5.14.206 – error thinking that

error thinking that
those who cause great tragedies
share in the feelings

There is no error more common than that of thinking that those who are the causes or occasions of great tragedies share in the feelings suitable to the tragic mood: no error more fatal than expecting it of them.

From De Profundis, by Oscar Wilde (Methuen & Co.: London, 1913).

President Donald Trump has said that Americans’ economic pain is not his concern when it comes to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran.

When asked at the White House on Tuesday if Americans’ financial situations were motivating him to strike a deal with Iran, Trump said, “Not even a little bit.” (Time Magazine, May 13, 2026).

Mr. Wilde closes his essay with this:

All trials are trials for one’s life, just as all sentences are sentences of death;

And so, here we are.