A retired Mafia boss recounted that when he was a young boy, his Mafioso father made him climb a wall and then invited him to jump, promising to catch him. He at first refused, but his father insisted until finally he jumped — and promptly landed flat on his face. The wisdom his father sought to convey was summed up by these words: "You must learn to distrust even your parents."
-Francis Fukuyama on social capital (and lack thereof) in Southern Italy.
I have embraced "trust no one" with gusto on my Europe trip. No matter how friendly someone appears to be, I know that what they’re really after is my passport, and the moment I see their hand move toward my pant pocket is the moment I either run or I end their existence (probably the former).
Wow, what a great way to insult several hundred million people.
K:
It was a joke!
In a New York Times article from earlier this month, an American soldier in Ramadi says the policy that they have adopted is: “Be Polite, Be Curious, and have a plan to kill everyone you meet.”