Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Corrosive Virtues: Which is worse, false hope or no hope?

Hoping is like wishing--a tranquilizer, a soporific. I'd rather experience life in all its cheekiness--awake, undeluded, and undrugged! But, if the game is lost, the struggle over, the end in sight, the pain or fear too great to bear, go ahead and hope (if you must)--what the hell--you may be able to escape/avoid reality until the shit hits the fan.

The rabbi comforted relatives of crash victims by assuring them that life is not hopeless. It was, at the end, for those who went down with that plane. What good is hope if it's gone when you need it most?

Hope would be most useful when the situation is hopeless.

The best-selling author instructs: "We need hope in order to cope." What a cynically misanthropic viewpoint! I wonder how many books I'd sell by advocating: "Forsake hope, embrace reality."

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