I think it was Megan McArdle, back in her early days of blogging, who formulated a law of politics: devotees of the party in power are smug and arrogant while devotees of the party out of power are insane. I don’t think that is true any longer if it ever was. I think both parties are insane.
A feature of the novel Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï by Pierre Boulle that is largely absent from the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai is that each of the major characters has a sort of catchphrase, a leitmotif. For Colonel Saito, the prison camp commander, it is “Be happy in your work.” For Major Warden, the leader of the commando team sent to destroy the bridge, it is “There’s always something left to do.”
IIRC the doctor, Major Clipton, is the narrator of the novel. His catchphrase is “It’s all madness”. I feel like Major Clipton.
The takeaway that I need in my life today is “There’s always something left to do.†That helps, starting to feel down.
“I’ve been mad for fucking years
Absolutely years, been over the edge for yonks
Been working me buns off for bands
I’ve always been mad, I know I’ve been mad
Like the most of us have
Very hard to explain why you’re mad
Even if you’re not mad”
5 points for knowing the reference. Don’t cheat. No internet searches.