Weaponized Shame in Western Cultures

Last updated on: January 11, 2025 at 12:08 pm By Brad Vaughn

In Western culture today, shame has become a potent tool, often used in ways that deeply impact how people see themselves, behave, and relate to others. While shame can certainly play a constructive role by encouraging accountability or reinforcing social ties, its weaponization often has the opposite effect, damaging personal growth, relationships, and public discourse. Social Media, Cancel Culture, and Online Shaming Today, we see this weaponization of shame in all kinds of settings. A few obvious ones include social... Read more

Pride Economy: When Passion Becomes Workplace Exploitation

Last updated on: March 6, 2025 at 9:14 am By Brad Vaughn

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What is a Pride Economy? In Stolen Pride, Arlie Hochschild shares how powerful dynamics of honor and shame shape America’s social and political fabric. She does so by describing what she dubs a “pride economy”? What is that? Well, I’m glad you asked. The Economics of Pride A “pride economy” refers to a social and economic system where pride functions as a form of currency, often in place of adequate financial compensation or social status. Workers find meaning in their... Read more

How to be a tribal church

Last updated on: October 11, 2024 at 12:38 pm By Brad Vaughn

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Michael Morris’s Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together offers penetrating insights into the forces that shape human communities. His book resonates well in today’s society, revealing how our underlying instincts can both fracture and unite us. What about the church though? By examining these instincts—reframed here as prevalence, prestige, and precedence—we see that Morris is fundamentally exploring honor-shame dynamics. (See my first post for an overview of the book.) These concepts provide a... Read more

Tribal is a book worth reading!

Last updated on: February 3, 2025 at 5:00 pm By Brad Vaughn

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In Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together, Michael Morris takes us on a fascinating journey into the heart of what divides and unites humanity. At its core, Tribal is about the instincts that shape human behavior and how they can be both the sources of deep divisions and the keys to forming cohesive, thriving societies. This post looks at Morris’s argument, incorporating simplified language for clarity through alliteration—specifically by referring to the three... Read more

Is the Drive for Recognition the Root of Inequality?

Last updated on: January 2, 2025 at 12:10 pm By Brad Vaughn

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Second Discourse on the Origins of Human Inequality offers a critical examination of the human condition, tracing the roots of inequality back to the earliest stages of social development. (See my previous post for a critique of his individualism.) As flawed as his work is, Rousseau rightly observes that competition and the lust for respect are foundational elements that generate inequality and lead to varied social ills. This post explores how Rousseau’s critique of competition and the drive for... Read more

How Rousseau Steers the West Wrongly to Individualism

Last updated on: October 10, 2024 at 4:32 pm By Brad Vaughn

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau is often celebrated as a champion of liberty, individualism, and natural human goodness. In his Second Discourse on the Origins of Human Inequality, Rousseau tries to expose the dangers of social inequality by tracing the root of human misery to the onset of civilization. While I find his writing abysmally naive and self-contradictory, he does give voice to some of the worst inclinations in the modern West. His famous claim, “Man is weak when he is dependent and... Read more

The Inherent Contradiction of Wokeness

Last updated on: November 27, 2024 at 8:42 am By Brad Vaughn

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In recent years, “wokeness” has become a cultural phenomenon that is difficult to define precisely, yet its influence is pervasive. It’s often associated with social justice movements. At its core, however, wokeness is a worldview shaped by profound skepticism toward grand narratives— those overarching stories that give meaning and coherence to history, culture, and identity. Ironically, even as wokeness rejects grand narratives, it simultaneously creates its own framework based on identity and tribal membership, essentializing people according to their marginalized... Read more

Honor and Shame in Shakespeare’s Othello

Last updated on: August 25, 2024 at 4:03 pm By Brad Vaughn

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In this second post in the series, we look at ways that honor and shame shape major works in Western literature. Today, we examine Shakespeare’s Othello. Othello is a masterful exploration of how honor, shame, and reputation shape human behavior and relationships. In the play, these themes are not mere background elements; they are the very forces driving the tragedy forward. As characters wrestle with their identities and public perceptions, Othello reveals the destructive power of honor and shame when... Read more

Honor and Shame in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Last updated on: August 25, 2024 at 3:56 pm By Brad Vaughn

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Over the years, I’ve tried showing how Western cultures care about honor and shame. These are not mere “Eastern” concerns. In keeping with this point, I’ll spend a few posts highlighting examples of honor and shame in Western literature. Today, we begin with Frankenstein. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein offers more than just a tale of scientific ambition gone awry. Beneath the surface, it explores how honor, shame, and reputation drive the characters’ decisions and shape the trajectory of the narrative. These... Read more

3 reasons you should not be your “authentic self”

Last updated on: August 25, 2024 at 3:48 pm By Brad Vaughn

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The call to be our “authentic self” is a popular mantra in today’s world, where authenticity is often equated with self-fulfillment and living without pretense. But, as Christians, is this truly the path we should take? While there’s value in honesty and integrity, the concept of always being “authentic” can be misleading. Here are three reasons why you should think twice before embracing your so-called “authentic self.” 1. Your Authentic Self Might Suck Let’s be real: we all have aspects... Read more

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