People pretend to be what they are because that is what everybody else wants. The person that shatters the illusion and doesn't pretend gives nobody else anything to latch their own illusions onto. So we pretend in order that others will allow us to continue to do so by playing along.
Men act like jerks because there are women that see that and are playing the game that considers that to be manly and attractive. Now the game is really going, because there are multiple players. Solitaire gets boring because there is no point in pretending. You can't win at Solitaire by cheating (pretending to be something you aren't), because there is nobody to beat. But add other people, and all of the sudden cheating (again, pretending to be other than you are) becomes a much more palatable prospect because you can convince others that you have won even if it isn't legitimate. But eventually you get caught, and the person you were playing the game with doesn't appreciate knowing that they were deceived and that you are something else.
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We must conquer ourselves, and allow our selves to conquer the world. |