Humility

Humility means to be hurt It's not the earth the meek inherit, it's the dirt. – Mordered, Lerner & Lowe's Camelot

In the aftermath of the second Presidential debate, I've heard commentators citing Bush's not-much-of-an-answer to the last question as evidence that he lacks humility.

I'd like to know how these people are defining humility.

I think they're using the definition Mordred uses, one which is used by far too many people. They think humility means putting yourself down at every opportunity, denigrating yourself, and putting everyone around you on pedestals while you stand in a hole. If you don't dwell on your mistakes and grovel for forgiveness, you're arrogant and self-righteous.

And it's not just Presidential candidates (though somehow, only Republican ones) who are expected to abase themselves, it's whole countries. To the extent that America fails to beat up on itself, it is considered to lack proper humility. In the eyes of some, if we were properly humble, our response to the attacks of September 11 would have been, "Thank you, sir! May I have another?"

The one who has real humility realizes he is no better than anyone else. But neither is he any worse. He has no intrisic right to dominate others, but others have no intrinsic right to dominate him.