There are two quotes from the writings of Umberto Eco that, when taken together, strike me as being particularly relevant to the actions and the psyche of someone you may recognize:

“[L]earning does not consist only of knowing what we must or we can do, but also of knowing what we could do and perhaps should not do.”

– Umberto Eco, “The Name of the Rose”

. . . and . . .

“I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.”

– Umberto Eco, “Foucault’s Pendulum”

What do you suppose Umberto Eco would have said about a man who, having lived nearly 80 years, has learned nothing about right or wrong, cares nothing about learning, and whose “mad attempt” at interpreting the world has been designed and carried out through the narrow lens of his own totally selfish interests?

Or what happens when such an individual holds a seat of absolute power?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/30/26