The other night I was reading Sophocles’ Antigone. Once again I was reminded why classics written thousands of years ago remain important … they contain universal truths! Consider this chorus delivered toward the end of the play:
Reflect on these things, son. All men can make mistakes; but, once mistaken, a man is no longer stupid nor accursed who, having fallen on ill, tries to cure that ill, not taking a narrow, undeviating stand. It is obstinacy that convicts of folly. Yield to the dead man … do not stab him-now he is gone-what bravery is this, to inflict another death upon the dead?
Said differently, I recall a line from an old Viet Nam protest song:
Knee-deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool said to push on …
At the least, this federal administration is guilty of intellectual laziness … at the least!
Paul Moroney
Oak Park
