Humility: The Providence of the Thoughtful

I heard a story once about a tractor trailer that got stuck under a bridge. It got really stuck and the tow truck driver couldn’t pull it out from under the bridge, try as he might. After a heroic but futile struggle, the tow truck guy took a break and pulled a cold drink out of his cooler then sat down next to a kid who had been sitting under the bridge watching the goings on. “Hey mister,” the kid said after a while. “Why don’t you just let some air out of the tires?” Of course, letting the air out of the tires lowered the truck so it could easily be pulled out from under the bridge. Ain’t that how it goes about some of life’s stickiest struggles? We sweat and swear and kick and cuss but when it comes right down to it the answer is always a practical and obvious solution.

I always thought that the story was to illustrate how dumb the smart tow truck guy was and how plain and ignorant the smart kid was. But, as I’ve gotten older, it has dawned on me that this is a story about humility. The tow truck guy had to have humility to have listened to the kid and the kid had to have had humility to have kept his silence until there was an appropriate space to make his suggestion to an older and experienced man.

Humility is the province of the thoughtful. It seems that humility is an attitude that is difficult to achieve. Maybe it’s because humility relies on its long suffering sidekick, the lowly scout, patience. A way to think about humility is not as a virtue but as a thirst for understanding. Consider the alternative position. A self-important individual in love with his or her knowledge is not likely to be in the running for Most Humble Employee of the Month. It’s more likely that person will be the recipient of the Most Catty Remarks Behind Your Back award for 2023, but won’t be awarded until the year 2026 award season. You can’t just give an award of such prestige in the year it was earned, that might not be sufficiently self-serving.

Somehow, we as a society seem to have missed a lesson or two in the fine art of appropriate behavior to indicate civility. For example the name Karen has been appropriated to indicate any woman who demands that she be obeyed in this very instant because? She’s right! About anything she has decided she is right about. And she is saying so without even implied civility. I do think that most videos we see on YouTube are showing a piece of what actually took place in the event and it’s doubtful that we ever see the entirety of what took place. But there are a lot of Karens who show up on YouTube, and all that video footage can not be ignored.

It’s really hard to ignore that when we see that same behavior in US Congress people. It’s worse when that behavior is taking place on the floor of the Congress and between two Congresswomen! It is downright frightening to see it in someone who once held the nuclear codes. And even more so when it isn’t a TikTok or YouTube short. When it’s on cable news and the mic is picking up every word of extreme self-absorption. What one observes in those moments, which are often in “political rallies” disguised as tent revivals, can not be mistaken for patience, much less humility.

Humility is an essential strength for any leader. Humility provides an avenue to actually exchange information with other human beings. It’s an ingredient of learning and doesn’t cost anything at all. It has a huge dividend in that in the presence of a humble leader, trust and respect can grow. The humble leader can err or his team can err and he still trusts them and himself. The self-absorbed individual may have the effect of a sheet of tin endlessly flapping in a stiff breeze. It’s annoying, but it does keep you awake.

To reference this kind of behavior remember Josh Hawley raising his fist in solidarity with the January 6 rioters. Then think about what was the next thing he did? He ran out of the Capitol building in fear of the rioters. Joshy held up his fist to say, “Solid brothers.” Then he ran like he was having an “Oh, shit” moment and the devil was after him. I doubt you can find a way to apply the word humble to that combination of two different actions from one man on one day with just an hour or two between the acts.

Here’s another example. Pick any news byte you’ve ever heard from Marjory Green. It has a totally normal sounding tone of certainty but it’s about imagined horrors which scare her, poor blushing peach and all. That is until she wants to increase her perceived power then she is no longer the blond siren of doomsaying. Nope, she transforms into the most frightening creature in the universe. A blond Karen from hell with perceived power and nothing to stay her hand. There has been no sign of patience or humility in anything the girl has ever said. It’s almost as though she is in a game some Republican politicians are playing to see who can be the most crassly brazen politician of the day. Is it any wonder that D. Jailbait Trump is the leader of that pack?

Speaking of crassly brazen politicians, I saw George Santos on some cable news show the other day talking about how Joe Biden could not be trusted. Mr. Santos should lose his wife and daughter just at the beginning of his career. Continue to be both a Congressman and a full-time father for his remaining children. Those events will teach a man humility. I don’t know if George calling Joe Biden a criminal would qualify as irony or if it’s just a fatal dose of self-absorbency. I suspect as brazen as he was that he might be the king of the self-absorbed. I rue judgment of others but have you heard any part of that man’s personal story that is believable? He’s actually a proven liar. But he is who the GOP sent to the news show to say that JOE BIDEN is untrustworthy? WTF guys?

Humility is not a matter of thinking less about you and your abilities. It’s about thinking about you and your abilities less. I don’t mind that someone talks about things they can point to and say, “I did that.” But when people talk about things they do not know and can not do, while they bad mouth those who do know and can do, simply are not leadership capable. And to be brazenly arrogant about knowledge and experience that one does not possess can only be described as the acme of self absorbed impracticality. It just doesn’t make sense to a thoughtful person.

Folks, we have to exchange our penchant for electing dishonest men and women to govern, for only electing people who can demonstrate humility. I don’t know why, but there are currently a lot of Republican-leaning folks who are trafficking in dishonesty, perhaps as a means to achieve personal fame. I know I don’t understand it. For some reason, it is predominately people who claim to be conservative. I don’t think we can trust those folks unless they can demonstrate humility. I’m sure that D. Jailbird does not have humility in his toolbox. From my point of view, I don’t want that man to have the nuclear codes. That he ever had them should shiver your timbers. I don’t want him negotiating for the United States. His lack of humility is embarrassing to the country. Come on, folks. His lack of humility alone disqualifies him as a trustworthy leader.

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