Menschkeit vs Compulsive Megalomania

Menschkeit and Megalomania. These are unusual words, with definitions that are likely to send you sauntering down an introspective vista. Only if by nature you are the type of person whose innate desire is to leverage your willpower to elevate yourself to the summit of humanity, without veering into the delusional self-importance route.

On the flipside, if you are immature, and prone to passing superficial value judgements about other people, these words are likely to send you on a self-glorifying pious spree of identifying friends, family, acquaintances and authorities who have persistently missed the mark of humanity.

The Urban Dictionary defines menschkeit or mensch, words of Yiddish origin, as “a person who is admired, respected and trusted because of a sense of ethics, fairness and nobility.” Rivetted to the principle of menschkeit are desirable attributes such as, honour, fearlessness, fortitude, discipline, sound-judgement, integrity, logic, and self-sacrifice. Contrast that with megalomania, a word defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as, “a condition or mental illness that causes people to think that they have great or unlimited power or importance.” Closely linked to this word are negative qualities such as, oppression, suppression, repression, egomania, and tyranny. It is not uncommon to see megalomania preceded by words like, pigheaded, narcissistic, ruthless, masochistic, and delusional.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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