George Harrison (former member of The Beatles) wrote a song in 1970, «I Me Mine«, which described exactly what was happening at the time the band was disintegrating. It was the worst moments for John, George, Paul and Ringo, because they, who were colleagues and friends, suddenly couldn’t stand each other. Quarrels and fights, over almost everything, flared up, and as you can imagine, most were about money. «I Me Mine«, whose lyrics speak of selfishness and greed, turned out to be the last song recorded by the «Fab Four» (as they were called), but without the participation of John Lennon. Harrison concluded, quite rightly, that what they were going through was a war of egos, and big egos they were.
As George was not yet up to the artistic standards of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, they mostly excluded him from the band’s artistic affairs, so he devoted himself to observing the quarrels between the two «leaders». He noticed that it all boiled down to «this is mine» or «I did it,» and back to mine again, and again, ad nauseum. At those moments, nothing had to do with the concept of «us» anymore. The Beatles no longer existed. What those four lads from Liverpool, who made (and still make) history, had been, no longer was. Yes, they were famous, they would continue to be so in perpetuum, but in 1970, they fought like cats and dogs.
And as I ponder upon this story, lamentably so well narrated in the movie Get Back, I wonder, how many relationships, marriages, partnerships, etcetera, have been broken due to ego issues, specifically egotistical attitudes and selfishness? There must be thousands and thousands! The ego is a fragile thing. In narcissists it is aggressive and knows how to defend itself from what it perceives as evils, whether real or imagined, and this could result in a war. Values, education, and humility can go to hell because the selfish person thinks that only fools give in and continues with his arrogance even if it ends in his own ruin.
Never doubt the fact that the ego is self-destructive. It makes you believe that you are truly one hell of a guy/gal, invincible, good-looking, irresistible and worth a million. And you, the idiot that you are, don’t even realise that the ego is leading you right to the edge of the cliff, and you will tumble and fall. We see that terrible trait in those that «supposedly» are leaders and those who aspire to be leaders, in bankers, in generals and in common every day people. Egotists have hubris to spare and a scarcity of humility. George Harrison saw it all quite clearly back in 1970 when he wrote “I Me Mine”. The truths narrated in those lyrics is a story that repeats itself so often not only in rock’s super-groups but in many aspects of our society as you well know.
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