Religion & Law

David Brooks offers a nice reflection on the "line of narcissism" we've crossed as a culture since World War II, exemplified in recent days by Rep. Joe Wilson, Kanye West, and Michael Jordan.  Brooks overstates things a bit, asserting that "Humility, the sense that nobody is that different from anybody else, was a large part of the culture" back then.  I'm pretty sure that's a stretch.  But his broader point is insightful.  Our sense of identity is wrapped up with a perceived need for self-creation, self-expression and distinctiveness.  (As Kanye explained after he crashed the stage, "I'm just real.")  I don't think the law has driven this cultural shift, but it certainly has not stood in the way, and at times has added its eloquent imprimatur.