Staying Out Of It

As one of Clint Eastwood's many wise characters once noted, "A man's got to know his limitations". I know that mine are numerous, and while they are difficult to keep track of, it is nonetheless important to do so. I have addressed to some degree many, and if the one on my mind has been spoken of before, I come back to it because I haven't fixed it yet. It may be that I will never manage it, but I will die still wishing to.

I am argumentative by nature, though I can't say exactly that I relish a fight. I don't consider myself influential. If in an argument I am able to bring in as yet unknown information, that might turn the tide. Otherwise, I have no expectation of swaying people simply by cleverly marshaling already established facts. Still I would like to settle the dispute. I try again and again, helping nothing and getting bruised in the process.

I just have a hell of a time staying out of a scrap I can't meaningfully impact. Trying as hard as I can, I am able to do no more than to keep my interjections to a minimum. If I could cut them out altogether, I'd be glad. Even better would be if the argument wouldn't happen at all, but there's just no chance of that. It will come, and I've just got to stay out of it. There's no incentive to win or to nobly struggle in vain, so I've got to stay out of it.

It hurts like an itch that can't be scratched, but I've got to stay out of it. From my perspective, it's lousy, but maybe from that of someone else, it looks better. Maybe it looks like I'm above the fray or just thoughtful instead of the truth, which is that I'm just barely containing a tempest of passions and unhelpful outbursts. Someone else said, "It's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt". I can't say who it was, given that a cursory search attributes the line both to Lincoln and Twain, but I would suggest that one can hope for even more than ambiguity regarding their stupidity if they are quiet. They might look really great. That's my hope.