Brevity by Dan Thompson for November 26, 2012

Ha, Dogsniff…. my turn.It’s a very sentimental children’s book by Shel Silverstein…One with an ending I’m not crazy about…. So the father either found it very moving and inspirational, as most do….or tragically sad, as I do.

BTW I didn’t know you were an indiscriminate sock sniffer….

What if they’re the kid’s.. or his?

It’s a Christmas tree dammit!

Cue Peter Gabriel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDMNCCQwRao

Thank you for sharing this

This is certainly the best antidote I’ve ever seen to the ending of The Giving Tree, which I also have always hated. But I still am uncomfortable about giving this book to kids. Darned few adults are mature enough to see this in proportion as Jackson does. I just don’t think kids can deal with this.

“…The more you blame the tree, the more you have to fault the very idea of parenting. Should the tree’s giving be contingent on the boy’s gratitude? If it were, if fathers and mothers waited on reciprocity before caring for their young, then we would all be doomed.?”

-Who the frig’ blames the TREE? Hmmmm?Who? You?

Even my very unsentimental son tears up when he thinks about the giving tree. It’s a wonderful book!

I think we can all agree that it is an ending that makes us think.

I think the book is a disgusting piece of propaganda on behalf of self-sacrifice. The altruist morality doesn’t mean kindness or charity; it means surrendering everything of value until you no longer exist. If you want to see how it works in action, just consider Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, WWII Japan, Communist China, and jihadist everywhere. The opposite morality of egoism was the foundation of America’s values: your right to your life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Ayn too!