Got launched off the side of a boat near Tokyo in January. Wasn’t very buoyant due to heavy winter clothing and the cold water was… something else. Felt like I was sinking down forever. When I did resurface, it took a long time for them to rig up a ladder for me to climb aboard the adjacent ship.
To an extent, you can make an argument for each individually. But they don’t mix. After a while, you’d be a walking contradiction. For a fun *exercise, try to imagine the opposite.
You don’t even have to leave the realm of music. “A flautist that doesn’t write their own symphonies? Gasp, what a hack!”
A kid in my class put his arm inside a… I don’t remember if it was a lion or tiger cage back on the 70s before safety was a thing. Being armless isn’t the end, but I bet he regretted that decision.
I’d advise using an African Swallow.
I’m pretty musically ignorant, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was Chicago.
Given up? I don’t know. I’ve been appalled pretty much non-stop since 2000, though. When we were taught history, the X’ers learned that the pendulum always swings back the other way. And when you looked back, the notion always kind of held water. But, draw a line from Nixon through Reagan, the Bushes, to Trump, and the conclusions you’ll draw are pretty grim.
There was an influential statement that was true in 1990 that was haunting, though: “The only presidential democracy with [more than 41 years] of constitutional continuity is the United States.” (I think there are around 5 others now between 40 and 70-something years old now.) Despite having a long run, this system isn’t particularly sturdy.
We’ll see, I guess.