past and present.
I know this will sound strange, but I think Trump exhibits a lot of humility. But, there is also something about Trump that few people understand. Norman Vincent Peale was Trump’s minister growing up. NVP taught the power of positive thinking. Trump uses affirmations very often. Most who do not know of this spiritual technique would see many of his statements as the opposite of humility. Some will even see his statements as lies. But they are spiritual statements to align oneself with a higher and better outcome. “It’s gonna be yuge!” “We’re going to make this country great again!” “They are going to be surprised by what we do together.” Even, “It was the most perfect phone call ever.”
When one knows what he is doing, one learns more about who he is and what he is really like.
Wow. I would never have characterized his statements in that way, Arahant. I’m not a practitioner of affirmations; I tried them but I didn’t find it a helpful practice. (Maybe you should write on it sometime!)
So how do we differentiate between arrogant statements and affirmations? I’m really curious. How would you characterize Vivek’s statements?
The real question is whether I already have. Still, I could write it better now if it has been several years.
Depending on the practitioner, it can sometimes be difficult. Knowing that someone has been exposed to the practice helps. Also, being a practitioner helps give more of a feel. I’ve been writing them for years, as one can find at the top of these readings. Of course, mine tend to include religious aspects usually, but they are for that sort of audience.
I have not bothered to start paying attention yet. (Blasphemy! Burn him at the stake!) I figure I’ll wait until closer to the primary date to see who is left.
I remember those! They’re wonderful. I thought of them as inspirational sayings, but not as affirmations which, if I understand affirmations correctly, they are said repetitively.
Wise choice. I have been paying close attention and I am more confused then ever about what is going on.
By the time the Democrats have been in office for four years, Republicans are completely fed up with their intrusions into our daily life–whether it is staring at our dingy clothes because all the phosphates have been removed from our laundry detergent or not being able to match our old strings of incandescent Christmas lights because we’ve been ordered to switch to LEDs and all the incandescent light strings have been taken off the market. The list is endless and burdensome and growing constantly.
It’s hard to be gracious when your constituents are as angry as Republicans are by then. :) :) The Democrats don’t have that problem because Republicans politely recede into the background where government belongs. :) :)
Which actually all points the the Hubris of the Democratic party. They actually think they can command the tide to stay out.
One can do so with them. One can also memorize and use much shorter affirmations, such as “God is in charge!”
For myself, I prefer honest or at least heartfelt braying to the leaden peal of false humility.
One must consider too the very real humility that compels a ruler to turn over policy to nameless wonks, surely wise in the ways of how things should be and happy to run Egypt in accordance with their priestly ways.
Mostly, though, humility is a pose or a fake-it-til-they-buy-it ruse.
“Humble politician” is an oxymoron.
Jim, do you think that was always true?
From my perspective, the exception (nationally) would be President Grant.
On the Presidential Humbleness Scale, with Grant scoring 100, where would you place Calvin Coolidge’s score?
I haven’t looked it up, but I consider humility to be having a correct notion of your place in the world. Can a guy (or a gal) be at that moment the best in the world at something and still be completely humble? I think so. If you really are the best in the world. And you know it. The best soccer player, the best pool player, the best bicyclist, the best mathematician, the best pediatric neurosurgeon, the best rocket scientist, or president (or at least among the best; some of these can’t be clearly ranked).
Can a person who’s the best (or among the best) at anything be humble by saying, “Oh, I don’t think I’ve among the best”? No, that’s not even true. That would be out of touch with reality. Or that would be false humility.
Ideally, it seems to me that a healthy ego and a realistic sense of humility are the same thing. This is especially true if the thing that one is greatest at is ephemeral, such as looks or athletic skill.
At the same time, knowing one’s place in the universe is a leveling thing. Humility is not too high, and ego is not too low, either; ideally neither more nor less than anyone else. I would say that humility whether great or small can be seen by how that person respects and relates to others. If he sees other people as equals, his humility is high no matter how great he is. And if thinks he’s intrinsically worth more than others because of his great qualities in one area or another, his humility is low, no matter how great he is. This is conceit, haughtiness or narcissism. And this has nothing to do with ability.
My favorite example of humility was Nebuchadnezzar who thought to himself that he had made Babylon great with his own power and for his own glory. And so God made him go crazy for seven years and live like a wide animal, and then when Nebuchadnezzar realized that God was the most high, and he blessed, praised, and honored Him, God restored him to his throne, a wiser and humbler man. Still king of all Babylon, but having been humbled like an animal and now knowing his place in the universe.
#2
If you were to lay one circle labeled humility beside a circle labeled politician, the overlapping area would be infinitesimal! The two just don’t go together. Ronald Reagan had a certain humility. I admire him more and more as I get older. Someone mentioned Calvin Coolidge above. Obviously I wasn’t there and they didn’t have televised media to capture his spoken reactions and statements, but I could see it. I can see how one could say Eisenhower and both Bushes had some humility. Trump, I’m sorry, I just don’t see humility.
Here’s a way we might measure presidential humility. We give one point for recognition that a certain power is beyond the presidency. We take away one point for performing an act or attempting to perform an act that is beyond the presidency.
And we take away five points for recognizing a power is beyond the presidency and then ‘using’ that power anyway.
I don’t know. Humility is more of a response to accomplishment than how they perform the job. I’m thinking of these famous quotes from Reagan:
And
That to me is humility.
Maybe you are looking for the wrong thing in the wrong places. Trump’s public persona is formed by an antagonistic press. Was he a haughty person twenty and thirty years ago when he was on 0prah? Was he really conceited while filming The Apprentice? Are people supposed to take 0marosa’s word for how vain Trump is? Are his exaggerations about everything really the sign of an inflated ego?
You might be surprised what is available:
This. To enter the political arena you have to have a belief that you are better suited for the work than at least your opponent(s) and maybe anyone else. This would be true if one believed they we “called of G-d”. Would such a person be humble? History suggests that that is never a guarantee. So, too would be the obverse: Someone might genuinely feel they were best suited to the task, but also resisted pride that can be stimulated by political support. So it’s not the status — politician; it is the individual and their approach.
I think a politician needs some chutzpah to run for office. However, a little self-realization is needed as a check on his ambition. Does Doug Burgum really think he can win? Given the circumstances of how he qualified for the debate (essentially bought votes), I’d say his character disqualifies him for the office. However, if he took a realistic look at himself, he’d realize there ain’t no way, no how, he could win.
OTOH, I didn’t think Trump would get the nomination in 2016, much less win. So much for my political acumen . . .
It would be interesting to see Vivek and Mayor Pete run against each other.
Sounds great until you’re trying to run for reelection.
Excellent points, GM ! Thank you!
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