Quote of the day

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

—Confucius

It occurred to me that with slight modification, Confucius' words could apply to politics: "Before you embark on a negative campaign, dig two graves."

Politics and religion sometimes bring out the worst in people. Both topics inspire great passion, and man — being the imperfect creature he is — can sink to the depths of his nature while in the throes of great passion. I find that contradiction intriguing, if often disheartening. Great passion should inspire men to do great things, to become a superhuman force in the service of a higher ideal — not to become a single-minded lunatic playing to the lowest common denominator in the hearts of his fellows.

In my lifetime, I have seen some horrible things in society. Even so, I do not recall witnessing the level of intolerance that seems to inform so many people's actions these days. What has happened to us?

When I was younger, I took great delight in reading so-called "speculative fiction": the works of authors like George Orwell, Aldus Huxley and Kurt Vonnegut who projected one or more aspects of society forward to a logical, if extreme, conclusion. The "what ifs" those writers presented in books like Nineteen Eight-Four, Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 were at once intriguing and chilling. I found it exciting to spend time in alternate realities in which people willingly had allowed themselves to be led like lambs to the slaughter on the altar of peace and harmony.

At the risk of sounding trite, I have to say that now those literary classics seem less like works of art than prophecy.