Why Ego is the greatest corrupter (while money is just its servant)
“There never was a war that was
not inward; I must
fight till I have conquered in myself what
causes war, but I would not believe it.
I inwardly did nothing”
— from Marianne Moore’s poem ‘In Distrust of Merits’
How much of history was hurt reputations wanting duels with other people’s bodies?
Relive a past humiliation, and you should have no difficulty imagining the power of a promise to remove the feeling. Your pain is an inner corruption, with far more control than dark money.
This is the pain that matures into the statement “if you’re not with us, you’re against us.” That matures into a morality that kills millions more than indifference.
If you want to change the world, first remove the need to feel good about yourself. If the truth sets you free, it’s by showing that what you’re trying to feel good about doesn’t exist.