It's a wonderful phrase that
The late Australian political philosopher
Ken Minogue, came up with
He identified a certain type of person who is keen
On the revolutionary attitude
Keen to be at the barricades
He called it St. George in Retirement Syndrome
St. George, after slaying the dragon
And getting all the acclaim for slaying a dragon
Might, might be tempted to – to go round the land
Finding more dragons, more dragons to slay
And there being a deficit of dragons in the land
Might end up, swinging his sword at smaller, and smaller beasts
Until, eventually, he might be found swinging his sword into thin air
Well, I don't say that there's no dragon like thing left to slay in our society
I don't say that everything is perfect, but
There is a lot in that, in the
Febrile, furious atmosphere of our times
When things have never been better
The late Australian political philosopher
Ken Minogue, came up with
He identified a certain type of person who is keen
On the revolutionary attitude
Keen to be at the barricades
He called it St. George in Retirement Syndrome
St. George, after slaying the dragon
And getting all the acclaim for slaying a dragon
Might, might be tempted to – to go round the land
Finding more dragons, more dragons to slay
And there being a deficit of dragons in the land
Might end up, swinging his sword at smaller, and smaller beasts
Until, eventually, he might be found swinging his sword into thin air
Well, I don't say that there's no dragon like thing left to slay in our society
I don't say that everything is perfect, but
There is a lot in that, in the
Febrile, furious atmosphere of our times
When things have never been better
People say things like
I do this in a kind of self-deprecating way
Well, I've been lucky in this that
And you know, very well though, a lot of life is luck
But then a lot of it is, and it's underplayed
You also work hard
I realized some time ago that because I'm born in Britain
I have that natural tendency to like underplay, “So I'm just lucky and that”
And somebody said to me you shouldn't do that, you do work very hard
And I thought, yes, but saying, “Well, I've been lucky in that” is a nice way to say to other people
“Oh, I haven't really had an input, and you don't need particularly either”
It's a flattering thing to say to somebody else
Which ignores a wonderful phrase of Branch Rickey I came across
[Pre-Chorus]
Luck is the residue of design
Luck is the residue of design
Luck is the residue of design
I do this in a kind of self-deprecating way
Well, I've been lucky in this that
And you know, very well though, a lot of life is luck
But then a lot of it is, and it's underplayed
You also work hard
I realized some time ago that because I'm born in Britain
I have that natural tendency to like underplay, “So I'm just lucky and that”
And somebody said to me you shouldn't do that, you do work very hard
And I thought, yes, but saying, “Well, I've been lucky in that” is a nice way to say to other people
“Oh, I haven't really had an input, and you don't need particularly either”
It's a flattering thing to say to somebody else
Which ignores a wonderful phrase of Branch Rickey I came across
[Pre-Chorus]
Luck is the residue of design
Luck is the residue of design
Luck is the residue of design
I only desire the approval of a relatively small number of people who I respect
If they said to me, “I think you're totally wrong on this, Douglas.”, then I'd listen
But when it's people who don't want me to do well, then of course I don't listen to them
It's one of the tools we all have to hone in our lives, to work out who wants us to do well
Who wishes us well, and to listen to them, even if they're critical of us, and they will be at times
And to separate out those people from the people who just, of course they don't want you to do well
They hate you, they hate everything about you, and whatever
But I don't have much sympathy with public figures who say, I can't say what I think, I can't speak up, and all this sort of thing
If you're not going to now, when are you going to?
If you're not going to in this life, what life are you expecting to come where you'll do it
If they said to me, “I think you're totally wrong on this, Douglas.”, then I'd listen
But when it's people who don't want me to do well, then of course I don't listen to them
It's one of the tools we all have to hone in our lives, to work out who wants us to do well
Who wishes us well, and to listen to them, even if they're critical of us, and they will be at times
And to separate out those people from the people who just, of course they don't want you to do well
They hate you, they hate everything about you, and whatever
But I don't have much sympathy with public figures who say, I can't say what I think, I can't speak up, and all this sort of thing
If you're not going to now, when are you going to?
If you're not going to in this life, what life are you expecting to come where you'll do it