Some bits of wisdom cause me to grind my teeth. And I’ve heard one example many times in the last week:
“You can’t be too cautious.”
Well, of course you can. You can be silly and fearful and panicky and counterproductive — all in the name of caution. And Ebola has sparked a contagion of such cuckoo cautiousness.
I’ll give you other examples of wisdom that’s just wrong, but first let’s try to get a grip on this Ebola threat.
Surely you have heard it before, but here’s the essential fact to know: You can only catch Ebola from direct contact with the bodily fluids of someone actively sick with the virus.
You cannot catch it by attending the same school as the cousin of the brother of the pilot of that Frontier Airlines plane. You can’t catch it by keeping a doctor’s appointment across the street from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.
You can’t catch it by flying into Dallas for the Cowboys game on Sunday. Or eating in a restaurant on Walnut Hill Lane. Or sitting near someone with an accent that might be African.
So, please people, quit being silly and excusing it as “an abundance of caution.”
And while we’re at it, stop saying you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Of course, you can. People do it every day. Book publishers spend a fortune designing book covers to attract attention and favorable judgment.
Is it possible that wonderful books can be found behind ugly covers? Of course. Wonderful books that won’t get read.
So let’s quit pretending that appearances don’t matter. It may be what’s on the inside that counts, but what’s on the outside matters first.
How about this one? “There’s no such thing as a dumb question.” Of course there is. Have you never watched a news conference?
If you ask the same question as the guy two minutes ago, that’s dumb. If you ask something so far off topic that the room groans, that’s a dumb question.
Good questions require a moment of thought beforehand. I was at the orientation session of a Mexican beach resort, and a woman raised her hand to ask if everything would be closed July 4.
Yes, there are dumb questions.
And what about this familiar refrain? “If it helps just one person, it’s worth it.”
Well, maybe, if it wasn’t much effort. But let’s not pretend that all causes are equally worthy.
It may help one person, but it’s not worth it if the same effort could have helped 100 or 1,000. Priorities are important.
Please don’t send me to an emergency room where a splinter in the finger gets equal attention as a bleeding head wound.
If it helps one person, it’s probably time to look for a more worthwhile endeavor.
And please, let’s not tell another child: “You can be anything you want to be!”
What a dastardly lie that is. Kids end up believing they failed only for lack of will and determination.
Instead, let’s try: “You can be anything you have the skill and interest to become!”
I know it doesn’t have the same soaring ring. But it does have the ring of truth going for it.
Oh, and one more teeth grinder, though not exactly in the category of wisdom: Bill Dickason, let’s face it, you are not going to give me a new Kia.
We’ve heard the claim in a thousand TV ads: “If I can’t beat a new Kia deal in Texas, I’m just gonna give it to ya!”
Let’s think about that. If he’s going to lose a little money on a deal, he will just lose all the money on the deal?
Somehow I don’t think so. But when it comes to car dealers, you can’t be too cautious.
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