http://home.clara.net/andywrobertson/wolfemountains.html
...
As a child I had been taught a code of conduct: I was to be courteous and
considerate, and most courteous and most considerate of those less strong than I
-- of girls and women, and of old people especially. Less educated men might hold
nferior positions, but that did not mean that they themselves were inferior; they
might be (and often would be) wiser, braver, and more honest than I was. They
were entitled to respect, and were to be thanked when they befriended me, even in
minor matters. Legitimate authority was to be obeyed without shirking and without
question. Mere strength (the corrupt coercion Washington calls power and Chicago
clout) was to be defied. It might be better to be a slave than to die, but it was
better to die than to be a slave who acquiesced in his own slavery. Above all, I was
to be honest with everyone. Debts were to be paid, and my word was to be as good
as I could make it.

With that preparation I entered the Mills of Mordor, where courtesy is weakness,
honesty is foolishness, and cruelty is entertainment.
...
[permalink][comment] - posted by Mez @ 1/11/2003 01:41:00 am