SACRAMENTO — It once was the stuff of snickers, the butt of those "only-in-California" jokes, like hot tubs and vanity plates and goat cheese pizza. But they're not laughing any more. The gospel of self-esteem has gone mainstream, and that makes John Vasconcellos feel good.
Nine years ago Assemblyman Vasconcellos hatched a state task force to improve Californians' self-esteem. His theory: People with a strong self-image are more likely to live productive, moral, law-abiding lives.
It wasn't a radical thought, but the task force drew sneers from coast to coast. Garry Trudeau took the most memorable potshots, lampooning California's latest goofy obsession in his "Doonesbury" cartoons.
Today, however, faith in self-esteem as a weapon against social ills seems ubiquitous. In schools, on the job, in church, in prisons, at the dinner table and, yes, on the therapist's couch, millions of Americans are working on improving their sense of self-worth.
Reflecting this preoccupation, there are special toys billed as "self-esteem enhancing" and even a song, by the rock group Offspring, called "Self Esteem." Pitchmen peddling programs to boost self-esteem are ever-multiplying, while Oprah and others in talk show land rarely go a day without touting the importance of taking care of No. 1.
"At first everyone thought our concept was California-freaky and weird," said Vasconcellos, a Democrat from San Jose serving what will be his last of 30 years in the Assembly. "But that's no longer the case. Our major accomplishment was to legitimate self-esteem as a force in people's lives."
This does not mean, mind you, that the self-esteem crowd is one big happy family. There are raging disagreements over how best to raise self-esteem, and also a backlash by some who blame the movement for an assortment of sins, including lower academic standards and inflated grades in schools. These critics say misguided self-esteem apostles are showering kids with empty praise that makes them self-absorbed and ill-equipped to handle the potholes of life.
"I don't disagree that self-esteem is important, but you don't help children by giving them a 'You're Special' certificate for doing nothing at all," said Lilian Katz, a professor of early childhood education at the University of Illinois. "That's nonsense, silly flattery. It leads not to self-esteem but narcissism."
