Monday, September 25, 2006

"You're just taking the easy way out"

This phrase, like the words courage and cowardice, is often misused as a commentary on virtue. People accuse others of taking the easy way out as though there's some inherent virtue in doing things the hardest way possible. Now sometimes the harder route is more virtuous and the easier route is less virtuous, but they are virtuous or not based on their own merits, not because of their inherent difficulty or lack thereof.

So, in the shower this morning, I thought of a simple rebuttal to show people who make this comment the folly of their position. It won't work for everyone, but it will work for a lot of people: "You have a car, don't you?"

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