Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Advice from dead presidents
I’m a big fan of St. Claire’s Organic Mints...but I’m not always keen on the “inspirational” quotes they print on the inside of the tins. For example:
"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect, through which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
—John Quincy Adams
What a load of horseshit, huh? Let’s say you’re an Iraqi child, born just before the March 2003 invasion. You’re being raised under deplorable conditions. Family members are regularly killed or perhaps taken away to prisons like Abu Ghraib. Nutrition and health care are mere fantasies. How much “patience and perseverance” would such a child require to make his/her difficulties magically disappear?
“Obstacles vanish”? Walk into any hospital, nursing home, or hospice anywhere on the planet and see how far the magic takes you.
Inspirational talk and self-help mantras can sometimes have their place but they’re more typically nothing more than luxuries for the bored and the privileged. For the vast majority of humans (yes...especially those who don’t have the money to waste on organic mints), the only thing magical is managing to survive another 24 hours.
(Remember: If you don’t connect with your inner child, then the terrorists win)
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Tyler Durden sez: “You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile.”
Reminder: We’re just monkeys with delusions of grandeur...
Copyright © 2005-2007 Mickey Z.
