My thoughts today are about vanity. One of the first subjects of my dissertation topic writer was Samuel Johnson’s “The Vanity of Human Wishes.” As a current blogger, I feel there is a certain amount of vanity in what I do. And when I was a teacher it felt a bit vain to demand young people’s attention.
I was fascinated with Jim Morrison when I was young. He said something like the symbol of the 20th century was someone doing something unpleasant in front of a mirror. Morrison was an odd bird. Apparently read a lot but acted strange on stage and basically killed himself while young through an overdose.
The difference is between self-respect/self-confidence and “mirror, mirror on the wall”-style vanity. I think Trump, as much as I dislike him on some levels, has been able to tell the difference. Have a good weekend.