prudence vs. fortitude (was Re: Why "progressive" tax schemes are evil)

From: kragen@pobox.com
Date: Tue Apr 03 2001 - 12:18:59 PDT


Tom WSMF <tomwhore@inetarena.com> writes:
> cows come lactating home but still...it will be the fortitude of my words
> that will send the prudence of your corrections flying back and forth
> across the net till they fall down to the inevitable force of the whores
> backhand.

I may be right, but damn if your posts aren't way better written.

> --] Prudence is your resistance to foolish action; fortitude is your
> --] resistance to wrongful inaction and your ability to withstand
> --] misfortune.
>
> Fortitude is just about inacation? About passivity of will?

It's about *resisting* the temptation to inaction, depression, and
despair. It's about being being smacked down again and again and
getting up every time. It's about standing up *knowing* you're gonna
get smacked down, standing up just because it's the right thing to do,
because standing up is what someone else needs to do, or because if
you don't stand up now, you won't stand up again.

Chasing shoplifters is fortitude. Figuring they might have a gun and
letting them get away is prudence. Both are virtues, but they often
conflict.

Thus the original point: practicing prudence in use of credit will
keep you out of debt, but practicing fortitude in the use of credit
will get you into debt. Practicing both will get you into debt you
can pay.

> --]Fortitude is the virtue extolled by street gangs, and a powerful
> --]virtue it is.
>
> COme on, this is too easy a set up.

It's not a set-up --- it's just the truth.

> --]See? I was right, you were wrong. You proved it yourself. Accept
> --]your smackdown with fortitude and prudently refrain from defending
> --]your error further.
>
> YA know what i proved? I proved I can make Kragen work at proving hes got
> moral problems with the word Fortitude? Some street gang nightmare of
> brutal force and use of dictonaries as impliments of punishment must be
> frimly planted in your otherwise brillant gray matter such that the mere
> us of the word sends you in apoplectic fits of posting frenzy.

Fortitude is great stuff. I just don't think it's the particular
virtue you meant to recommend the cultivation of in your original
post on using credit wisely.

> Enjoy the matzo Kragen.:)-

Yum! :)



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Apr 29 2001 - 20:25:28 PDT