I applaud anyone who realizes their “sense of self” and personal achievements, but I would hesitate to elevate one’s status based on how many jobs they created or how much wealth they have made possible for others.  Material wealth is not the only aspect of society with which to gauge that society’s success.  There is health, education, scientific and technological advancement, and maybe ultimately, too many to list.  While your level of achievement, based on the criteria that you use, makes you a winner, the government employee who works for the Coast Guard, and using different criteria, might feel that s/he is serving America and therefore a “higher good”; the biologist might discover a cure for a disease that would otherwise wipe out half the human population, etc.  If I write an IQ test, big surprise, it might “prove” that I’m brilliant.  Assessing “achievement” and our own selves can be problematic - subjectivity usually gets in the way.

by MsGinger on 01/06/2009 08:53:01 PM EST

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