Burn-in

Nobody asked but …

Burn-out is a well-known problem.  It happens when reason is overheated by passion, but further when that ardor generates friction.  Like a meteor entering an atmosphere, our enthusiasm begins to consume itself.  There is a cost, paid in self-destruction, when one meets ignorance and apathy on every path, anger and aggression on every reach.  But what remains?  Burn-in then becomes the problem.  Is the remnant a diamond of principle or an agglomeration of process.  The idealist becomes a politician, no longer pushing boundaries but constantly perverting toward what is acceptable.  Principles become first practices, then obstructions.  They become non-negotiable.  Review the history of the human species.  People die when burned-in notions freeze the possibilities.

Kilgore Forelle