People hear what they want and expect to hear, not what is said.
No one seemed able to look at themselves, coolly, from the outside. Their reality was all that could be seen in the light cast ahead by their own wishful thinking.
memory is so selective; wishful thinking presses it into service all the time.
Pride is what you can afford or think you can afford.
Instinct' usually just means our conditioning to believe this or believe that, without thinking to investigate.