Relatively speaking

I don't know who came up with this, but a friend once told me about a curious custom. After reading a fortune cookie, say the words "in bed" and see how the wisdom becomes funny (and sometimes risque). For example: "A pleasant surprise is waiting for you...in bed." or "Your success will astonish everyone...in bed." It's gotten to the point where every fortune cookie fortune I read, I mentally add an "in bed" even if I don't say it, just to find out what it would have said.

I've come to notice that there's a similar trick used by many people today, which they confuse for being smart. That is, they either mentally, or often verbally add the words "for you" to everything anybody says. Things like "abortion kills an innocent human life...for you" or "religious liberty is a fundamental right...for you." Sadly, they don't even see, probably by becoming accustomed to hearing it over and over, how logically self contradictory it is.

Posted in: logic