Word: upmanship
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...certainly now know what many have suspected before, that Professors Thomson, Schwartz, Cohen, Hofheinz, Vogel, Woodside, and Fairbank subscribe to the "blunder theory" of American imperialism [letter of October 24, 1969]. What else does their letter contain? Nothing but unpleasant patronizing bluster and academic one-upmanship. For example...
...arts, Harrington condemns classical tragedy. It is "one of the most pernicious notions ever to occur to mankind," he writes, because it "perpetuates the superstitious conviction that hubris must be punished." For Harrington, pride is everything. All forms of upmanship are ambitious strategies. By diminishing others around him, the individual moves a notch toward divinity himself...
...husband comes home from work and yawns, "How was your day, dear?" Wife (pleasantly): "O.K. How was yours?" Husband: "Oh, you know, the usual." When disagreements loom, they take refuge in the newspaper, TV or "etiquette-upmanship," a self-righteous silent treatment rationalized by the thought that self-control is more virtuous than disagreement. Argue Authors Bach and Wyden: "A marriage that operates on the after-you-my-dear-Al-phonse principle may last a lifetime-a lifetime of fake accommodation, monotony, self-deception and contempt...
...priest led them round a table three times in the ritual dance of Isaiah. Traditionally in the dance, one of the newlyweds steps on his (or her) partner's foot to signify who will command in the marriage. None of the 25 guests admitted seeing such one-foot-upmanship...
...Cream Parlor. At Panmunjom itself, a petty little game of one-upmanship still goes on. Long ago, the North Koreans built a circular guard-post on a hill (dubbed "the ice-cream parlor" by the U.N. side) so as to have the highest building at Panmunjom. When the U.N. command took away the altitude superiority by erecting a two-story building, North Korea put a star atop the ice-cream parlor to re-establish its height advantage by a couple of inches. U.N. guards at Panmunjom are mostly U.S. military police, chosen for their size and brawn to tower over...