Ideals Are More Equal
Ideals take over like a virus in
Some minds. Disease of thought requires the pills
Of fact-based rationality. The sin
Of thinking based on higher thought makes ills
In cultures and philosophy. The French
Left wing refused to dally with the thought
That Stalinism mated with the stench
Of cruelty and slaughter. History ought,
Ideally, not make such evil. That’s
Against the grain of Marx’s noble scheme—
So, Stalinism was no more than gnats.
French leftists remained loyal to the team.
Remain forever plighted to Ideals!
Don’t bother with a hundred million squeals.
Ain’t this the truth. And it’s not just the French Left. “Mistakes were made” and “you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs” also comes to mind.
Thanks for your spot on comment, Ken. Yes, unfortunately it’s a sort of universal truth. “If anything can go wrong, it will,” was originally a “law” about how things work in a lab experiment, but, hey, the clause’s universality became apparent very quickly.