Hubris

Pride is something that everyone has; the amount varies from person to person, but it can be found in everyone. In its usual state and quantity, pride offers little or no harm to others and is seen as a good thing, giving people confidence to do what they do. However, excessive pride - hubris - has been a major theme that can be traced back to Greek mythology and history, and continues to show in modern day events. 

Today's connotation and definition of hubris translates roughly to 'excessive pride', but that is only part of the traditional definition. The other part, arguably more important in ancient times, means 'over stepping' and usually refers to placing yourself above the Gods, or, more realistically, above the cultural and moral values of society. The Greeks placed a large emphasis on the role of hubris, and they charged it as a crime. More accurately, they charged other crimes such as murder and robbery as crimes of hubris. This leads us to a closer interpretation of how hubris is portrayed in Greek mythology - when an excessive amount of something, often a good something, leads to harm. An example of this would be knowledge. In the story of Prometheus, the Greek Titan steals knowledge, represented as fire, and gives it to humans. This brings a hail of Zeus' wrath, and Zeus binds Prometheus to a rock on mount Caucasus and has an eagle forever eat his liver. Knowledge is a good thing . . . unless, like fire, you have too much and get burned. 

Fast forwarding through time, we reach colonial America and more specifically the Salem witch trials. In 1692 mass hysteria broke forth in the Massachusetts town of Salem. Their society operated under a theocracy, and because of the heavy religious atmosphere and economic hardships, an overdue opportunity for everyone to express his guilt and sins emerges. It began with a few teenage girls accusing older, lower or middle-class women of practicing witchcraft. Sufficient evidence, obviously, could never be found, but the mere accusations and the general air of resentment created by outside factors was enough to prosecute and condemn them. You would suppose that, after a few people are tried and hanged, the girls would stop and realize the consequences of their actions. However, the hubris created by the power the now hold was enough to compel them onward. In the end, their excessive pride and inability to control themselves because of it lead to the imprisonment of over 100 and the hanging of 20 men and women. 

Hubris in its first form can still be seen today. In Congress, the opposing parties show too much hubris and can't decide on anything, since if either side backs down they will seem weak. In Congress versus the President, neither side will back down and the shutdown of the federal government was the result. Toning down from these large-scale things, hubris can also been seen on a person-to-person level. There is always that person whose pride refuses to let him or her accept help from others. So in the end, an excessive pride is never a good thing, and being humble and open to new things is most often (99.9% of the time) the best policy to follow.