Sunday, July 13, 2008

You Gotta Know When To Fold 'Em


I have always been astonished by the stubborn refusal of some people to recognize when the time has come to gracefully step back. Whether it's Ehud Olmert's desperate attempt to hold on to power, Hillary Clinton's refusal to concede the Democratic nomination, or my own son's insistence on continuing an argument with his sister until she's nearly in tears, I am always seized by the overwhelming desire to shout "Give it up already!" Why are some people so possessed by the need to prove that they are right, even in the face of what is clearly a lost cause? I would rather swallow my pride, admit defeat, and hopefully preserve a bit of dignity.


I think that I will send our buddy the Prime Minister a little present. Maybe this book can teach him to stop being such a big baby and take responsibility for his actions. The jig is up, Ehud. Time to take it like a man.

4 comments:

Baila said...

I always tell my kids, "We take responsibility for our actions, even if that is difficult". The situation with Olmert is ridiculous.

Jacob Da Jew said...

I agree. Thats precisely why I left my current job.

You gotta know to fold em.

Anonymous said...

I was actually thinking of a different children's book for Ehud O. to read: Dr. Seuss' classic "Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now". As all Seussophiles well know, "Marvin K. Mooney" is a metaphor for Richard M. Nixon. (Repeat after me: "You can go by foot, you can go by cow; Ehud Olmert will you please go now?!!")

therapydoc said...

Looks like a great book.
There are a couple of reasons people don't back down. One is that we live in a world that values winning, so if you're right, you win!

The other is not knowing that when you win, you lose. You lose because nobody likes losing, so the loser resents you, and if people resent you, you lose.

I keep meaning to post that.

Then there are all the yucky personality things that enter into a person's inability to either (a) let go of the control or (b) cope with the psychological stress of feeling one-down. Those get more complicated.

In the end, it's the empathy that enables us to say, Yeah, you're right.