Sunday, July 1, 2012

A Dedicated Life Of Knowledge

I used to feel so contemptuous toward people who suck at writing (admittedly, I still do from time to time). I would always feel like, writing isn't that hard, nor is grammar or spelling. How can you not know that 'descend' has a 'c' in it because it is the de- form of 'ascend' (as though that makes any logical sense whatsoever)?

Ironically, the reason I thought that was that I did not respect or appreciate what I have done with my own life: I have dedicated it to the written word, to communication, to storytelling, to etymology and linguistics. It is my interest, my passion, my joy. And I have gotten the most joy by absorbing as much information as I can about it.

If a person has not dedicated their lives to this knowledge, then I do not expect them to have as much as me. And if that is the case, then I have no reason to be angry at them or treat them as lesser beings; they have simply allocated their time and energy to different pursuits (which is why I expect to be treated like a human being when I am talking about subjects where I am the ignorant one).

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