Abnormal, adj. Not conforming to standard. In matters of thought and conduct, to be independent is to be abnormal, to be abnormal is to be detested.
Interpretation
Being independent in thought and behavior often leads to being viewed as abnormal and may result in criticism from others.
This quote by Ambrose Bierce highlights the tension between societal norms and individual independence. It suggests that to think differently and act according to one's own beliefs can lead to a sense of alienation or disdain from society, which tends to uphold conformity and standardization. The term 'abnormal' is framed in a negative light, emphasizing the challenge faced by those who dare to deviate from the expected path, and raises a reflection on the value of independence in a world that often penalizes it.
In practice
In a motivational speech about creativity and innovation.
PALM, n. A species of tree . . . of which the familiar "itching palm" ("Palma hominis") is most widely distributed . . . . This noble vegetable exudes a kind of invisible gum, which may be detected by applying to the bark a piece of gold or silver.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
Indigestion: A disease which the patient and his friends frequently mistake for deep religious conviction and concern for the salvation of mankind. As the simple Red Man of the Western Wild put it, with, it must be confessed, a certain force: 'Plenty well, no pray; big belly ache, heap God.'
Disobey n:To celebrate with an appropriate ceremony the maturity of a command
NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning - which is a phenomenon.
PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
Everything we care about lies somewhere in the middle, where pattern and randomness interlace.
We are still conditioning people in this country and, indeed, all over the globe to the myth of white superiority. We are constantly being told that we don't have racism in this country anymore, but most of the people who are saying that are white. White people think it isn't happening because it isn't happening to them.
The body is the instrument of our hold on the world.
Suddenly, as rare things will, it vanished.
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.
The tears of the world are a constant quality. For each one who begins to weep, somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.
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