In the book, The Wordy Shipmates, there is a lot mentioned about a certain analogy made by John Winthrop, that they should be as "A city on the hill." this image of power that he gives to those coming to America is a strong one, but not necessarily a true one. I wonder if it is such a good idea to use this, however much hope it might give to the newcomers, since overconfidence is never a truly good thing.
The settlers that were coming to America had no idea what was ahead of them. The grueling hours of backbreaking work would erase much of their hope, but Winthrop hoped that they would remain confident. He planted a grand image in their mind, giving them the hope that someday they would become part of a great society, and their children would someday be men whom the world looked up to. This may have helped them settle America, but the overconfidence later overshadows that easily.
In recent times, we are a "city on the hill", but that doesn't mean that we are looked upon fondly. We know about our own flaws, acknowledging that we are the leading country in obesity, pollution, and economic trouble, but refusing to do anything about it. On top of that, we all seem to have an idea in our heads that America is a great place, and is right in all conflicts or arguments. Even I myself feel it, though I know it's completely wrong.
Is our confidence in ourselves making us stronger, or is it just an excuse for all of our terrible mistakes that we don't want to fix?
David,
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to more clearly explain the connection you make between Winthrop's "City on a Hill" metaphor and overconfidence. I'm not sure that simply striving to be a role model equates with overconfidence.