Funfare for the Common Man

“Having lived long, I have experienced many Instances of being oblig'd, by better Information or fuller Consideration, to change Opinions even on important Subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow the more apt I am to doubt my own Judgment, and to pay more Respect to the Judgment of others. The Opinions I have had of its Errors, I sacrifice to the Public Good.” (Benjamin Franklin, in his final remarks at the United States Constitutional Convention, 1787) Even though Franklin disagreed with much of the Constitution, he put his full support behind it. He realised in his advanced years, having accumulated over 80 years of wisdom, listening to others with an open mind, and not trusting too much in his own genius, that there were far greater considerations for the fledgling country than merely his own views. Benjamin Franklin is one of his history’s great statesmen. His autobiography is one of the most illuminating and r...

‘A Pang is more conspicuous in Spring. In contrast with the things that sing.’ (Emily Dickinson) If you’re one of my loyal, devoted readers who has been with us since the beginning, then you’ll know how much I love a good rant . If you’ve only read me a little, then be warned: I really love a good rant. Typically, most of my grumbling falls into one of these categories: * people and the idiotic things they do: I’m a misanthrope * technology and what a pain in the ass it is: I’m a Luddite * bad customer service and being wronged in restaurants: I love boycotting places (a recurring theme in these pages: I hold grudges) I don’t have statistics for this and I don’t even think there’s a way of checking, but if I were to do a text analysis of all my posts over the years, one of the most common phrases would have to be ‘one of my biggest pet hates/pet peeves/bugbears is…’ followed by a threat to one day put together an entire post comprising all of my pet hates. The p...