“Misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “The Sorrows of Young Werther,” 1774
In any case, recent dealings with family have proven this statement true. I hate it when a quote just nails one’s feelings like that. Also because now I have to go read the whole bloody story about the sorrows of young Werther. But who ever went wrong reading a little Goethe?
Also this is a plug for Project Gutenberg. If you want to get your hands on some out-of-copyright texts, this is a great source. And it’s doubly cool when you can find an audio book of the same text and read along while listening. It’s multimedia baby!