Brevity by Dan Thompson for November 26, 2012

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    SusanSunshine Premium Member almost 12 years ago

    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.

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    SusanSunshine Premium Member almost 12 years ago

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

    What if they’re the kid’s.. or his?

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    Ratbrat  almost 12 years ago

    It’s a Christmas tree dammit!

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    J Short  almost 12 years ago

    Cue Peter Gabriel

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    J Short  almost 12 years ago

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

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    missjunebug  almost 12 years ago

    Thank you for sharing this

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    underwriter  almost 12 years ago

    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.

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    baileydean  almost 12 years ago

    “…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?

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    nwtaylor2000  almost 12 years ago

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

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    Polish Woodsman  almost 12 years ago

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

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    pschearer Premium Member almost 12 years ago

    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.

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    devin.crane  almost 12 years ago

    Ayn too!

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