Is it Truth or is it Fiction?

[Lightning Rod]

Robert Heinlein's wily and perspicacious character, Lazarus Long, said (I'm paraphrasing) "You can gauge the level of freedom in a civilization directly by how many lawyers there are."

Lazarus Long was hundreds of years old, so he knew things like this. He kept traveling further and further into outer space to evade the restrictions of civilization. As communities get larger and older, they become more laminated in their ways. In close and structured societies, protocol takes over. Freedom and creativity give way to comfort and security.

This clear and great truth was first revealed to me from the mouth of a fictional character.

Has any fictional character imparted some great non-fictional truth to you?

[Doreen Peri]

eeyore taught me not to worry too much.

[Zlatko Waterman]

" . . .fail again, fail better . . ."


and

"I can't go on, I'll go on."


--Samuel Beckett's characters



--Z