Jack D'Aurora: 'We have met the enemy, and he is us.' America's ego is out of control
Jack D’Aurora is a partner with The Behal Law Group and produces the podcast JUSTUS with Jack & Gonzo. He is a frequent Dispatch contributor.
The comic strip character Pogo from 50 years ago had it right. “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
Our ego and self-interest are defeating us.
Ego is crippling.
We think we know more than experts and can disregard their guidance. Former law school professor James McElhaney cautioned attorneys about letting ego —Mongo, as he called it —- taking over, but his admonition applies to everyone.
Mongo is the inner beast that takes control and misinterprets whatever he hears, the force that would rather fight than resort to reason. “Mongo can cause a lot of trouble,” McElhaney warned.
Ego cripples our ability to handle difficult situations. Even worse, according to academics Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter, ego craves attention, making us susceptible to manipulation. Ego seeks to protect itself. It limits our vision and seeks to confirm what it already knows.
More: With events 'scarier' than Jan. 6 predicted, are we on verge of another civil war? Opinion
We lose touch with the big picture and with others. Our world becomes small.
Ego leads to what Franciscan priest Richard Rohr calls “mouthy certitude,” conduct marked by “overstatement, quick, dogmatic conclusions, and a rush to judgment.” There is much anxiety about being right and concerted effort to convince others how right we are. Examples abound.
State legislators pass bills that make access to guns easier when the people who deal with gun violence oppose those bills. How is it these legislators know more than law enforcement and the mayors who see gun violence up close?
More: Gov. Mike DeWine signs law eliminating requirement for conceal carry gun permits
Countless Americans have refused to receive the COVID vaccine when it has been proven by leading medical professionals to be safe and effective. What makes the naysayers so smart? How many times have we heard the cry of regret from a death bed over wrongheaded thinking?
More: How to submit guest opinion columns to the Columbus Dispatch
So many Christians are certain the LGBTQ community is wayward and not deserving of the same rights as others. Conservatives — supposedly supporters of small government— support legislation that interferes with how parents deal with children who struggle with gender identity.
Why don’t legislators listen to the people in the business of healthcare, like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics?
More: Your kid's genitalia will be next battle field if Ohio lawmakers are successful| Opinion
Both have opposed these legislative efforts because they are detrimental to the health of transgender and gender-diverse children and adults. Do legislators know more than medical professionals?
Just as Mongo can create a lot of trouble, so can self-interest.
Ohioans passed constitutional amendments in 2015 and 2018 that changed the way state and congressional voting districts were to be drawn. Fairness was the mandate.
Great idea, but Republicans in the redistricting commission thought little of it and drew maps — despite criticism from the Ohio Supreme Court and the public — that favored their party. Advancing their own political interests — and their jobs — was more important than carrying out the voters’ mandate.
Each year, thousands of Americans die by gun violence.
Polls tells us the majority of Americans want stricter gun laws, but that matters little. Legislators give greater priority to being reelected — which means heeling to the NRA and other extremists — than to protecting the nation.
More: DeWine: It 'doesn’t make sense' to make teachers train 700 hour to carry gun in classes
There’s plenty that can be done without running afoul of the Second Amendment, but confronting gun extremists about reasonable limitations is hard work. And besides, why take the risk of not getting re-elected?
The world is facing a climate change crisis that warrants abandoning fossil fuels in favor of clean energy. Besides doing little to pivot to cleaner energy, oil companies hid for years what they knew.
As early as 1977, Exxon refused to publicly acknowledge climate change and even promoted climate misinformation. Exxon borrowed from the tobacco industry’s play book. Tobacco companies lied for years about the health risks of smoking.
Who could have guessed that Pogo would be so prescient and as insightful as writers like McElhaney and Rohr?
Jack D’Aurora is a partner with The Behal Law Group and produces the podcast JUSTUS with Jack & Gonzo. He is a frequent Dispatch contributor.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Opinion: America, Ohio has become own worst enemy
