About never being able to achieve every possible thing one might conceivably
want to do ......
I once had an acquaintance who decided not to install a better lock on his
front door because, in his words, "a really good burglar can get past
anything." "Yes," I said, "but at least the better lock prevents the
myriad mediocre burglars from getting in."
We do what we can, always understanding that perfection is not within our
grasp, and we do not regard absence of perfection as a repudiation of all we
do. But we still continue to strive to do more and to do it better.
Saying that "you'll never get it right" is not a particularly useful
addition to a discussion. It puts people's backs up and makes them stop
listening to you. We KNOW that perfection is beyond us, but the statement
implies that (1) if we can't achieve perfection, then we are worms, and that
(2) the writer believes the s/he has the answer to all of life, the
universe, and everything.
That's not a conversation. It's a polemic.
Janet Swan Hill, Professor
Associate Director for Technical Services
University of Colorado Libraries, CB184
Boulder, CO 80309
janet.hill_at_colorado.edu
*****
Tradition is the handing-on of Fire, and not the worship of Ashes.
- Gustav Mahler
Received on Tue Mar 03 2009 - 11:12:14 EST