Here's a Paragraph I Like

This is from Torpedo Juice, a novel by Tim Dorsey.

His character, Serge A. Storm (described as a "lovable serial killer"), has stumbled into a meeting of a 12-step-style support group -- the "Lower Keys Chapter of People Susceptible to Joining Cults" -- whose members have decided that Serge should be their new prophet.

Serge agrees to speak to them and launches into a serial rant about the various ills of the modern world. Each section of this rant contradicts another. He finishes with:

"So now you don't know what to believe," said Serge, "and that's exactly what you should believe. To borrow from Firesign Theater, Everything You Know is Wrong. Because the biggest danger is the people who believe Everything They Know is Right. That's the key to personal growth: identify your firmest, most self-comforting beliefs, then beat the living shit out of them and see if they're still standing. The key to stagnation? Worry about other people's beliefs. There's an invisible war of self-interest between the ends of the spectrum, and we're foot soldiers caught in the crossfire. That's why I'm a moderate, from the extremist wing. Because the middle is where the good people are. It's where hope is. And it's where the truth lies. But what is this truth? For starters, it's don't listen to someone whose only credentials are that he's standing at the front of a room. And that's the truth."

Torpedo Juice is absurdist comedy. It's not meant to be taken too seriously. But sometimes, in silliness we find bits of wisdom.