Sunday, September 08, 2013

Tilting at Windmills is Wrong


"To die, to risk death, even to raise a finger for any Cause was to pennon one’s lance with the riband of Purpose, so the poet judged, and had about it the same high lunacy of a tilt with Manchegan windmills."
  - John Barth, The Sot Weed Factor

Some things we all know are simply wrong. For example, I think we can all agree that what we call the glove compartment is wrongly named. It’s wrong to believe there is a real pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I personally think it’s wrong to ascribe malice to actions that may be better attributed to unthinking stupidity.

And despite my preference for all front teeth to be present in a person’s smile, I admit it’s wrong of me to judge people with missing teeth in their smiles as gap-toothed hillbillies proudly embracing a bold personal sense of style to compensate for their deficiency in social graces.

It’s wrong to think that if we sow as war we will reap peace.

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