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ROKU AppThe Affliction of “Me-Tooism”
Written by Eddie Johnson
Two descriptions of this problem really had an impact on me.
Sometimes a single phrase can be responsible for changing one’s viewpoint or philosophy.
In my early 20s I had a wide interest in politics both here in the United Kingdom and abroad. As I followed the 1964 U.S. presidential race between Lyndon B. Johnson and Barry Goldwater, I was struck by the phrase “me-tooism,” which was, as far as I know, coined by Mr. Goldwater. He saw too much of “I want what my neighbor is getting” in society.
A basic human flaw
I saw his phrase as covering a lot of what was wrong with the Western world at that time. Clearly, it summed up a very basic human flaw—that of wanting what our neighbor has. The Bible and the Tenth Commandment call it coveting.
Our neighbor has a beautiful wife, so we want the same: me-tooism. Our neighbor has a higher standard of living, so we want that too: me-tooism. The same goes for our neighbor’s job, flashy car, expensive holidays, way of life, etc. You name it, if our neighbor has it, we want it.
Mr. Goldwater, I thought at the time, had a very succinct way of getting over to his audience a basic human flaw—coveting what our neighbor has. I am not sure if the Tenth Commandment was on his mind at the time; but his newly coined phrase certainly was the very essence of what the Tenth Commandment is all about: I want this or that even though it belongs to somebody else.
Mr. Goldwater went on to lose the election, and I guess his observation of “me-tooism” was lost with it. Or was it? Why is it that it stayed in my mind from my mid-20s and is there to this day, less than 18 months from my 70s?
Another description: the way of get
Mr. Goldwater and his newly coined phrase stayed with me because I came across the philosophy of another individual a few years later. His name was Herbert W. Armstrong. He had an even more concise way of picturing that basic human defect of coveting what our neighbor has. He called it the philosophy of “get,” and I could not help but notice the similarity between “me-tooism” and “get.” Both men described the human weakness of coveting.
What did these two gentlemen mean by the philosophies of “get” and “me-tooism”? What exactly were they getting at?
Get vs. give
Mr. Armstrong wrote about “get” and its opposite in a Plain Truth magazine article in January 1985, a year before the end of his life in 1986.
He wrote that there are “only TWO WAYS or philosophies of life, broadly speaking. And these travel in opposite directions. One will produce peace, universal prosperity and well-being. The other will CAUSE precisely what we have in the world today! I simplify the two basic motivations so even a child can understand. One is the way of ‘GET’—the other the way of ‘GIVE.’ ‘GET’ is the way of self-centeredness, vanity, covetousness envy, jealousy, hostility, resentment of authority over one. ‘GIVE’ is the way of out-flowing LOVE—concern for the well-being of neighbor equal to self-concern. It is the way of helping, serving, sharing, of kindness, consideration, and goodwill.”
Just compare again the attributes of Mr. Armstrong’s give and get. Get, as he taught, is very much a feature of the essence of our very nature and so, of course, is “me-tooism.” They both are a way to describe the seven negative ways of life listed above, “self-centeredness, vanity,” etc. However, it seems Mr. Goldwater’s concept of “me-tooism” is all but forgotten, while Mr. Armstrong’s contrast of “give” and “get” lives on in the Church of God today.
The members of that Church today strive to obey that Tenth Commandment and look forward to a time when everyone will obey that same Commandment and see the need to overcome “get” and “me-tooism.” Humanity will appreciate deeply the value and very essence of God’s commandments, including the Tenth. Someday the affliction of “me-tooism” will be a thing of the past.
Eddie and Sandra Johnson serve the membership in the Tonbridge, England, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. He has been an ordained elder nearly five years.
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