How many times have we seen the following happen...
Someone will make a perfectly logical statement and the person spoken to will come back with a single retort about a single instance when the exact opposite happened. The retorter is certain that because he knows of this single happening happening the perfectly logical statement cannot be depended on to happen again because it does not happen Every Single Time.
Here is a perfectly logical example about the Life Face Down in the Gutter Drug Culture, “If you spend your life spaced out on narcotics and falling face down in gutters, you are not going to have a productive life”.
Just because 99.9999% of the people to whom this statement was made would agree with this obvious fact, one would think that the conversation could move on to another subject like coming up with ten easy ways to solve the Mid-Eastern Situation.
In some people’s minds Obvious Logical Truth is not able to be depended upon because it does not happen Every Single Time. In other words, the obvious is not obvious. If you ever make the bolded statement above, be prepared for someone coming back with this kind of Yea But...
“Yea But, I once read where a
person who had flunked out of college and then proceeded to spend the next 27
years completely spaced out on every drug you can imagine and usually ended up
his day on his face in a gutter, actually did end up doing pretty well in his
later life.
Once while he was laying
in a gutter outside of a Crack House, he had been tripped over by a person on
the way to a Beethoven Concert. The person going to the concert felt such
compassion for the filthy gutter dweller that he reached down and stuck a piece
of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Gum in his mouth.
That piece of juicy
kindness made the filthy gutter dwelling person realize that it was possible
for at least one person to feel compassion for such a fine example of the scum
of the earth as he was.
The gutter dwelling
person came to the understanding that Gutter Dwelling was not a productive life’s
calling. At that very moment, he decided to do something more positive with his
life. He picked himself up and enrolled in medical school (which happened to be
right across the street from the Crack House).
He was so inspired by
that piece of gum he chewed it 24 hours a day all through medical school. (You
probably remember that he was featured on 60 Minute a few years back when they
ran a story about how he chewed gum while he was asleep.)
Since becoming a
doctor he has had many remarkable medical achievements. His only medical
failure was when he claimed he had invented a pill that would make politicians sometimes tell the truth.
The person who just told you the above Yea But now stops talking and waits for an apology from you for using such a Broad Brush against the Drug Gutter Dwelling Culture of America.
In modern day America we all want to be understanding of everyone else’s lot in life. We often find ourselves apologizing and expressing our understanding about things like how tough Gutter Dwellers have it. Once this “understanding” is behind us, we come to the realization that, if we really want to make something of ourselves in life, the best place to start is Face Down Passed Out in a Filthy Gutter.
(Am I saying The
Exception Proves the Rule? Heck if I know but, if you really want to get
confused, look up The Exception Proves
the Rule in Wikipedia.)
I apologize again because I got carried away again...Or did I?
Would I kid u?
Smartfella
Lagniappe: I started writing this Blog Posting in 2012. At that time I became so confused I decided I needed more maturity before I could finish this foolishness. I have now matured to the point where I must know what I am talking about...Or must I?
