The modern society has left those who are unfortunate enough to be born into it with a number of problems and setbacks to overcome. It has, perhaps worst of all, set the conditions to ensure that even realizing this and deciding to do something about it will be a farfetched option in the existence of its members. Sadly, those of us born in territories that have been overrun by colonization see ourselves as the lucky ones who live inside the developed, free world. We tend to look down on those who we refer to as third world people while we condemn their traditions, values and goals for not looking like the ones that we were born into. It seems pride is becoming one of the colonizers biggest weapons in protecting itself against the retaliation and emancipation of its members.

Like other emotions, pride comes to blur an individual's reality and confuse his/her thoughts. We all have been in a situation where we have reacted emotionally retaliating with speech or behavior. We all remember our regret for the hurtful or stupid things that our tempers, feelings or excitement caused us. We also remember the hard time we had admitting our mistakes to those we had hurt and apologizing for our barbaric behavior. We can see how emotions are dangerous, but how dangerous is it when we become so caught up in them that they don't allow us to make what we have done right?

To ensure that we keep this prideful attitude, we are brought up to believe that we are just as good as anyone else and that if we were to put our minds to it we could achieve anything that anyone else could. We began to lose appreciation for the hard work that others put into their crafts, looking down our noses at their work, imagining how we could have done it better even when we don¹t possess the basic knowledge of their trades. We have put ourselves on self-made pedestals and turned our noses up on the rest of the world, who can¹t know as much as we believe ourselves to. Many of us say ³ I know², so as to not be taken off these pedestals, so often that it has become like a reflex rather than a thoughtful response.

With this attitude, it is no wonder why the Western world ranks the dumbest in all world-wide scholastic tests. How can one learn if one cannot humble oneself to a teacher? Perhaps this is why the Traditional Indigenous Initiation Schools emphasized humility first in the life of the initiate. Doesn¹t it make sense that if a person wants to learn about the world around him/her the first step would be to quiet oneself humbly to that world. Other than questions to seek understanding, what would one have to talk about if one¹s quest to learn is an honest one? Contrast this with the average person in the modern world who talks so much one tends to wonder if they are needed when they are engaged in conversation with them. Besides achieving higher and higher levels of stupidity by our tendency not to listen, pride has also turned our political leaders into bickering children. Politics is what runs the modern world. But politics is a dead-end road because it does not respect truth and justice. Politicians do whatever they can to win, to achieve their end or to be seen as right. It is no wonder how the Western world can be ruining the planet while its fingers are stuck in its ears screaming, ³I know!², like a child in a temper tantrum. This image paints the picture of a our president as he went stomping destructively through the Middle East looking for those who broke his twin towers seeking revenge. Even amongst the pleas of his country to make sure he was right first he plugged his ears and screamed I know they have weapons of mass destruction and sent weapons of destruction to bomb innocent men, women and children. Today even after no weapons of mass destruction have been found he refuses to admit his mistake.

How long can we continue to bask in the illusion of our self-proclaimed greatness with these truths staring down at us? How long can our pride hold up under the heavy burden of our image in history. Will we depend on the fact that we will be powerful enough to continue to fabricate the history books for the next one hundred generations? Will we humble ourselves to the laws of nature and harmony, and put in the humble work it will take to be great individuals that make a great society? As for now we are controlled, weak, emotional individuals, led by a sinister society who is too sure about itself to open its eyes and unplug its ears to the destruction it is causing.