Every time I say "by and large", I remember that the expression, which is generally understood to mean "generally" -- see what I did there -- is of nautical origin. The UK's Royal Navy created many figures of speech we use today in entirely different contexts.
"By" means "sailing close to against the wind", and "large" means "sailing with the wind behind us".
A ship that sailed well "by and large", was a ship that could do okay regardless of which way the wind was blowing.
i.e.: "Generally".
Humans are, by and large, awful, and I don't think we're really gonna work out in the long run.
But language.
Human language is such a glorious thing, it almost redeems us as a species.
@GeePawHill A gentle counterpoint to "humans are, by and large, awful".
Economists like to assume we are " homo economicus", completely rational and narrowly self interested. But I see examples of community and generosity all the time.
The person coming out of the foodbank who stops to give food to the panhandler.
The child eager to help.
The artists who pours their soul into their work, for no monetary reward.
Neighbours who come together in disaster - tornado, fire, flood. To evacuate. To feed. To comfort.
The fact that what pushes most people to leave a job isn't the pay. It's the horrible boss.
We live in community. Capitalists try to make us forget this. To numb us with screens. Isolate us in cars. To create categories of humans to hate. But even in the darkest points, the beauty of humanity, and of community, continues to shine through the cracks.
GeePawHill
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