It almost never feels like prejudice. Instead, it seems fitting and just -
the idea that, because of an accident of birth, our group (whichever one it
is) should have a central position in the social universe. Among Pharaonic
princelings and Plantagenet pretenders, children of robber barons and
Central Committee bureaucrats, street gangs and conquerors of nations,
members of confident majorities, obscure sects, and reviled minorities, this
self-serving attitude seems as natural as breathing. It draws sustenance
from the same psychic wellsprings as sexism, racism, nationalism, and the
other deadly chauvinisms that plague our species. Uncommon strength of
character is needed to resist the blandishments of those who assure us that
we have an obvious, even God-given, superiority of our fellows. The more
precarious our self-esteem, the greater our vulnerability to such appeals.

Dr. Carl Sagan
PALE BLUE DOT
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