This column by David Brooks is tremendous. His columns are tremendous as a standard, in my book.

As a culture, we have to come to a place individually where we admit our shortcomings and learn. Learn from FAILURE. But our culture has tried to shield us from failure. I am guilty of this as a parent. We all have our struggles.

The problem is that over the past 40 years or so we have gone from a culture that reminds people of their own limitations to a culture that encourages people to think highly of themselves. The nation’s founders had a modest but realistic opinion of themselves and of the voters. They erected all sorts of institutional and social restraints to protect Americans from themselves. They admired George Washington because of the way he kept himself in check.

But over the past few decades, people have lost a sense of their own sinfulness. Children are raised amid a chorus of applause. Politics has become less about institutional restraint and more about giving voters whatever they want at that second. Joe DiMaggio didn’t ostentatiously admire his own home runs, but now athletes routinely celebrate themselves as part of the self-branding process.

We have become people who prefer the melodious sound of our voice rather than a counter opinion. I have a handful of friends who are almost exact opposite of me in political views and I CHERISH their friendships and conversation. (They probably tolerate me, but that’s another issue altogether.)

When I get it wrong, I try to admit… begrudgingly… slowly… but I try!

Beneath all the other things that have contributed to polarization and the loss of civility, the most important is this: The roots of modesty have been carved away.

We need a good dose of modesty once again.