Anonymous Sources

Where does "Greatness" come from? The imagination? Facts? Confidence? A willing suspension of disbelief in a slogan that makes us happy? A capacity to judge well? An ability to observe and find solutions that benefit most if not all? Taking responsibility for the community? A masters degree from Oxford or Yale?

Let me offer the opinion that greatness comes from extraordinary effort or talent.  Greatness as it may exist in our anonymous ambitions does not win fame except in isolated circumstances.  That is to say, fame is not a realistic goal for an individual.

Greatness is like a dove in the imagination, an angel, a temporary insight, a fleeting epiphany. Something aspired to in the privacy of our minds.

Greatness was an ambition I held when I was a teen and had no proof that I was good at anything or useful to the world at all. After repeated criticism and dismissal from the community around me where I attempted to win something, anything, like a medal, a competition, or a race, I dissolved into fantasies of fame. Greatness was merely, as I reflect now, a vanity to cling to when I was unable to see how my single life had value in the larger frame of discourse. So I projected the contempt I felt for myself onto others.

This is what appears to be the cause of the white supremacist hate culture and the competitive drive among businesses who strive to gain more profit by doing less.

There are slant accusations of wealthy interests grabbing, stealing, as much as their power will allow without concern or conversation about the quality of their products. The mainstream slogans that appear to inspire wealthy wannabes are focused onto gaining leverage with trickery in a base of contempt for workers and consumers.

Is this what Milton Friedman wanted?  I don't have any quotes to offer here that are worth anything. This could be fake news accept it is not news.  None of it is news.  It is the spiralling down of a system that has no moral compass and of a species who are encouraged to forget who they are.

How can we find ourselves again? How can I enter the world of conversation in order to represent a reverence for life and respect for the environment? What words can I use to offer comfort to the anxious minds wondering where it will all end?