If the cure kills the patient, she isn’t sick any longer, so it must’ve worked.
From Despair, Inc.
Used under the “promise to throw an online tantrum when we ask you politely to stop” license.
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
~ Jas 1:20
In part 1, so many months ago, I spoke about how fear can make things worse and needs to be controlled, based upon a TED Talk by astronaut Chris Hadfield. Today’s news, however, is filled with more anger than anything else, it seems. Anger is a great motivator, but while righteous anger might motivate someone to do the right thing, unrighteous anger most certainly will motivate the person to do the wrong thing.
So, it is with some sarcasm that I list some of the things that really will help in a given situation:
- When done wrong by the police, break the law and riot. Because, you know, two wrongs make a right. Yeah, that’ll help
- When choosing between the helpless and defenseless and the coldhearted killers, be sure to side with the killers because they can vote. Yeah, that’ll help.
- When seeking peace, be sure to blow yourself up with as many of the enemy around you as possible, and especially if they are innocent bystanders. After all, if everyone is dead, there will finally be peace. Yeah, that’ll help.
- When things go south, don’t blame yourself, but blame ones who are successful. Seek to make everyone pay by stifling all freedom and ruling with an iron fist. If you cannot raise yourself up, then lower everyone else down. Yeah, that’ll help, whether talking about Occupiers or Russia.
- When things go wrong and you don’t want to blame your ideology, be sure to react with contempt. Be sure to act as though questioning a failing ideology is beneath an answer. Either way, it is a thinly veiled form of anger that you want to temper with arrogance. Yeah, that’ll help.
- In a similar way, when you lie or stretch the truth, be sure to react with anger and come out with guns blazing. It won’t fool anyone with half a brain, but who cares? It will fool someone, after all, who will go down in flames (perhaps literally) with you. Yeah, that’ll help.
- OTOH, whenever an opponent makes outrageous remarks and promises, dismiss them summarily. After all, they must be rational human beings in spite of their foaming at the mouth, right? Besides, dealing with them might take too much work, and it is easier to pass the buck along to whomever comes after you and let them clean up the mess. Yeah, that’ll help.
- And, finally, whenever asked why you have made things worse, be sure to blame your predecessor often and publicly. If you cannot blame your predecessor, blame your parents. If you cannot blame your parents, then blame your opponent’s great, great, great grandfather. Yeah, that’ll help.
If it seems that all of these have in common the blame game and the absolute stubbornness to not take responsibility, congratulations! You are catching on!