Page 206 - The Danger of a Communist Kurdistan

red values such as their own cause or ideal, the family, nation and
country, these people are worried about what their “masters” think.

Another humiliating behavioral defect that the people in question
learn from their masters is that of putting on airs.

A Common Philosophy: Putting on Airs

Putting on airs is a behavioral and moral defect that is widespre-
ad in Western countries. These people, whose language consists of a

mixture of showiness and “I know best” attitude have a common tone of
voice, accentuation, way of sitting and placing the spotlight on them-
selves. Their desire is to emphasize this state of being “rather special,”
which regards themselves as different to other people, in their every
gesture and action. Some of the best known aspects of putting on airs
are using exaggerated facial expressions, insisting on using foreign
words all the time when speaking, speaking while chewing gum, des-

cribing things they would never normally like in terms of admiration,
describing places they may never have been to as if they knew them
well and people they may never have met as if they were close friends,
and talking about music they have never heard as if they liked it very
much and about films and art they have never seen or understood as if
they understand them very deeply. Being able to sit in the lobby of a
five-star hotel, blowing the smoke from a cigar given to them as a gift
by that hotel into other people’s faces, posing with a wine glass in their
hand and being seen at the entrance to a famous restaurant are all ter-

ribly important to people who put on airs.

Details about the routine matters in the lives of high-quality and
noble people are of exaggerated importance in the lives of those who
put on airs. They imagine they can become esteemed and gain impor-

204 The Danger of a Communist Kurdistan