Kill the Little Darlings
Like anything spoiled, they must be the first to go.
When writers are attached to an idea that isn’t working, some become very defensive when it falls on the eyes of callous editors. Most writers understand that if they must keep explaining it, then the idea isn’t working. A quote attributed to Charlie Chaplin went, “If you’re that attached to an idea, then it’s become a little darling and the little darling is the first to go.”
That philosophy, or policy, is in dire need today. Too many people are attached to an idea of how they think things are. With zero empirical evidence, they’ll attach courage, wisdom, or progress to those people or endeavors that don’t or never have merited such adulation. Tell the acolytes of Obama that he sinned far beyond wearing a tan suit or that yes, Trump did lose the election, as did Hilary, and they will howl at the moon. Same goes for that societal albatross known as religion. Correlative evidence at best and people will kill and die for it, many never having read the book.
These are extremes to make a point, but how many times have we caught ourselves so beholden to celebrities, politicians, or concepts that we even cut people off? Is there no possibility that I could be wrong? Of course there is. I believe the main issue we have is that we’re so tribalized and are bonded by an eighth-grade level peer pressure. Adults actually censor themselves to be spared any ridicule or accusations of “Libitard,” or “Trumper.” Of course, I have lots of friends who simply don’t care, only choosing to talk about movies or music. That’s fine. However, ignorance is not bliss. There’s a heavier cost to that path…
Letting go of an idea that is factually correct is not what I mean here, either. Moreover, when you’re factually correct, stick to your guns. Most people don’t critically analyze anything. They repeat what the tribal doctrine dictates. Expensive and deadly shams like Russiagate, the Russian bounty scandal, WMDs, Libya, Syria, the issue of Palestinians, Ukraine, NATO regaining relevance, Yemen, starving Americans, the DNC cheating Sanders (sheepdog, but still, I was told to “grow up”), the sinful military budget and more, were all reported breathlessly, or ignored entirely, by a bought corporate media.
Just because you “always thought that,” or “read it somewhere,” doesn’t make it so. It especially doesn’t make it so, because you believe NPR or MSNBC to be an intellectual pursuit. I simply mean if you don’t have the guns, don’t put them up.
Abe Abdelhadi hosts the Bitter Truth with Abe Abdelhadi on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, etc.