Every once in a while, it’s fun to look somebody in the eye and smugly assert, “I told you so!”
Being right when others are wrong empowers one to be smug, and being smug is a guilty pleasure. Guilty, that is, if you are a decent human being; if you are liberal, it is simply a pleasure to be indulged as often as possible, justified or not.
The problem is, as Cassandra found out, it is a curse to be right when nobody listens to you. There is no pleasure when your warnings aren’t heeded, and serious disasters result. It is infuriating and depressing, not ego-enhancing.
When I read John’s piece on the Oregon governor’s plan to revive Portland, I didn’t experience schadenfreude, smugness, or even a bit of pleasure at being able to say, “I told you so!”
I experienced barely suppressed fury–a rage at the self-satisfied idiots who ruined a fine city after they had been…
