Socrates believed that real wisdom is admitting the limits of one’s own mind.
With that, opinion columns are doomed from the start.
I ramble about affirmative action.
I rant about the Street administration.
I point my finger at terror-stricken Americans.
I argue and put down, and scoff at opposing arguments.
It’s s hard job being right all the time, but somebody has to do it.
But it’s time the truth came out.
Opinion columns are tirades by angry columnists, who are little more than complainers with a pen.
Unlike Socrates, columnists have trouble admitting the limits of their arguments, which leaves readers with a 500-word rant by someone who knows little more, if not less, than they do.
I, with my fellow columnists, suffered this affliction until I entered Annoyers Anonymous (AA).
My AA instructors taught me that admitting the problem is the first step to recovery.
So, for once in my life, I listened and confessed.
I have a problem, and maybe, for one column, I should stop.
So, just this once, I’m going to break the rules – no formulating an argument, no supporting my stance.
This time, I am admitting defeat.
You, the reader, are right.
I, the columnist, am wrong.
I now realize that the more I learn, the more I don’t know.
Every once in a while, it’s good to acknowledge limitations and look critically at where you stand.
More importantly, it’s a good idea to look at how the world is doing – not scornfully, or through the lens of CNN reporters, but openly and objectively.
Look at what man has created and how far he has come.
Look into the eyes of a child, and see the passion for living that many adults have lost.
Listen to the sounds of birds or the laughter of old friends.
Listen to silence.
Charlie Chaplin – the best in silence – once said, “The way of life can be beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men’s souls … has barricaded the world with hate … has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.”
Socrates shared these sentiments in his belief that the knowledge of man means little or nothing.
He believed man should strive to live by the teachings of the gods.
So, just this once, I won’t complain, I won’t ramble, and I won’t point fingers.
And by doing so, I think I finally made my point.
Brandon Lausch can be reached at Goskateboarding2000@hotmail.co
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