I think that what you have is called narcissism. At the least, you sure sound full of yourself. Not only do you feel that you have a special understanding of dedication and sacrifice - in a way that no one else does - you also feel that you are meaner and jerkier than anyone else. Yeah, nobody understand resentment the way you can. Sigh.You just have to excel at everything? Is that it? Be the best athlete, the jerkiest jerk?

You're "not convinced that those who haven't ever endured the trials and brutal training regimen required to compete at the Olympic level really understand what is entailed."?

1st off, I'm pretty sure nobody is trying to convince you of anything. Really. Did anyone ever actually tell you that they DO understand what it takes? Remember though, that someone mentioning that they once participated in a sport doesn't mean they are saying they understand what it takes to be a champion, maybe you just confused those two things.

2nd - Are you shitting me? -

those who haven't had cancer don't really understand what chemotherapy entails.

those who haven't been raped don't really understand about being a victim.

those who haven't had children don't really understand unconditional love.

those who have children don't really understand the heartbreak of infertility

those who haven't won the lottery don't really understand the burdens of fast wealth.

those who haven't been a refugee don't really understand the realities of fleeing for one's life.

those who were never on Survivor don't really understand the relief of immunity

those who haven't fought in a war don't really understand shell-shock.

Do I need to continue? We all fight battles, we all struggle to win, it's just that most of us don't lust for the glory that you seem to crave. Many of us overcome fears, work through pain, give up the lives we want, and yes, even manage to come through in the clutch regardless of recognition or reward. Sometimes, some of us even go through all that - not for our own benefit - but for the benefit of other people.

Something I read years ago, I searched it out to paste here, it seemed to fit your situation -

"To repent means "to change one's mind." In and of itself, repentance does not mean to overcome something you did wrong and make it history. Repentance refers specifically to the change of heart and mind that is necessary for a real change of behavior to take place.

While offenders cannot unspill the milk, they can help clean up the mess they have made. They can admit their wrong and then offer evidence that their repentance is real. When we hurt others, we can admit our wrong, and do what we can to make restitution. We can help those we've hurt by assuring them that we had no excuse for what we did.

While it is impossible at times to know whether repentance is real, we can look for evidence. We can expect a truly repentant person to confess the wrong, offer no excuses for his wrongdoing, humbly plead for mercy, and quietly accept the consequences."

~~~~~

Yes, Repentance is a very biblical word, and the publication I have copied from is in fact a very religious booklet, I edited the quote above to take out the god/jesus stuff, it's too easy to be distracted and put-off by the religious aspect and miss the message. I'm very much not a christian, vocal about not being a christian in fact, but still the booklet here:

When Forgiveness Seems Impossible:

http://rbc.gospelcom.net/ds/cb941/

has some really good stuff... I highly recommend it for anyone having trouble with forgiving someone, or having trouble with asking someone for forgiveness...

I was born in Jefferson Parish, my parents grew up there, I'm glad they were dead before Katrina hit.

~~~

I was googling architectural styles a few weeks ago, just clicking through photos, and I landed on this site:

http://www.hancockcountyhistoricalsociety.com/preservation/nationalregister.htm?page=ballentine

which had page after page of pics of houses, organized by streetname, with little blurbs about the year built and whatnot, but, over 80% of the houses had a little footnote in red that said "destroyed by Katrina in 2005"

It was odd, sort of out of place, a reminder of it somewhere unexpected..., sad that all those places were gone, but glad that someone took all those pictures before it was too late...

Bears.

[Tom Vanderbilt thought]... Should he tuck into the crowd as soon as the road sign says "Merge Right" and practice a "random act of kindness," or stay in his lane and dart onto the skyway at the last minute with the bold attitude, "Live free or die"?

How is following the directive to merge right safely considered a random act of kindness? That's not kindness, it's common courtesy. Big part of the problem is this attitude that following the golden rule is something extraordinary.

It's like having an option of kicking a puppy, or not kicking a puppy.

Kicking the puppy is what an asshole chooses,

Not kicking the puppy is what any decent person chooses,

Going and getting the puppy a yummy treat is an act of kindness.

Just because you don't kick the puppy doesn't mean you're special, it just means you're not an asshole. Special is the person who brings the treat...