My friend Dave sent me a hysterical Onion article titled Failure Now An Option. I hate the phrase "failure is not an option" – of course it is. Some choice quotes:
- "As failure continues to dominate the American landscape, this mantra must be overruled"
- "We have no choice but to revoke failure’s non-optional status, effective immediately,"
- "Now all citizens … will [be able to say] Fuck that – this isn’t worth it."
- "The only difference is that now Americans can choose, without fear of being ostracized by society, to quit long before getting ahead."
And some data.
"Other data seem to confirm the Interior Department’s findings. A recent CBS News/New York Times poll revealed that 64 percent of Americans are "perfectly comfortable" with coming up just short, 43 percent are content to try only once rather than try, try again, and an overwhelming 95 percent admitted that after falling down, they now prefer to stay down. Only 4 percent indicated having "some interest" in applying their balls to the wall."
While this is typical Onion satire, the brilliance of it is its underlying relevance.