Damn, when don’t I? Being caught up in the moment is a great distraction for shooting yourself in the foot. Take for example one of my earliest blunders, not an intellectual one but never the less a blunder. I was 15 years old, and lost in translation. I was invited to eat at a lovely young ladies house so that I could meet the family, yes I kind-off had a thing for her. So everything is going great, trying to get my ethos on, I had on my lucky socks, favorite jeans and an ironed buttoned down shirt, and a splash of Old Spice. Pretty snazzy.
So we’re eating dinner and everything is going great. Her dad and I found some common interests. I flirted a little with her mom and yes everything was going good. I was on a roll before the unthinkable occurred, I dropped the ball, I really dropped the ball. We’re at the dinner table just talking after we finished eating, and the dad says to me “So, how was the food, would you like some more?” I replied “No thank you I’m famished”. WHAT!?!? FAMISHED!?!? Are you kidding me? So the mom is giggling and the dad looks to me and says “Is it the good kind or the bad?” I didn’t figure it out until I got home later that night. In every sense of the word I made an ass out of myself. What was I thinking, couldn’t I just say stuffed like a normal teenager. Even till today those seven minutes of my life haunt me.
Mom, dad, her everyone was convinced I was an idiot. What business did I have using a word which was not and still to this day isn’t in my vocabulary? Was I trying to impress them by using a big word, maybe? In regards to a culture that is either unfamiliar or not in good standings with western culture, this incident might have cost me internal shame as an outcast. Or maybe even a war between tribe or nations. But not in the good old USA, no sir they just forget about you as if you were another notch under the belt. As a politician, maybe I wouldn’t get off that easily, but I’m not hurray for me. Looking back at that particular point in time helps remind me that just being myself in the truest form is the best me I can offer anyone, talk if you know shut up and listen if you don’t.
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You are right, our politicians never get off that easily. In fact, they are made famous for making blunders. When George W. Bush was in office they made daily calendars of his famous blunders. Now we have Bidenisms. No one gets away free!
ReplyDeleteThat said, I wonder what these blunders mean on an international level? Can you think of a situation where information led us to believe one thing, but it turned out there was a misunderstanding? And, this misunderstanding had many consequences we didn't anticipate?