The Inside Assyria Discussion Forum #5

=> Richard Steele

Richard Steele

Posted by pancho (Guest) - Tuesday, January 22 2008, 22:07:46 (CET)
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I have no idea why this 18th century English satirist, in a short article taken from his newssheet titled “The Tattler”, reminds me of us. The article deals with the much frowned-upon and illegal custom of dueling to settle disputes and avenge insults between gentlemen.

“…he told of receiving a letter from ‘a young lady’…wherein she laments the misfortune of…her lover, who was lately wounded in a duel’; and he went on to show the absurdity of a custom by which an injured gentleman must invite the offender to add murder to insult; for what does a challenge mean but:

‘Sir, your extraordinary behavior last night, and the liberty you were pleased to take with me, makes me this morning give you this, to tell you, because you are an ill-bred puppy, I will meet you in Hyde Park, an hour hence…I desire you would come with a pistol in your hand…and endevour to shoot me through the head, to teach you manners.’”

Why does it remind me of us? Maybe because we think that by getting our people in Iraq shot through the head (by Muslims, of course), we will teach the world “better manners”, which they can show by “doing something for us”?

What can the world do for such fools as we?

I know, I KNOW! How dare I call us fools…right? When will someone ask why we DARE to be fools? Shouldn’t that be the larger question? Are we to keep a blind eye to our own faults to make sure we never learn enough to correct them? If we act like this we are indeed foolish, by OUR choice… let us admit it and strive to do something better rather than keep a blind eye out of “loyalty”…or “pride”. Such pride is false pride and who is so foolish as to maintain loyalty with that which wounds him?

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