February 24, 2005

Hunter S. Thompson vs. the Pope

You'll note that, especially among his fans, there wasn't a lot of sadness over Thompson shooting himself. The unspoken attitude seemed to be that we could now fondly remember his brief era of brilliance without having him around in the flesh to remind us of the embarrassing and interminable second half of his life.

In contrast, the Pope refuses to go into a seemly retirement where his physical pain and decrepitude would be hidden away so as not to disturb our peace of mind. According to an impressive Newsweek article, his attitude is: Suffering is part of life. I'm dealing with it, and it won't kill you to learn to deal with watching other people's inevitable suffering either.

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