P.J. O'Rourke Quote
Fretting makes us important. Say you're an adult male and you're skipping down the street whistling Last Train to Clarksville. People will call you a fool. But lean over to the person next to you on a subway and say, How can you smile when innocents are dying in Tibet? You'll acquire a reputation for great seriousness and also more room to sit down....Being gloomy is easier than being cheerful. Anybody can say I've got cancer and get a rise out of a crowd. But how many of us can do five minutes of good stand-up comedy?
P.J. O'Rourke
Fretting makes us important. Say you're an adult male and you're skipping down the street whistling Last Train to Clarksville. People will call you a fool. But lean over to the person next to you on a subway and say, How can you smile when innocents are dying in Tibet? You'll acquire a reputation for great seriousness and also more room to sit down....Being gloomy is easier than being cheerful. Anybody can say I've got cancer and get a rise out of a crowd. But how many of us can do five minutes of good stand-up comedy?
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About P.J. O'Rourke
After beginning his career writing for the National Lampoon, O'Rourke went on to serve as foreign affairs desk chief for Rolling Stone where he reported from far-flung places. Later he wrote for a number of publications, including The Atlantic, the Daily Beast, the Wall Street Journal, and the Weekly Standard, and was a longtime panelist on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!.
The Forbes Media Guide Five Hundred, 1994 states, "O'Rourke's original reporting, irreverent humor, and crackerjack writing makes for delectable reading. He never minces words or pulls his punches, whatever the subject."