Parents teach you how to live.
And Pragmatists teach you how to live in the world.
Prudes teach you how to live in the world of the past.
And Prophets teach you how to live in the world
of the future.
But Philosophers teach you how to die.
Parents care about your dreams.
And Partners want you to care about their dreams.
Preachers and Poets want you to dream their dreams.
And Pessimists want you to dream their nightmares.
But Philosophers just want you to wake-the-fuck-up!
Parents prepare you for the life they didn’t have.
And Preachers prepare you for the life you ought to have.
Pessimists prepare you for the life they’ve had.
And Pragmatists prepare you for the life
you’re likely to have.
But Philosophers prepare you for the death
you’re sure to have.
—John Faithful Hamer, Blue Notes (2016)