Brad Blanton

The best people in a dying culture are the outcasts considered crazy by the leaders; the ones most disillusioned with their own culture. In Yeats’ phrase, “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Intense emotional attachment to any value, any virtue, any set of “shoulds” is a disease, a mental illness, a condition of self-murder and cultural assassination.

The reason for forgiving your enemies is not for their benefit but for your own benefit. Holding grudges against other people doesn’t hurt them; doesn’t even bother them much – in fact, even pleases them if they are still mad at you. It is not in your enlightened self-interest to hold grudges, regardless of whether it bothers the person you hate or not.

The reason for forgiving your enemies is not for their benefit but for your own benefit. Holding grudges against other people doesn’t hurt them; doesn’t even bother them much – in fact, even pleases them if they are still mad at you. It is not in your enlightened self-interest to hold grudges, regardless of whether it bothers the person you hate or not.

The best people in a dying culture are the outcasts considered crazy by the leaders; the ones most disillusioned with their own culture. In Yeats’ phrase, “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Intense emotional attachment to any value, any virtue, any set of “shoulds” is a disease, a mental illness, a condition of self-murder and cultural assassination.