Thursday, February 16, 2012

Why do people say, "Life is too short?"

Wouldn't a better way to express the point be, "Life is too long"? For instance, if you knew you were going to suddenly die after going to one fantastic cocktail party tonight, it might be worth it to adopt a pose or say things you don't actually agree with just for the sake of getting along with the other guests at the party. It's only because life lasts for decades and decades that it's intolerable to go through the whole thing without being yourself.

3 comments:

LemmusLemmus said...

Heh! Tell us what happened. Did you defend the Whitney Houston price hike? The death penalty? Did you suggest women may not be discriminated against in the job market? Your loyal readers want to know!

John Althouse Cohen said...

Ha! I have done all of those things in conversation, except I haven't had time for the Whitney Houston price gouging since it just happened. I'll get around to it one of these days.

Richard Lawrence Cohen said...

As Immanuel Kant said, "We should be the same at the party whether we're going to die ten minutes afterward or seventy years afterward."