Observation: Sins Forgotten

NOTE: This was written some time ago by yours truly.

            The Seven Deadly sins are a staple of our culture.

            Everyone knows of Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, Lust, and Pride, and tries to avoid them. We fight these impulses daily and generally act as though they define all forms of evil, in one way or the other.

            Thus, I find it ironic that the forgotten sin, Vainglory, is more prominent in this day and age than all others, and I intend to identify why this sin was forgotten and why it is important that they should be remembered.  

            Vainglory originates from Middle English and Medieval Latin, in Western Europe. It means “to boast in vain” or to be ostentatious about one’s own abilities. So why should it be remembered? Can boasting about how far you can run, or how good at arm wrestling you are, ever compare with murdering someone in a bout of wrath? One would have to have quite the eschewed judgement to think so.

            Even envy, with barely any effect on our society, can lead to bitterness and hate. Boasting, on the other hand, can be a friendly display of comradery. A group of friends might attempt to outdo themselves with tall tales, or a child might expand upon their own abilities for the enjoyment of their parents. Boasting is simply placing oneself in the place of a champion, a hero, a legend. It is using one's imagination to craft a powerful role for oneself in an otherwise mostly tedious existence.

            At first glance, it would seem that Vainglory is just a remnant of a time when humility and piousness were more important.

            However, while there is nothing to inherently wrong with boasting about a person, the rules change when addressing a country. Despite the fact that most citizens of the United States of America don’t consider themselves as patriotic, American Exceptionalism is still very much a part of our daily lives. Let me give you an example:

            I was homeschooled up until recently. As a result, I had not memorized the Pledge of Allegiance when I visited my younger sister’s fifth-grade graduation. Surrounded by people singing this song, I realized how silly the idea is. People should be able to decide whether to be patriotic or not, but instead, everyone is taught at an early age to believe that our country is great and grand, the epitome of all paradises.

            I visited a camp earlier this summer, and the one English kid there, compared our memorization of The Pledge to cult-like behavior. To this day, people continue to try and maintain a shining vision of our nation via omitting information in our history which might stain.    
          When we claim that we live in the world’s greatest country, we are not committing a sin. It is not wrong to be proud of your homeland.

            But when that enthusiasm causes people to support violent action across the sea, to justify torture, and for invading people’s privacy, it ceases becoming Patriotism and starts becoming Jingoism.

            Worse yet, Vainglory has a second meaning. Vanity. Certainly that can’t be compared with Nationalistic hubris…can it?

            The thing is, our society worships physical perfection even more than it worships its state and physical location. Studies show that attractive people are more persuasive, and thus more likely to receive jobs and raises (Chaiken, Shelly. “Communicator Physical Attractiveness and Persuasion” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1979). We are so obsessed with trying to better ourselves, that the self-improvement market was worth 10.82$ billion in 2007 (“$10.4 Billion Self-Improvement Market Survives Scandals & Recession” January 02, 2013), is predicted to continue growing in 2016. We stuff our faces with plastic, and women frequently starve themselves to gain a manufactured level beauty.

            All of our movies, our video games, all depict attractive characters. Unless stated otherwise, we imagine the main character of a novel we are reading to at least be of average attractiveness. Because we all believe that the more beautiful you are, the more loved you are. Thus, we spend exorbitant amounts attempting to be something we are not, all while worshipping those who mutilate themselves with procedures to further their career and increase how likeable they are. It is a natural human impulse to wish that you are accepted by others, but we have not embraced the acceptance part. Merely the longing and the fear.

            In a world where so much evil, intentional or not, takes place, I feel that we need every weapon in our armory to defeat it. Naming an evil is the first blow, that way it can be identified and rallied against both on an internal and external level. So perhaps vainglory wasn’t relevant in Medieval Europe, but by naming the concept, the devout of old have sent a time capsule to us. Inside is a name with which to brand the flagrant extremism which insidiously pollutes our minds and souls in this day and age.

            Maybe, just maybe, whenever we see a person or people ascribing divine power to a country, figure, sports team, or body image, we will be able to call them out on it. For it is illogical to spend so much energy and money on fruitless pursuits, and then to justify them by claiming that the pursuits are somehow more than what they SIMPLY ARE. If that was true, then claiming that all evil can originate from a set of emotions or actions, is probably a bit of vainglory as well. The world is too broad and complex for such vacant assumptions. The one thing which cannot be glorified is the expansive glory of our world, in its unifying inconsistencies.

            But I believe that sins do serve a purpose.

            While those who assign others as sinners are frequently the grandest of hypocrites, our world is vague and foggy. Any lantern which can help prevent others from stubbing their toes on rocks is truly appreciated, at least from my standpoint. Which is why vainglory should be known wide and identified easily.

            Of course, the Eight Deadly Sins doesn’t sound nearly as cool, now does it?