You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: How (and Why) to Write Satire
I am not sure what I can say about all this as I do not know when I could use satire, but i do know that I have learned more about it. Will I be able to point out when someone is? Not sure.
This here though really stood out to me
Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.
That is bang on!
@foxyspirit,
That is one of my favorite expressions. If you don't know what you're talking about ... don't talk about it!
I have a practice that I devised many years ago, one which is greatly facilitated by Google. Every time I hear something "really salacious" ... something I would just LOVE to quote ... I do two things:
1.) Keep my big mouth shut; and
2.) Go Google the salacious thing ... deliberately searching for "the other side".
It is extremely easy to use "rhetorical devices" to twist something into something it's not, and this is a favorite pastime of ideologues and activists on all sides. Many times, a bit of research reveals that the "salacious thing" is not being accurately represented. That, given a bit of context, it is at least not an absurdity. But, if you've opened your big mouth in support of it, you'll now be inclined to continue to do so in an effort to salvage your reputation. This never ends well.
Indeed, it was as a result of this practice that I became a Centrist, eschewing all political parties. I judge one idea at a time and discard the idea of "party platforms." I will not defend a bad idea in a trade-off for support of a good one.
Quill
I second that!
Research is everything in many fields. Something a lot of people do and something I wish some would do. I am glad you are one of those people ^_^