So yesterday I was listening to an NPR interview about Brexit. I find the whole thing to be interesting and a bit terrifying to be honest. Part of it is because when the Brexit vote happened it was the ominous bell toll letting me know that Trump really could be president. I mean if Britain could do that because of nativist fears then... So yeah. And I have a lot of friends who are dealing with it all. Some are even pro Brexit. But it's interesting.
Back to yesterday, the person they were interviewing was a member of Theresa May's conservative party but had been voting against her deal over and over again. This time he was going to vote for it. He felt that her agreeing to resign was a good thing as long as she resigned AFTER the deal was done, of course. Because she only has the job because nobody else would take it once they realized they would have to ACTUALLY deal with Brexit instead of campaign for it, AND she survived two no contest votes because people still didn't want to deal with Brexit they just wanted to bitch about what she was doing. But yeah, after you finish this shit job that nobody wants you resign and let one of us take over.
When the reporter asked about having a second vote on the referendum, which is a popular idea in Britain as a lot of people feel they were lied to, and there is evidence they were, he said it would be embarrassing. How embarrassing for Britain to not leave after saying they were going to leave. And he kept hitting that over and over again which let me know that it's a talking point over there. We can't revote, how embarrassing for us to admit we might have been wrong. We can't stay in the EU when we said we were leaving, how embarrassing. Just keep forging forward even though we can't agree on anything and things are pretty messed up. Better that than the embarrassment of saying we are wrong.
Ego.
We deal with it over here as well. Trump just got pretty good news out of the Mueller report and the Barr sidestep. But that's not good enough for him. He's blasting news agencies for daring to report on the revelations. He's trying to have people barred from interviews. Trying to get people removed from office. Trying to get an investigation started that would end badly for him, because we already know the timeline he is promoting is wrong (the dossier is not what started the investigations into the Trump campaign, the Nunes memo showed that, even though he didn't mean for it to) and the way the email investigation was handled actually benefited him. But he can't just accept the victory, his ego won't allow it. He's got to push for more.
I think it's a mistake. But I'm not a supporter of his so the bloviating doesn't appeal to me.
He was embarassed that people talk about Russia influencing the elections so he won't look at it. No collusion! And he was right. It looks like all of the contact between his campaign and the Russians was just something else. Until we see the report (if we ever do) we won't know what Mueller actually made of all that. I mean we have the indictments and the convictions, so we know there was a lot there, we just don't know how it wasn't what it looked like. But his ego won't let the US even address the Russian interference because he thinks it takes away from his win. He wants to talk about his win. He wants to talk about the crowd size. He exaggerates both. But he doesn't want to talk about Russia, even though they interfered and we should be concerned about that. With or without collusion. Yesterday at a rally he lied (shocking) about funding for a project because he wanted the applause he knew the lie would bring.
Ego.
Yesterday on a Facebook thread I watched someone argue with a doctor and claim that their medical opinion was just as sound as the doctor's because they were pre-med in college and kept up with some reading. So of course that was just as good as an actual doctor who has been in practice for decades, including a specialty in what he was talking about. And that's not the only time you see it online. Vaccinations anyone? Their internet research is just as good and as valid as all of the actual studies. Climate change. Their need for a sweater this morning is just as valid as the studies showing the globe is warming at an alarming rate.
When did we reach a point where people can't just say, "I don't know" or "You know more than I do" and be okay with that?
When did we pass the point where the worst thing is to be embarrassed about being wrong instead of refusing to change when you are wrong?
I'm passionate when I argue about things which often leads people to think I'm a know it all who can't admit when I'm wrong. But I do. If you show me that I am wrong I will change my mind. If you think I'm wrong just because I disagree with you? Well that's a different argument. But honestly being wrong is okay. It's not even that embarrassing. Not as embarrassing as continuing to push for a point that is clearly the wrong thing and refusing to admit it, anyway.
Embrace being wrong. You will learn more that way.
Try as hard as you can not to let your pride be your driving factor.
Being too proud to admit you are wrong, when you are wrong, is super damaging. It ruins families. It ruins countries. It's on the way to ruining the Earth.
It's okay to be wrong. It's not okay to refuse to admit it.
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