Oh my dear, idealists are the cruelest monsters of them all.

Oh my dear, idealists are the cruelest monsters of them all.

In these fast and fickle times, it’s nice to know that there are some things you can always count on: the enduring brilliance of the last page of The Great Gatsby; the near-religious harmonies of the Beach Boys’ “California Girls”; and the lifelong friendship of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

No one I know actually reads what I write, so thank heavens for you strangers.

However, displayed right alongside all the Confederate flag paraphernalia is a bunch of American flag merch – American flag place mats, patriotic “body crystals,” flag stickers you attach to your skin. Personally, I’m small-minded and literal enough that I see the two symbols as contradictory, especially in a time of war. But I fear that the consumer who buys a Confederate flag coffee cup, which she will then put on her American flag place mat, is the sort of sophisticated thinker who is open-minded enough that she is capable of hating blacks and Arabs at the same time.

I'm a big fan of editing and keeping only the interesting bits in.

You know you've reached a new plateau of group mediocrity when even a Canadian is alarmed by your lack of individuality.