Here's what Hawkins says about Pride and why it's not all it's cracked up to be:
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The problem, as we all know, is that "Pride goeth before a fall." Pride is defensive and vulnerable because it is dependent upon external conditions, without which it can suddenly revert to lower levels. The inflated ego is vulnerable to attack. Pride remains weak because it can be knocked off its pedestal back to Shame, which is the threat that fires the fear of loss and pride. ... The downside of Pride is arrogance and denial.
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Andy, I think that you are right in that our ego is there to protect us in the best way it can. For many of us, the pride of membership in a group (which I think is the type of pride found at level 175 on Hawkin's scale) seems to be the best form of protection, though it is an unstable form. The form of "Rock on, Self!" I think is rather a part of courage, willingness, or perhaps even love, which are found at the higher levels of consciousness.