As a young lad, I learned life's truly great lessons, big and small, near and far, up and down, from Sesame Street's lovable furry old Grover. He taught me to share, and now I share these thoughts with you.
Lately, every time I visit McDonalds, I wonder if they could get Grover to appear at their annual company meeting and give a lecture on Big and Small. It seems apparent to me that over the years, the meaning of these words has been lost. Certainly, no one could disagree that the "Big" in BigMac is an outright lie. Have you looked inside one lately? There are 2 potato chip thin slivers of… well whatever passes for meat these days. Their "Big Breakfast" consists of the contents of a Sausage & Egg biscuit and a Hash Brown. Oh my… Can I eat all that? And yet, their "medium" beverage is a 32 ounce cup and their large is the size of a bucket.
Clearly, whoever sets their prices knows up from down; but this confusion over big and small is keeping me far rather than near.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The Truth of the Matter...
The Truth of the matter is, I really hate that phrase, "The truth of the matter". There was a time when "the truth of the matter" grabbed my attention like no other phrase. It made my ears stand at attention waiting for some new kernel, a new seedling, a new fundamental grain of truth. But now it just irritates me.
No, I haven't succumbed to the notion that everything is relative. I still believe that there are some absolute truths. But I also recognize that everyone has their own beliefs about what is true and what isn't. And therefor "Truth" is different for different people.
It bothers me when someone says, "The Truth of the matter is this", because what they really mean is, "Suspend all your beliefs and listen to me. I'm telling you something more important that anything you may happen to believe." That's a very arrogant statement to make. I'm sure if you asked the speaker did he mean it that way, he'd probably say "no". But the truth of the matter is, no one who says "The truth of the matter is" is willing to discuss or debate or weigh out contradictory notions. They have an agenda or a moral high ground that gives them the right to tell me to forget what I think I know.
Have you ever heard anyone say, "Well the truth of the matter is, maybe I was wrong"? I haven't.
No, I haven't succumbed to the notion that everything is relative. I still believe that there are some absolute truths. But I also recognize that everyone has their own beliefs about what is true and what isn't. And therefor "Truth" is different for different people.
It bothers me when someone says, "The Truth of the matter is this", because what they really mean is, "Suspend all your beliefs and listen to me. I'm telling you something more important that anything you may happen to believe." That's a very arrogant statement to make. I'm sure if you asked the speaker did he mean it that way, he'd probably say "no". But the truth of the matter is, no one who says "The truth of the matter is" is willing to discuss or debate or weigh out contradictory notions. They have an agenda or a moral high ground that gives them the right to tell me to forget what I think I know.
Have you ever heard anyone say, "Well the truth of the matter is, maybe I was wrong"? I haven't.
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