“What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.”
―
Years ago I worked at a bar down in the Elliston Place area of Nashville. Five days a week you could find me slinging drinks to people as they got off of work. My bar didn’t adhere to the rule of never discussing politics or religion, the only rule was that you respect each other. As a result, it wasn’t uncommon to hear passionate conversations taking place around a plethora of subjects.
There used to be a gentleman named Biff that was regular. Biff would often interject into the conversation in a manner that lent itself to the assumption that he was making a factual point. He looked intelligent. He acted intelligently. Owned his own business and said things in a confident manner. It was logical to conclude that he knew what he was talking about and so his assertions went unchecked. That would have been fine except he was often wrong.
Finally,, after weeks of this behavior, I challenged him. “We are not going to do this anymore,” I said, “You don’t get a free pass just because you say something with an air of confidence. From now on, we are going to call this kerchief the Biff flag. Every time you say something questionable CONTINUE READING: WELL, THAT’S A SPECIAL KIND OF DUMB – Dad Gone Wild
