Wikipedia defines the id, ego and super-ego as follows:
“According to this model of the psyche, the id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends; the ego is the organised, realistic part; and the super-ego plays the critical and moralizing role”
I guess I would have to disagree that the ego is always “organized and realistic”. It seems to get most people in a great deal of trouble.
let’s start off by using a recent example - Anthony Weiner. I mean, my god! How does a guy do the things he has done and then lie, avert and avoid the obvious truth that he needs to own up to his actions and do the right thing?
the problem is that the “right thing” will severely bruise his ego. He is a perfect example of someone who gains power and then abuses it. Maybe it is none of our business what he does in his personal life - but when it is revealed that he is sexting other woman (he is married, by the way) pictures of his JUNK, well, I guess your ego got the best of you. It is when your ego inflates to the point of recklessness when these type of things happen. I bet Mr. Weiner (great name, by the way!) wishes he had not pushed the wrong button on his Blackberry when he tweeted himself to his latest fling.
the way in which this becomes destructive has been going for as long as time itself. confidence is a wonderful thing, but it quickly get out of hand. that is when the ego becomes inflated and overrides the super-ego. it may not FEEL like the right thing to do, but who cares?
that is what gets most people in trouble. in the back of your mind, you feel anxious - maybe something will go wrong and you will get caught or tripped up. that feeling is a sign telling you to dial back.
of course, a true egoist is totally oblivious to this little voice. it takes a train wreck like what happened to dear Mr. Weiner to wake them up. even then, they may still be confused as to “where it all went wrong.”
It is a shame, because let’s face it - most of the time if something happens to us like what happened to Mr. Weiner, we would suffer greatly. I think he will suffer greatly, but he is being allowed to carry on and make excuses because he is “special.”
