A few weeks ago I heard some critics complaining that Barack Obama comes across as pretentious.

Now this is pretension. Knowing full well many people will not understand the satire and yet, still, publish the image during times when opinions are still being formed and decisions continue to be weighed.
(Article from New Yorker which prompted to above controversy: Making It How Chicago shaped Obama.)

Note: I agree with the comment from that lengthy article”

“Perhaps the greatest misconception about Barack Obama is that he is some sort of anti-establishment revolutionary. Rather, every stage of his political career has been marked by an eagerness to accommodate himself to existing institutions rather than tear them down or replace them.”

I think he is intelligent, aware, ambitious, and careful - a strategist. If he was my friend and he went a job interview I would NEVER doubt his being made an offer. Underestimating his abilities would equal a loss at the expense of the one making the faulty assumption.

I was thinking that affiliation (student, graduate, professor) with the U of C and pretentiousness sort of go hand in hand, but many view pretension as a negative trait, therefore, that would be a judgmental statement. However, a look at the definition of pretentious from dictionary.com:

pre·ten·tious
/pr??t?n??s/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pri-ten-shuhs] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. full of pretense or pretension.
2. characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.

As mentioned previously, self-help authors, inspirational speakers, and Oprah repeatedly tell us that we need to think of ourselves as worthy and important individuals. So it must be desired and proper behavior, yes?

Quick Quiz

Name the source of the quote.

A kind person sent me a message the other day and requested I keep the quizzes coming.

Thanks for the message and here you go…

“Pass” is for those who have no opinion or feel the burning need to qualify decisions they make. I recognize that by forcing one choice over the other a fully accurate representation of your opinion or preference may prove impossible, therefore, I allowed for the “pass” option.