Teaching the Coddled Mind
Providing a platform for fools to speak, even in our venomous political climate, is essential to revealing their foolishness.
As a kid, I loved watching NBC’s Seinfeld–in fact, I still do. But no episode made me laugh more than the 116th, “The Soup Nazi,” which aired in 1995 during the show’s seventh season, when I was in middle school.
In one scene, George (played by Jason Alexander) is trying his best to follow a bizarre, authoritarian ordering system at a popular new soup kitchen, run by someone with a thick accent who appears to be an immigrant. When George doesn’t receive complimentary bread, he politely asks for some. This ignites the wrath of the titular Soup Nazi, who, after George demurs at an extra charge for his request, snaps his fingers. In one fell swoop, the cashier grabs George’s order and returns his money.
“No soup for you,” the Soup Nazi says, as George stands dumbfounded, while his friend Jerry urges him to leave, lest he ruin things for him as well.
