I love those kinds of phrases. Things like “Run it up the flagpole and see who salutes” and “That dog won’t hunt” and even “Nine women can’t have a baby in one month.” Even though I once had a manager who insisted they could, if properly motivated. They are linguistic relics of a life in consulting and business and in their simplicity contain a certain wisdom about situations in all aspects of life.
However, “That’s not going to play in the big time” is the one that comes to mind when I hear the constant refrain of objections and complaints when a person or group has clearly lost the argument and yet continues to insist they are in fact winning. I see a lot of that on SWI lately, over-pedaled myths of malfeasance and coming dooms. Everyone has gone home on those topics guys and gals, the results are in.
It’s not that I don’t appreciate the fervor and courage of taking a hopeless stand, I just wonder if that all that energy might be put to better use. Which brings to mind “You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, Know when to walk away and know when to run,” or as we used to say we lost the bidding for a contract “When the party’s over, it’s time to go home.” It’s often hard to give up a cherished belief. I, myself, entered the climate debate as an ardent believer in a “Sun-centered” explanation of global warming. I was wrong but it took me a while to get “clued in.”
I had gotten that idea from several sources as well as a very well written and presented article in “The Farmers Almanac”, which I used to regard quite highly for their magical accuracy in overall monthly predictions for the coming year. Sometime after that article was proven incorrect, to my intense embarrassment they began using large portions of the Almanac to explain why last year’s predictions were “off.” The Almanac has fallen from a self proclaimed “80%” accuracy to a somewhat less stellar figure. They’ve totally missed both of the October storms (Halloween 2011 and Hurricane Sandy 2012) with predictions like “trick or treaters enjoy mostly fair weather…” (as long as they aren’t swept away by the wind or hit by falling trees). It’s not their fault, the environment has changed and their predictive methodology (mostly based on the sun) has been overwhelmed by more earthly environmental factors. They had a good run with that system, now it’s time to adjust.
Still it was a source I was ready to believe in and I still faithfully buy the publication but I also bought a whole house generator and I don’t take the weather predictions as trustworthy anymore. No offense, guys and I am eyeing the “Farmers Almanac everyday baking cookbook.”
It’s the same with some of the posts on SWI, I read them but the energy to comment just isn’t there, the valid discussion has ended. Unless they are particularly heinous in their misrepresentation of the facts, I see no reason to annoy the author nor any profit in their education. It is tiresome to see the same dis-proven claims over and over, but lately I think of it as evidence of the author’s value system in conflict, which must be very upsetting for them indeed. I probably don’t need to make that any worse.
Many of these ideas and fears are bound for the section of the library ruled over by organizations such as “The Flat Earth society,” who are still unequivocally able to mathematically prove “ The true shape of our planet.” It’s just that no one is listening anymore. We can never hope to disprove the “true believer” in their own mind, so we move on and talk about something else. Is that “letting sleeping dogs lie” or “It is what it is?”
Post about sensible gun controls, how to measure teacher performance or what to do about Syria, North Korea or for that matter China, and I’m in! More posts about the “world wide global warming conspiracy”, the President being a closet Marxist, evolution only being a theory or the UN taking over the planet, sorry, that dog won’t hunt.
Copyright Prentiss Gray 2013
Prentiss Gray is a writer and columnist and currently writes the Domesti-Tech Blog for Gannett. He can be reached through his website at GrayResearch.net
Prentiss Gray
Prentiss Gray is a writer/columnist/blogger from New Jersey. After 27 years as a Information Systems consultant and the death of his wife of 21 years, he returned to his roots as a writer, creating the national column Adventures of the Lone Dad/ Daddy chronicles. He now Blogs for Gannet on domestic technology, and writes feature pieces and stories for general publication. He is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and contributes to Bloomberg News, Daily Record, Gannett and the Tribune Syndicate.
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Excellent are your wise observations, Prentiss. I got caught in a whirl of conflict with my spiritual beliefs when others expressed their own spiritual and/or religious backgrounds, belief systems or experiences. I soon realized that my Father had taught me to avoid discussing “religion and politics” with others. You are so right in refusing to comment on what a “true believer” has written about many times.
I think we should share our thoughts and new ideas and use our imaginations if we choose to do that. Also, we fledglings might listen to what others write about. “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” That is one saying I seem to recall now and then.
Hope you get to read The Farmer’s Almanac Cookbook if you decide to own one. Thank you for this post.
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Interesting, my mother always made a point to tell her children it was impolite to discuss religion or politics at a party. However, she also said “If you can’t think of anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.” I’m not sure I agree with either statement, sometimes not saying something seems the worst kind of fraud.
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Such a dull world we would live in, Prentice, if we couldn’t call everyone we disagree with a liar or blame any inconvenient facts on a conspiracy by the mainstream media to spread them. That’s why some of our contributors refuse to live there. But the world is what it is, as you say, or as I prefer to put it, it am what it be.
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