The Key to the Absolute
It is said you can get too much of a good thing. The maxim has been twisted for irony into “you can never get enough of a good thing.” The parody exposes the unstated middle term. What is enough? Or, better expressed, how much is enough? There is a related proverb (possibly apocryphal), attributed to Native American Indians, that “too much is enough.” It is ironic in that it tricks such a questioner into a circular argument—petitio principii.
There is a saying in Las Vegas, where it is said, "Know your limit." It should be a matter of common sense, but going too far is irresistible. Play seems to engage the pleasure center of the brain. Losing your bankroll should be the limit, but what about actually winning? Why stop—when you're winning. It's not just Las Vegas, or even gambling in general, but a human predilection.
A young professional is on the crest of his career, a salaried executive at a going concern. The deadlines are tight, and failure is not an option, as they say in the military. The job stress is high. To complicate the matter, the young professional is in the same line of work as his father. He's proud of his compensation, professional standing, and protective of his advantage.
Family demands are not a factor, with their regulating effect, and his social life hasn't modified much since college. Saturday nights are spent carousing. On one such night—having had one too many drinks—he feels overwhelmed by his workload. In vino veritas—whether it is an accurate self-assessment or not—he feels unequal to the demand. Feeling it's time to go home—he takes a detour via the office.
There is no unauthorized overtime in his salaried position. In a crunch it may become necessary to work after-hours and weekends. He, and his professional associates, are provided a key to the office—but not the code to disarm the after-hours alarm. It will be disarmed for them if necessary. The alarm panel has a 60 second latency—to give the entrant time to key-in the code.
Keeping in mind that unauthorized entrance is never allowed, the door, once opened, precludes the option of simply turning back. The alarm watch service is notified. First, a telephone call is made by the alarm company to the client's office. Then, a mobile investigator is dispatched to the location. If the matter calls for it, the police are notified. False alarms are common. Over-reacting is to be avoided.
When the mobile investigator arrives he finds the young professional man passed-out on the floor—inebriated. The investigator, obviously, doesn't know who he is—or for what reason he is in the office in the early hours of a Sunday morning. The young professional man, when revived, cannot give a plausible explanation. He simply doesn't know.
The following Monday the company owner, now informed, perceives in the employee's actions an excess of dedication to his job. If not deserving of a little something extra in his next paycheck, neither did it deserve stern rebuke. He is a capital fellow! The embarrassed individual clearly gives good reason to need, and seek, counseling—not limited to abuse of alcohol. He is excused, but by work week's end everyone in the office knows of the escapade.
The saying (apocryphally Russian), that when you cannot turn back—you are lost, comes to mind in this context. Otherwise just a ho-hum circular argument, by attributing it to Russia, it gains piquancy. The Russian nation has endured a history of repression with courage, but the expansion of the Soviet Union in the 20th Century—and its subsequent collapse—gives the lie to the wisdom of the proverb. Know your limit.
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