Stiffs

From the book Stiff: The Curious Lives of American Cadavers, by Mary Roach.

The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship. Most of your time is spent lying on your back. The brain has shut down. The flesh begins to soften. Nothing much new happens, and nothing is expected of you.

That is the opening paragraph to an interesting book by one of our better humorists. Her picture to the left, if you pick up on it too, is of a woman of mischief.

Now substitute any of the following for the word “dead:”

• Democrat
• Republican
• Randian
• Patriotic
• An American journalist
• A news anchor
• A blogger
• An American college student

While I’m at it, here are some of my more memorable passages from notable wits regarding education, the subject of the post above this one:

• Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt. (Clarence Darrow)
• Only in history is stupidity the result of more, not less, schooling. (James Loewen)
• I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education. (Wilson Mizner)
• American college students are like American colleges – each has half-dulled faculties. (James Thurber)
• Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education. (Bertrand Russell)
• The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything at all except how to obey orders. (John Taylor Gatto)
• The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike that those who think differently. (Nietzsche)

Add your own, of course. And remember the rule of foxholes – lighting up makes us targets. Enjoy!