Live and Let Live

A column of quotable quotes

Image by Syaibatul Hamdi from Pixabay

This is: A weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny. I write letters to my grandkids and my great-grandkids — the Stickies — to advise them and haunt them after they've become grups and/or I'm deleted.

Warning: This column is rated SSC — Sexy Seasoned Citizens — A Perusal by kids, callowyutes, or grups may result in a debilitating intersectional triggering. Viewing with a tablet or a monitor is highly recommended for maximum enjoyment.  

About

Glossary 

Erratically Appearing Hallucinatory Guest Star: Dana — A Gentlereader  

"My conservatism is fairly avant-garde, and it is a kind of rebuke to conformity." -Roger Scruton

Dear (eventual) Grandstickies and Great-Grandstickies (and Gentlereaders),

I'm a collector of quotable quotes. I have a bunch of 'em recorded in a notebook that uses the dead trees format. Nowadays, I save 'em in a computer file. Live and let live is an oft-quoted ancient proverb that I wish all the kids on our modern playground would make a point of observing.

I hope the subtitle of this column will result in Readers Digest sending me a cease and desist letter since they've been running a feature of the same name in their magazine since before I was born.

{Wait-wait-wait. Why would you...}

With a bit of luck, and a well-written press release released on a slow news day, it might turn into my 15 minutes of fame.

Let's begin by pandering to my fellow Citizens of the Republic with a tasteful quote that any right-thinking person will agree with.

"The journey to spiritual awakening is better with french fries." -Bilquis

{Whoquis?}

Bilquis, an ancient goddess as portrayed by a very um, unusual (and now canceled) Starz network show titled American Gods. My fellow fans and I have been left holding the bag and there wasn't even a rushed, half-assed attempt to provide a conclusion of some sort.

{Are there temporarily delicious but now cold McDonald's fries that have morphed into plastic in that bag?}

"The American dream is the pursuit of happiness as each defines it." -I. Dunno

{I. Dunno? Who's that?}

A figment of my lame sense of humor; I can't find the source of the quote. It's from an article I read. I scribbled it down so I'd add it to my collection later but neglected to write down the name of the author.

Once upon a time, I was taught by Sister Mary McGillicuddy that the intention to live and let live was implied by our American experiment even though it has been imperfectly realized, to put it mildly.

"I want the playground to have minimum rules and maximum fun. I want just enough rules to give everyone an equal shot at some swing time and neutralize the bullies." -me

For example, I don't begrudge the Wokies the right to believe whatever they want. "...I will defend to the death, etc." -Voltaire.

However, if I were king, modern-day Piagnoni, followers of multiple modern-day Savonarola's, striving to remain in the good graces of the Intersectional Inquisition so they will have a place card designated, sustainably manufactured seat at the table waiting for them in Heaven Utopia,

And,

Who behave like members of the Westboro Baptist Church who've decided to become transnational Christian Jihadies...

Would have to undergo mandatory cult recovery therapy (yeah, it's a thing) to avoid having their voting privileges canceled. Also, Bonfires of the Vanities would be outlawed, even at mostly peaceful protests.

{Not everyone enjoys your obscure references.}

Merely established history. Follow the links for a free lesson. "...there is nothing new under the sun." -Ecclesiastes 1:9

"Where is all the knowledge we lost with information?" -T.S. Eliot

Mr. Eliot published the poem Choruses From the Rock in 1909. The quote above is from that poem. I don't...

{I had no idea you were a poetry aficionado.}

I'm not. However, I've been threatening to become more than an on-again/off-again dabbler since high school.

I don't know where or when I first encountered the line but I was immediately struck by the way it neatly and simply summed up one of the dilemmas of the Dizzinformation Age although it was written at the beginning of the previous century.

Too much information can easily lead to too little knowledge... and fresh ways and means to con, manipulate, and exploit Joe and Joan Bagadonuts for fun and profit.

I have it on good authority that Eliot was referring to spiritual knowledge, that he was referring specifically to the state of Christianity in his day, but it works in a somewhat different and modern context. I wouldn't describe myself as a Christian, but I wouldn't persecute...

{I see what you did there.}

I wouldn't persecute a Christian baker that takes his faith seriously if he refused to create a cake masterpiece for my — I self-identify as an African-American lesbian (traditional) woman who could pass for Hale Berry's more attractive sister — coming out party. I'd just find another master baker and skip tossing a casual contempt grenade through the door of his bakery.

Live and let live. Sister Mary would be proud.

Addendum: On a related note...

Lookie what I found at a website called Grammarist (.com).

{Lookie?}

"Live and let live is a proverb that is hundreds of years old."

Yada-yada-yada...

"To live and let live means to be tolerant, to live one’s own life in the manner that he [she/they] wishes and to allow the other fellow [person] to live his [her/their] life in the manner that he [she/they] wishes. The philosophy of live and let live does not necessarily embrace or condone the differences of others, but it promotes accepting the differences of others without trying to change them."

Yada-yada-yada...

"The phrase live and let live comes from the Dutch. It is found in The Ancient Law-Merchant, a collection of commercial law compiled by G. De Malynes in 1622. This code of law was written by medieval merchants to govern trade throughout Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor."

Imagine, Pasty Patriarchal money-grubbing capitalists understood what the concept of diversity and inclusion should mean, and made it the law.  

{Yada-yada-yada? And what about equity?}

As to the yada-yada-yada, follow the link. As to equity, entrepreneurs trying to survive in the real world understand that equity (defined as equality of outcome) is an adolescent dream that could easily become/is becoming a nightmare.    

Poppa loves you,

Have an OK day

Scroll down to share this column or access previous ones. If you enjoy my work and the fact I don't run adverts or sell things, please consider buying me a coffee via PayPal or plastic.    

Feel free to comment/like/follow/cancel/troll me on Cranky's Facebook page. I post my newest column there on Saturdays and interesting stuff on other days.

Show Me the (Covid Relief) Money!

 With apologies to my progeny

                                            Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay 

This is: A weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny. I write letters to my grandkids and my great-grandkids — the Stickies — to advise them and haunt them after they've become grups and/or I'm deleted.

Warning: This column is rated SSC — Sexy Seasoned Citizens — A Perusal by kids, callowyutes, or grups may result in a debilitating intersectional triggering. Viewing with a tablet or a monitor is highly recommended for maximum enjoyment.

Please Note: If ya click on an Amazon ad, thus opening a portal to Amazon, and buy anything, Lord Jeffrey will toss a few pence in my direction and you won't have to feel guilty about enjoying my work — well, hopefully — for free. Win/Win.  

About 

Glossary 

Erratically Appearing Hallucinatory Guest Star: Dana — A Gentlerreader

"This used to be a government of checks and balances. Now it's all checks and no balances." -Gracie Allen

Dear (eventual) Grandstickies and Great-Grandstickies (and Gentlereaders),

I'm fiscally conservative. It's a tenet of my neo-neoconservatism. However, being a gentlemanperson of leisure...

[A retired dude.]

Whose raison d֓etre is my art, that is to say, this weekly column, I still must do what is necessary to keep the wolf from the door if I'm to have the time, energy, and motivation to do my work.

[Art huh?]

Mine is a modest, fixed income... 

[Some would say pathetic.]

And if not for the fact that the costs of maintaining Casa de Chaos are nowadays primarily borne by my dutiful, beautiful daughter and saintly son-in-law...

[Are they talking about abandoning you in the deep woods again?]

I might be living in some high-rise storage facility for senior citizens.

[The game ain't over yet, Sparky.]

I will happily accept my $1,400 tranche of Covid Relief semi-funny money despite the fact it's being charged to the national no-limit credit card that my progeny will be paying off in perpetuity... assuming the economy doesn't collapse and we become America the Bankrupt. 

(Does the global economy include provisions for bankruptcy by the nation that's been carrying so many others on its back for so long?)

If and when the money arrives — never count your stimulus money till your bank sends ya an email  — I'm planning on funding a banquet for my freakishly large household consisting of McDonald's Dinner Boxes and Kool-Aid to take the edge off of my guilt.

[Your generosity is breathtaking.]

Fine then, Dana. I'll make it Hawaiian Punch. I may even go pick up the feast myself to lessen the chance the Frankin-fries cool off to the point wherein they revert to plastic. 

 

Speaking of McDonald's, I highly recommend a movie called The Founder. It's about Ray Kroc, the slightly less than gentleperson that ripped off the McDonald brothers and became the "founder" of Mickey Ds. 

In one scene in the movie, Mr. Kroc is arguing with the brothers because he wants to replace real milkshakes with milkshakes made from powder. One of them asks what's next, Ray, frozen french fries?

Meanwhile, back in the swamp...

The Depublicans are assembling a fresh care package to mitigate the effects of locking down the economy but the Republicrats have been locked out of this particular pork party. It's going to be delivered via a parliamentary maneuver called budget reconciliation. 

[Budget what?]

Well... all you really need to know is that Congress can get away with financial and procedural shenanigans that would get you and your accountant arrested,

And, 

The stimulus bill consists of roughly 628 pages of bafflegab that most of the people's representatives won't bother to read. 

   

I had hoped that the proposed amendment to the bill by Depublicrat Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona — given all the coverage it received by our free and impartial press — might result in enough stimulus money to literally change the lives of many of me and many of my fellow Deporables and Bitter Clingers for the better. 

[Huh?]  

I can't believe you haven't heard about this, Dana. There was an interesting article about it in the English language version of Diario AS, a Spanish daily sports newspaper based in Madrid. 

Mr. Gosar's proposed amendment increased stimulus checks for the little people to $10,000 and would keep the cost of the bill (just a tad under $2,000,000,000,000) the same by cutting out... Well, here's a quote from the article. 

"Gosar’s amendment called for the removal of 10 agenda items out of the American Rescue Plan’s more than 200 sections, including funding for the arts, federal and corporate transit projects, 'vaccine confidence activities' and foreign aid."

[Wait a sec,' Paul Gosar... Isn't he the whack job whose siblings said he should be expelled from Congress?]  

Only three of them... One man'sperson's whack job is another man'sperson's colorful character, PO-tay-toe/PO-tah-toe. I still think it's a great idea. Surprisingly, the bill wasn't amended.

If all of the currently stimulus-qualified members of Casa de Chaos were to receive $10k each we could pay cash for that corner property for sale down the street and still have enough money left over to replace the roof and get some new furniture. 

I wonder if I can get paid to promote "vaccine confidence" to my fellow geezers/geezerettes/geezem out here in Flyoverland?        

This just in...

Last week's column was about Amazon quietly canceling a book it had been selling for three years without notification or explanation. Lord Jeffrey's minions have struck again. 

To celebrate Black History Month Amazon disappeared a documentary last month called Created Equal: Clarence Thomas In His Own Words that was a distillation of 30 hours of interviews with Justice Thomas. 

The documentary explores his journey from an impoverished descendant of slaves who first enjoyed the luxury of indoor plumbing at age seven, to a justice of the Supreme Court. 

It was Amazon's number one best-selling documentary for a minute or two before leveling off at around number 25. And then, at the beginning of February, it vanished. And just like the popular book that was the subject of last week's column it was disappeared, and Amazon won't say why. 

If the wacky Wokies keep this up... Well, the next thing you know they'll be canceling Dr. Seuss and banning his books in grade schools.

Poppa loves you,
Have an OK day

Share this column, give me a thumb (up or in my eye), and/or access older columns below. If my work pleases you you can buy me some cheap coffee with PayPal or plastic.    

Feel free to comment/like/follow/cancel/troll me on Cranky's Facebook page.

Cranky don't tweet.