This showed up on my Facebook feed. Morticia Addams, of course, is the mother on the Addams Family (snap snap).
We should be careful not to confuse the elegance of a phrase with the truth of one. This quote is an especially clear example of elegance without truth, that’s why it floats around Facebook.
The second sentence assumes that there is a normal for the spider, and a normal for the fly. They’re different, but the next question should be, am I a spider or a fly? If you’re a spider, then don’t think that the fly’s normal is your normal. If you’re a fly, don’t think that the spider’s normal is your normal. This doesn’t mean that there is no normal, it means that what is normal is dependent on who you are.
Human beings are not rocks. A rock’s normal is not a human being’s normal. And a human being’s normal is not a rock’s normal. None-the-less, human beings have a normal. What is normal will be broader or narrower depending on the group we’re talking about. What is normal about an African is oftentimes not normal for the American, and what is normal for a hippie is oftentimes not normal for a businessman --“oftentimes”, but not universally. There are still normals that transcend those groups. It is normal for both a hippie and a businessman to like ice cream. If either of them didn’t like ice cream one would say, “that’s weird” (not normal).
I think what I’ve said here should go without saying if the world were a more thoughtful place. What I’ve said is true, clear, and I don’t think can be argued with. The only thing left for Morticia Addams to say is that I’ve misinterpreted her. But everything I’ve said clearly contradicts her first sentence. Normal exists in relation to the categories we’re talking about, but it exists, and it exists in each and every category.
