Accidents of Birth...

“Pride should be reserved for something you achieve or obtain on your own, not something that happens by accident of birth. Being Irish isn't a skill... it's a fucking genetic accident. You wouldn't say I'm proud to be 5'11"; I'm proud to have a pre-disposition for colon cancer.”

-George Carlin

You hear a lot of this shit going around today.

Black pride and/or power.
Latino pride
Irish pride
Southern Pride
Girl Power
Puerto Rican Pride
Italian pride


Yada, yada yada. Bunch of horseshit.

It's simple. You were born those things. You didn't do anything to become them. You could've just as easily been born a disabled Swahili hermaphrodite.

All of these things are accidents of birth.

So let's all take George's advice and be happy that we are those things. Don't pretend that they are some sort of perverse source of pride. Because they're not. If you have to look to things that are genetic accidents for pride then obviously you have some work to do because you haven't gotten out of the house enough.

Especially Americans. Americans believe that they live in the greatest country on earth, and you know what they're right. Here's the rub. A lot of us, myself included in many respects, didn't do a damn thing to get this country to where it is. We don't have any right to be proud of it, we have all the right in the world to be happy that we are Americans but we don't have much to be proud of. Pride comes from things you did. Now if you did things deserving of respect and worthy of being proud then God bless you. If you haven't then get off your ass and do something.

It'd be like Bill Gates' kid being proud of Microsoft, or Steve Jobs kid being proud of Apple. Sorry Junior you didn't do a damned thing to build that company. You get to enjoy the ridiculous riches that come with being the heir to a gigantic fortune amassed by the production of those companies, but you didn't do shit. Be happy that you're rich and never have to work a day in your miserable 1%er life. But don't you dare sully your father's names by being proud of something they did.

You want to be proud...then work for it.

But, George already told you, and I'm going to tell you again. Don't forget your Proverbs.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

Later, I love you Mom...