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. He claims, It is moving ourindustrial civilization toward a new phase of human experi-ence. 45 In describing the new rules, Yankelovich says:In their extreme form, the new rules simply turn theold ones on their head, and in place of the old self-denialethic we find people who refuse to deny anything tothemselves.46The cover of the book states:New Rules is about that 80 percent of Americans nowcommitted to one degree or another to the search forself-fulfillment, at the expense of the older, self-deny-ing ethic of earlier years.47The new formula for society has become faith in a causeand effect relationship between a high amount of self-loveand self-esteem leading to health, wealth, and happiness.One can see in New Rules that humanistic psychology is thenarcissism of our culture.Even well-known humanisticpsychologist Rollo May says of Yankelovich s conclusions, Ican see he is right. 48It is our belief that, in the main, a focus on high/low self-esteem, success/failure, excellence/mediocrity theory (Theory1) will lead to just the opposite of what it hopes to producewith respect to social problems, educational excellence, andother areas of life.Theory 2 is a better possibility, but in-stead of having no tangible basis for high self-esteem as inTheory 1, it is still subject to the natural, human inclinationtoward narcissism.Theory 3, which focuses on accomplish-ments through Christ s enabling, but without regard toenhancing self-esteem, will be in harmony with Scripture.The lack of support in the research literature for Theory1 should lead to testing Theory 2.Theory 2 existed beforethe current self-esteem era and its results surpass those of 122 James Dobson s Gospel of Self-Esteem & PsychologyTheory 1.However, Theory 3 can certainly be seen from Scrip-ture and in the actual practice and writings of believersbefore the present century.For instance, Lasch reminds us:The true Christian, according to Calvinistic conceptionsof an honorable and godly existence, bore both goodfortune and bad with equanimity, contenting himselfwith what came to his lot. This he had learned to doe, said John Cotton, if God prosper him he had learnednot to be puffed up, and if he should be exposed to want,he could do it without murmuring.It is the same act ofunbeleefe, that makes a man murmure in crosses, whichpuffes him up in prosperity. 49As indicated earlier, high self-esteem is the natural stateof children and adults.A child s ego, in the main, is natu-rally robust and is not in constant need of reinforcement.The children or adults who are in a state of collapse are theexception, not the rule.High self-esteem is a natural stateof man; self deprecation is not.Krauthammer addresses the issue of self-love in anarticle titled More Self-Love Isn t the Answer. He says:The ideology of self-love enjoyed currency during the 70s as a form of psychic recreation for the Me Genera-tion.It has now been resurrected as a cure for the socialpathologies of the 80s, for the drug and other behav-ioral epidemics that ravage the nation and particularlythe inner cities.The conventional wisdom is that peopleare acting so self-destructively because of an absenceof self-worth.Until they can learn to love themselves,they will continue to damage both themselves andothers.50After giving an example and discussing it, Krauthammersays: The California Task Force on Self-Esteem 123Indeed, today s conventional wisdom that drug abuseand alcoholism and sexual irresponsibility come froman absence of self-worth seems to me to be preciselywrong.Drugs and sex and alcohol have but one thingin common: They yield intense and immediate plea-sure.That is why people do them.Indulgence in whatused to be called vices is an act of excessive self-love.51Krauthammer begins his article as follows:So the Atlanta cabby tells his fare Professor AllanBloom that he has just gotten out of prison where,happily, with the help of psychotherapy, he found hisidentity and learned to like himself. Observes Bloom: A generation earlier he would have found God andlearned to despise himself. 52Dr.Allan Bloom has an interesting subtitle for his bookThe Closing of the American Mind.The subtitle is: HowHigher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverishedthe Souls of Today s Students.Bloom discusses the self andsays:For us the most revealing and delightful distinctionbecause it is so unconscious of its wickedness isbetween inner-directed and other-directed, with theformer taken to be unqualifiedly good.Of course, weare told, the healthy inner-directed person will reallytake care for others.To which I can only respond: Ifyou can believe that, you can believe anything.53(Emphasis his.)The subtitle of the Wallachs book Psychology s Sanctionfor Selfishness is The Error of Egoism in Theory and Therapy.In their book they say: 124 James Dobson s Gospel of Self-Esteem & PsychologyWe have seen in earlier chapters how selfishness ispromoted by urging realization and expression of theself.Those who have done this urging particularlyHorney, Fromm, Maslow, and Rogers have held thatif people are really actualizing themselves, they will infact be good to one another.But, as we have discussed,this cannot keep the encouragement to focus on one-self and one s own development from supporting con-cern for self in contrast to concern for others
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