WOW! It is a far, far better thing that I tweet...

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known." -- Charles Dickens

A great article in the Atlantic Monthly -- a magazine founded by a lot of folks influenced by Unitarians and who influenced Unitarians (there's a lot of historical Unitarian Adoptions) but I digress --

in the Article Megan McArdle writes:

"Had I seen the quote on Facebook, rather than Twitter, I might have guessed at the truth. On the other hand, had I seen it on Facebook, I might not have realized it was fake, because it was appended to a long string of genuine speech from MLK Jr. Here's the quote as most people on Facebook saw it:

'I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.'"

link to the Article "Anatomy of a Fake Quotation" in the Atlantic by Megan McArdle- on the web...

The "Anatomy of a Fake Quotation" caught my eye because it's got both a reference to Penn Jillette in it and to a Penn State grad too... The Pen is mightier than the tweet...

In the original post that started the whole twitter tweeting or web a twittering, Ms. Jessica Dovey a Penn State Student writes...

I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." MLK Jr.

I like how it came down to the dropping of a period and a quote via cut, paste and meme prior to being tweeted... Wow.

As Megan McArdle points out, Ms. Dovey had the first part: "I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." and

Martin Luther King had the rest...

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

Of course keeping this in mind and living by it while others are desperately and relentlessly attempting to kill you is the hard part of the lesson...

"forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"...

This reminds me of previous articles and discussions about quotes attributed to Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln that were actually quotes that can be traced back to others -- notably Unitarian Minister Theodore Parker.

Although these historical figures did not Facebook, Twitter or blog; the art of sampling and repurposing was and is alive and well.

And yes Charles Dickens consorted with Unitarians too... don't ya know...