- published: 19 Jun 2016
- views: 57389
In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others (Stephen LaMarche). Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but originally meant boasting in vain, i.e. unjustified boasting; although glory is now seen as having an exclusively positive meaning, the Latin term gloria (from which it derives) roughly means boasting, and was often used as a negative criticism.
In many religions vanity, in its modern sense, is considered a form of self-idolatry, in which one rejects God for the sake of one's own image, and thereby becomes divorced from the graces of God. The stories of Lucifer, Narcissus (who gave us the term narcissism) and others attend to a pernicious aspect of vanity. Philosophically speaking, vanity may refer to a broader sense of egoism and pride. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that "vanity is the fear of appearing original: it is thus a lack of pride, but not necessarily a lack of originality." One of Mason Cooley's aphorisms is "Vanity well fed is benevolent. Vanity hungry is spiteful."
We read of freedom in the books from long ago
Justice prevailed then this is what we know
It may take a long time before our final stand
It may take a lifetime before they understand
Freedom, free us, take the shackles let us be united
Free us, let us walk the streets now undenied
We have been fooled for years the old ones told it so
They recalled yesterday from tales they had been told
They hide inside the caves deep within the faults
We must listen now to their straight wise thoughts
Freedom, free us, take the shackles let us be united
Free us, let us walk the streets now undenied
Please free us I am still a man
Please free us now you will understand
You count your dirty money each and every night
As we sweat in the fields our life just isn't right
All your wealth may buy things that you seek
Once it's over and we're strong you'll face defeat
Freedom, free us, take the shackles let us be united
Free us, let us walk the streets now undenied
Free us, remove the shackles!