Chapter 6 Pulitzer: Stories from a Hundred Years Ago

When it comes to journalism, there is probably no one who does not know Pulitzer.When I think of the Pulitzer story, I always have mixed feelings about journalism. one Pulitzer is a typical journalist, or a born risk taker.Many venture capitalists have his character.I believe that such people are different from ordinary people in terms of spiritual structure.They are born with an extraordinary desire for adventure and an extraordinary pursuit of a strange life.The same is true of Pulitzer. He was like a moth since he was a child, longing to pounce on a blazing light. Even if he knew that the light was a ball of fire, and it would burn instantly if he bumped into it, he would definitely hit it. .

This is not a literary metaphor. This is the choice that Pulitzer made when he appeared in life.Although adolescents will more or less have similar impulses, the so-called "do something" no matter what they do.So, as an aside, this is also the criterion for judging whether a politician is decent: a decent politician is determined to always speak to adults.Unscrupulous politicians often start with teenage children when they incite the masses.Pulitzer was born in Hungary in 1847, he and normal adolescent children It was different, the young Pulitzer was independent early on.And as soon as he became independent, he was stubbornly looking for a battlefield full of artillery fire.As for why this battle was fought and who it was fighting, he didn't care at all.

Therefore, Pulitzer first asked to join the Austrian army, then asked to join the French army that was about to go to the Mexican battlefield, and then crossed the sea and asked to join the British army in order to go to the British colony of India.However, these troops all rejected this "cannon fodder" who came to their door one by one-he was too unlikely to be a soldier.The young Pulitzer was 1.9 meters tall, but as thin as a bamboo pole, he was still nearsighted. Finally arrived in 1863, which coincided with the most embarrassing moment of the American Civil War.The scale of the war, the casualties and the procrastination time far exceeded President Lincoln’s expectations and what the people could endure. The volunteer recruitment that the Union Army had always adopted was no longer feasible, and the initial drafting of recruits caused a riot in New York. .So the federal government turned to Europe to recruit mercenaries at high prices.A group of second-hand dealers looking for mercenaries came into being, attracted by the profits.Immediately they pounced on Europe, scurrying through the streets and alleys, hunting anyone willing to set foot on distant American battlefields. At the end of 1864, an American soldier dealer and seventeen-year-old Pulitzer met, and they hit it off.

The clever Pulitzer figured out the ins and outs during the journey.When approaching the United States, he jumped into the icy sea and rushed to New York before the arms dealers to collect the considerable mercenary fees.Fortunately, this nearly crazy boy did not die in this war that had nothing to do with him.In less than a year, the war ended, and finding a job in this completely unfamiliar new continent became Pulitzer's top priority.What a coincidence, Pulitzer, unwilling to be mediocre, met the press.He first entered the German-language expatriate newspaper, and gradually transferred to the English-language newspaper as his English improved.It was a godsend, the most exciting occupation he could find in peacetime.

In America at that time, the press was another battleground that was full of Pulitzer personalities.They want to find the most exciting and sensational news in the fierce competition - this is not only driven by commercial interests and newspaper sales, but also because this is the professional attribute of this industry itself. Reporters are spying on and robbing news one by one like detectives. The level of editor-in-chiefs of major newspapers is revealed every day with the publication of newspapers. The news circle naturally gathers a group of mainstays.Pulitzer started as a front-line reporter.He works sixteen hours a day and is a workaholic who can't hold back.

Pulitzer joined the profession at a time when American journalism was thriving but not yet regulated.Therefore, reading his story is really like reading a history of American journalism. Journalism is not deliberately created by people, it comes from people's satisfaction of instinctive needs.It is like a seed buried in the soil that is very suitable for growth. Once it germinates, it will grow rapidly.When people form a society, they naturally want to understand what is happening around them. Newspapers are called "newsprints" in English, and they are completely vivid and real social dynamics.Once a newspaper cannot reflect the reality of society, and once it is distorted by external forces, it will lose its life and soul.

American newspapers started with a strong political orientation.This tendency does not come from the control of the government, but from the needs of competing two-party politics.The original American politics was basically elite politics, and newspapers were too expensive due to printing technology and could not be popularized, just like a forum for elites.With breakthroughs in printing technology, newspapers have moved from the elite to the masses.During the Civil War, people's demand for war news also gave journalism a big push.Soon, the news industry became its own business, and it was booming. No one could live without newspapers, from high-ranking officials and dignitaries to ordinary people in the market.It was at this time that Pulitzer joined in.

With the natural emergence of political parties, newspapers have also become strongly partisan. There are voices from this party and the voice of the other party.Sometimes, the news of one party is only willing to give the newspapers of its own party. The thin Pulitzer is a desperate reporter, although he is a reporter for a Republican newspaper, he actively strives for any news.On one occasion, he broke in and overturned the janitor who blocked him from entering the Democratic Party venue, and successfully wrote a news report on the Democratic Party's secret meeting. If the land of America is inhabited by angels, the lessons of its stories are worthless.For more than two hundred years, this is a "United Nations".People with various problems from all over the world gather here.At that time, most of the people who immigrated to the United States were as poor as the young Pulitzer in their hometown, and many of them had the same personality as Pulitzer who dared to go out and even take risks.While not everyone has the Pulitzer's good fortune, there is no difference between having no money in your pocket and having to eat.Therefore, it is not surprising to say that the big cities in the history of the United States were once places with high crime rates, gangsters, thieves, and scammers everywhere.The immigrants tore out a piece of darkness from all over the world and brought it with them.However, the growth rate of the police system often cannot keep up with the growth rate of immigrants arriving at the port every day.

The dark side of society will naturally enter the political upper class.Fortunately, the United States has always guaranteed a naturally developing press under the Constitution.At that time, the hallmark of a good reporter was integrity and anti-corruption.Therefore, Pulitzer, a first-class reporter who rushed to work and put his life and death at risk, quickly became famous.What is even more strange is that Pulitzer, who was only 21 years old, was elected as the Missouri State Senator for this reason.Probably only in a country like the United States where everyone is an immigrant and does not care about seniority, such a thing will happen.When he took office in January 1870, he was four full years shy of the legal age to be a senator.Of course he knew it in his own mind, but he still didn't say a word. He walked into the parliament hall and sat down in it.No one actually mentioned his "illegal age".

The dual status of journalist and congressman makes Pulitzer always stand at the forefront of exposing and opposing corruption.In the United States at that time, it is not an exaggeration to say that journalism was a battlefield.The shady scenes in mental hospitals, the money transactions of political parties and consortia, the fraud of insurance companies, the cruelty of the police, etc., are all exposed and attacked by newspapers.On one occasion, Pulitzer exposed a shady contractor, who was as tall as a boxer, pointed at his nose and cursed in public.When it comes to fighting, the slender Pulitzer is unlikely to be his opponent.In a fit of rage, he is said to have returned with a gun, telling the others on the way, "There's going to be news!" At last they scrambled, and then another shot was fired, wounding both.What happened, the two people's words are different, no one can figure out.Fortunately, no one was killed, and the matter was over.

From then on, everyone knew that wherever Pulitzer went, he carried a gun in his pocket. Journalism is at the forefront of exposing corruption. In fact, there is no need for any deliberate arrangements or mobilization by newspaper bosses, because that should be the nature of journalism.That's the way journalism is, as long as it's left undisturbed.Pulitzer's combative nature, which regards news as life, is even somewhat exaggerated, are the basic characteristics of excellent journalists.As long as it is allowed to develop naturally, this industry will naturally gather such a group of people with the goal of exposing the dark side of society and discovering illegal behaviors that corrupt society.Because in this, excellent journalists can find their own sense of mission in life, and because they know that readers are waiting there, this is the meaning of their existence.Journalists are often called uncrowned kings.Because only the journalists and relatives deny it, all the stories happening in the world are the "news" they are responsible for tracking.As long as a mere commoner becomes a reporter, the emperor will also be under his supervision. The free economic characteristics of American journalism have provided outstanding journalists like Pulitzer with considerable opportunities for development.In order to retain the soul of the newspaper, the owner of the Post he worked for decided to give the twenty-five-year-old Pulitzer a part of the newspaper's equity, which made Pulitzer a rich man very quickly.He later sold his shares and, at the age of thirty-one, bought his own newspaper. two In 1878, Pulitzer took possession of a newspaper of his own.From the start, he was quite introspective about journalism.In an era when newspapers were still very partisan, he proposed that his newspaper should "serve the people and not profit for any political party" and that the newspaper "is not a supporter of the government, but a critic."As a Republican, he declared that his newspaper is not "the mouthpiece of the Republican Party", but to "tell the facts" and "abandon popular prejudice and partisan prejudice". This reminds me of Eugene Meyer, the founder of the later "Washington Post". When he bought his own newspaper, he also published the principles of running a newspaper that he established after introspection: The first mission of a newspaper is to report as close to the truth as possible; as a disseminator of news, a newspaper should be as decent as a gentleman; Newspapers should be responsible to readers and ordinary people, not to the self-interest of newspaper owners; for the public interest, newspapers should be prepared to sacrifice their own interests in order to insist on truthful reporting; Newspapers will not be aligned with any special interests, and will report on public affairs and public figures in a fair, free and sound manner. The announcement of these principles was on March 5, 1935, indicating that Eugene Meyer wanted to take an independent and neutral path.But until that time, many people still wondered how Eugene Meyer, himself a strongly partisan Republican, could run an independent newspaper.It can be seen that until the 1930s, the partisan nature of newspapers was still very common.Pulitzer put forward similar principles exactly fifty-seven years before Eugene Meyer. The social supervision function of journalism makes it seem to wear a golden crown, making people feel that it has received a sacred mission and came to the world, and it is a natural and correct social role.However, Pulitzer, who lives "in this mountain", knows that it is not that simple.Journalism is also a system made of people and run by people. It is also gathering and reflecting human frailty. It's not just journalists like Pulitzer who have weaknesses, and it's not just business practices that contribute to those weaknesses.In essence, journalism itself is built on human weakness, hence the old adage, "It's not news when a dog bites a man, it's news when a man bites a dog."Everyone has a curiosity and novelty-seeking psychology, and human creativity comes from this.However, when this curiosity loses its measure and the collective psychology of the public expands, it can also bring surprising negative consequences. The most difficult thing for people to understand and face is probably themselves.Any journalist knows that the more disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, the more "news" they have.However, after a few days of "news bombing", people's minds will quickly tire, and the public will no longer be interested in continuous reporting.Because it is no longer "news" that is "news".In the face of tragic events, people do have and are always willing to believe in their own compassion and willingness to care for others, but what people are often unwilling to face is that everyone's conscience has limitations.People have strengths and weaknesses, good and evil, they are two sides of the same coin, journalism is the most typical place to convey the human nature of both good and evil.Without this awareness, it will be difficult for the journalism industry to have a thorough self-reflection. It is easy for journalists to lose the necessary boundaries. Driven by fanaticism, they may overuse the weaknesses in the public psychology, making the weaknesses of the news industry and the weaknesses of the public superimposed, and leading the news industry astray.A newspaper that goes too far is called an "irresponsible" newspaper.And what is the social responsibility of a newspaper and how to fulfill its social responsibility in a specific way? This is a question that the entire news industry is gradually reflecting upon in its development.The thinking of Pulitzer and Eugene Meyer is the gradual awakening of the conscience of the American press in the tide of business. That was a very difficult process.Because the market is advancing, political turmoil is sweeping, and competition with peers is fierce.Although Pulitzer began to think about the responsibility of newspapers, many problems inevitably occurred, and his newspaper has since been used by political parties as their mouthpiece.Although afterwards, he regretted it unceasingly. In the era of Pulitzer, the commercial competition of the newspaper industry also saw small moves of plagiarizing news and falsifying news.It takes a lot of effort and money to find out an important piece of news.Especially at that time, transportation and communication were still very underdeveloped, and it was very difficult to report international news.And "making news" is hard to verify.Pulitzer's Express Post stories had been so often plagiarized by other papers that he was so annoyed that he set a trap by publishing a so-called telegraph release of an anti-British uprising in Afghanistan.The St. Louis Star, which often plagiarized them, also published the same article.Pulitzer immediately issued a statement that this is fake news that he deliberately forged to crack down on plagiarists. The Star's reputation was badly damaged, and it soon went out of business. But Pulitzer's own newspaper was not immune. In 1895, Pulitzer had already become a newspaper giant at that time. His "Le Monde" and another newspaper giant Hearst's "Daily" entered into fierce competition. The editors of both sides fought like hand-to-hand combat.At this time, both parties have plagiarized each other.As a result, the "Daily" preemptively designed a trap and published a completely false forged report with a particularly touching plot.This kind of game is actually very dangerous. If the other party does not take the bait, it may expose you for forging news.But the Pulitzer editors were duped, and plagiarized the news story in a different way, and fabricated a special ship they sent to develop Cuban news.In the "Daily" newspaper office, which was nervously waiting for the fish to take the bait, the editors burst into cheers and immediately publicized their fake news strategy, violently attacking the integrity of "Le Monde".Pulitzer had to swallow the bitter pill.The most irritating thing is that when the editors of the "Daily" forged the news, they deliberately used the name of the main character of the news story as a homophony of the phrase "We plagiarize the news". And that's not the worst thing.The climax of the competition between Pulitzer and Hearst is also the climax of the development of the American newspaper industry.When tensions rose between the United States and Spain's American colonies, the two major newspapers almost couldn't help themselves and began to incite the public for the "news effect" of the newspapers.At this time, the US warship "Maine" suddenly exploded in the port of Havana, Cuba, which belongs to the Spanish colony.Pulitzer and Hearst in the competition, in order to "sensationalize" the news of the competition, launched various inflammatory speculations in the newspapers, and even the two newspapers published a forged telegram from the captain of the USS Maine to the Secretary of the Navy , saying the explosion was "not an accident."Circulations of newspapers on both sides soared and skyrocketed as a result.Sure enough, the American people were outraged, and the sentiment of the people in turn pushed newspapers and even Congress to declare war. Pulitzer and his editors were not war madmen, I suppose, but they were news madmen.The competition in this industry is fierce, and it also challenges physical strength, intelligence, quick response ability, judgment, etc.American journalism has naturally assembled a group of people like Pulitzer who are super-capable, over-enthused in spirit, over-sense of justice, and even in a critical state of mind.They are pushing the giant wheel of news, and the giant wheel is also pushing them, rolling faster and faster.At a certain point, they are completely out of control.They not only actively pursue the dark corruption of society, but also passively driven by the social sensational effect of the news to spin rapidly.They are desperate for justice, and vanity and illusion sometimes push them to injustice.Sometimes, they can't tell the difference: when they start to doubt themselves, they must also be trying to convince themselves that they are only 100% standing up for their professional honor.Both sides of human nature are suddenly magnified by this special industry. Crazy nature, great pressure, accompanied by conflicts of their own contradictions, enough to make people confused.The most typical example is the executive editor of Pulitzer's "Evening World".One evening, when the newspaper had been sent to the printing factory, he suddenly rushed upstairs and shouted, war!war!We must issue an account!Next, he calmly explained the extra account arrangements, and the huge word "war" spanned the entire front page.Afterwards, his colleagues found out that he had lost his mind, and they hurriedly sent people to the street to snatch those "declarations of war" back from the newspaper sellers. Pulitzer’s editors, editors and front-line reporters can count a large number of people who ended their careers with varying degrees of insanity or even suicide, including his younger brother who also became a celebrity in the newspaper industry. The rapid development and expansion of the American press in the late 19th century was fast enough to take away any normal mind.What's more, the people who chose to join this industry at that time had more or less passion than ordinary people. Pulitzer suffered a severe mental illness at the age of thirty-nine.His eyes gradually lost their sight thereafter.Pulitzer became unacceptable to noise.He couldn't stand even a slight sound that ordinary people couldn't feel at all. It is undeniable that that chaos is the only way for the natural development of journalism. Amid the chaos, there are still journalists with a clear mind.Goodkin, then editor-in-chief of the "Evening Post", severely condemned both Pulitzer and Hearst for "seriously distorting the facts, deliberately fabricating stories, and inciting the people." The madness of "Le Monde" lasted for four months.Pulitzer sobered up four months later.However, it was too late.As Goodkin predicted, the performance of the two newspapers in the Spanish-American War has been recorded as "the most shameless act in the history of American journalism." three After the age of thirty-nine, Pulitzer spent twenty-two years controlling his Le Monde from a distance.For many years, he lived in a soundproofed parcel Floating on the sea on a tightly-knit yacht, away from the ever-present noise of the world, there is darkness in front of my eyes.His mental state is unstable, but at this time he is already a wealthy man.His wealth can ease his pain.He has the ability to pay and guarantee a very special living situation, employing the best secretarial team with a high salary.He can't stand the slightest noise, but he likes listening to music.Therefore, there is always someone ready to play for him.He's still quick thinking and has the head of the best news boss. "Le Monde" is run by his chief editors, and he only cares about the general direction.Every morning, the most important thing for him is to have his secretary read him the news: news from his newspaper, news from other newspapers.At the most critical moment, he never left "his battlefield".He has no life, he has only newspapers. Pulitzer himself was a contradiction.He sincerely attacked the extravagant life of the rich out of a sense of justice and sympathy for the poor.However, the commercial operation of the newspaper also made Pulitzer a very wealthy newspaper tycoon very early on.In essence, like many rich people, he is doing good deeds, living a luxurious life, and often squandering.Through the operation of his own newspaper, he is seeking justice for the society. He cares about the general public that he does not know, but he often does not care so much about his children and relatives, and is often rude to his subordinates.Social criticism and social care have become tragic and abstract, and become a "lofty ideal" for a person to realize his self-worth, rather than a natural extension of human kindness.The contradiction itself embodies the true humanity and life.If we're being honest with ourselves, almost everyone is, to a degree or another.People are just more willing to show, or even exaggerate, a certain side of themselves, while involuntarily ignoring and avoiding the other side of their humanity.The so-called human nature, regardless of good or evil, is just a human attribute, which is not surprising. Journalism is precisely an industry that most typically expresses the contradictions and conflicts of human nature. While it highlights the promotion of social justice, it cannot naturally avoid its various defects.Its vanity and exaggeration, its excessive novelty, its manipulation by the foibles of the masses.That's the nature of journalism.Look at journalism like you look at people. You can't expect people to be angels, and you can't expect to reinvent journalism into a debonair angel business.Facts have proved that it is dangerous for any society to try to stifle the inherent hunting nature of journalism, and it will lose the self-purification function naturally produced and developed by society. Seven and a half years after Pulitzer took over the Le Monde, he moved into a new newspaper building in New York. The "Le Monde" proudly listed their achievements in the newspaper at the time, including: exposing the dark shadow of the mental hospital and improving it; helping to improve the working conditions of miners in Pennsylvania; getting New York State to stop following a medieval law and jailing debtors; exposing a Republican senator for manipulating the presidential race; defeating a legal proposal by a large corporate boss to eliminate the half-day Saturday off; exposing Hilton's process of converting a charity house into a large hotel; exposing Bell Communications' fraud; Forced the firing of New York City's racketeering warden; uncovered and prevented a $10 million fraud at a Louisiana lottery company; made a garden used only by the rich open to the public; sponsored and organized reader donations, set up for the poor Services of free clinics, etc.Pulitzer proposed to strictly control the quality of infant milk and promote the low price of milk that the poor can accept. After 20 years of his efforts, the United States realized that this is the responsibility of the government and established the Food and Drug Administration.Pulitzer runs his Le Monde For twenty-eight years, such efforts have never stopped. As an outstanding journalist, Pulitzer and his newspapers have always been exposing the darkness of the society and the shady government, and have been chasing after the bad deeds of profiteers, government officials, and government officials.Not only was he safe and sound, but he was also growing rapidly. In 1908, Pulitzer was already sixty-one years old. His editor-in-chief suspected that President Theodore Roosevelt's government had corrupt practices in operating the development of the Panama Canal, so he questioned it in the newspaper.As a result, although Pulitzer had no prior knowledge of this action of the "Le Monde", he himself, his editor-in-chief and an editor were sued for defamation by President Roosevelt, who was furious, and brought them to court.Because of this case, the investigation of the operation of the Panama Canal by the entire press began, and various doubts were exposed. The prosecution lasted for nearly two years, until President Roosevelt stepped down, and the new President Taft still insisted on continuing the prosecution.When the editor-in-chief of "Le Monde" issued this question, there were only clues and no conclusive evidence at hand.Therefore, neither Pulitzer nor those around him knew whether the court would convict him in the end.At this time Pulitzer was already in the last few years of his life, and it was believed that, based on his state of health, as soon as he was imprisoned, he would undoubtedly die immediately.Pulitzer was actually very nervous, but, following his philosophy of running a newspaper, he insisted that his "Le Monde" continue to make sharp criticisms of the current President Taft's government. The case ended up being a confrontation between the entire American press and the government.Because for the press, if a newspaper criticizes the government, the government can use state power to sue the newspaper. If it is convicted of "defamation", how will the newspaper survive in the future?In the end, the court acquitted Pulitzer.Pulitzer breathed a sigh of relief, finally he did not have to die in prison.However, not long after he was happy, news came that Theodore Roosevelt, who had just hunted and killed a lion in Africa, had made a comeback.Roosevelt couldn't swallow this breath and appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. On the New Year's Day of 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected Theodore Roosevelt's appeal, and the lawsuit finally came to an end. Pulitzer himself was not satisfied.He believes that due to the destruction of key documents, the inside story of the Panama Canal operation case was not fully revealed in the end.Pulitzer believes that if the case is uncovered, it can also prove that his newspaper reports True, there is no question of defamation at all.However, for the entire American press, the court held that no matter whether the report was true or not, the basic speculation on the basis of Roosevelt’s prosecution was wrong. ".This way of thinking makes this case especially important to the press. Ten months later, the 64-year-old Pulitzer passed away. On the vast sea, his lonely yacht slowly lowered its flag to half-staff. Four What makes Pulitzer stand out is that he is introspective about journalism, and he may have realized from his own negative lessons that journalism without self-reflection is also dangerous.Long before his death, he had begun advising the United States for a journalism school. In May 1904, Pulitzer was writing for the North American Review An article written by (NorthAmerican·Review) mentioned: "Our republic will live and die with the media. To maintain social morality, we need to have well-trained, intelligent journalists who can distinguish right from wrong and have the courage to dedicate themselves to justice, as well as competent Competent, fair, and popular media. Otherwise, the people and the government will become hypocritical and ridiculous. A cynical, profit-seeking, or demagogic media will eventually produce the same despicable people. The power to shape the future of the Republic lies in in the hands of future journalists." In his will, Pulitzer donated $2 million to Columbia University to establish a journalism school.Half a million of them set up the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism, which is known all over the world today.Pulitzer said he believes journalism should be progressive and elevated, saying "it is a noble profession, one of immense importance for its impact on the hearts and morals of people. I hope to help attract Young people join the ranks, and at the same time help those who are already engaged in the highest level of moral and intellectual training." In Pulitzer's eyes, journalism is a discipline that requires continuous serious study, and it is also a discipline that requires constant reflection. serious industry. From the perspective of communication itself, in Pulitzer's time, there was no such powerful media as radio and television transmitted instantaneously by satellite.From the perspective of social environment, there is no such situation as today.If today's media wants to incite the public, it has a mobilization power a thousand times greater than that of the Pulitzers back then.News is facing new challenges every day. Today's American people rely more on a free and open news system to resist possible media incitement.They try their best to obtain information from different sources to judge the authenticity of news reports, and mature industry competition and elimination are the guarantee of the quality of journalism.Every newspaper, big or small, is an independent branch, and they achieve a check and balance among each other.Oversight from outside, not the government but readers.Every reader has a right to choose. If the news in your newspaper is often false, the public will abandon you and buy someone else's newspaper. In 1917, the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism was awarded for the first time.In that year, the October Revolution broke out in Russia.Starting from various idealized concepts, this new country tried to transform the press and publishing industry by the power of the state, and only published what was considered "good ideas, good speeches, and good news."From a practical point of view, this kind of journalism is lifeless and has lost the soul of the news publishing industry.And the society has lost one of the most important supervisions.When journalism is manipulated, its potential demagoguery is magnified.Journalism has its inherent weaknesses. If it is controlled by force, the result can only be the superposition of the two weaknesses. As I write this, I am surprised to find that today happens to be the day Pulitzer died.He died on October 29, 1911, exactly ninety-four years ago.His lessons are already a hundred years old. Admitting that human beings have weaknesses, and admitting that human weaknesses cannot be completely eliminated, seems like a small thing. However, such a starting point provides Western culture with the earliest vigilance and continuous support for the establishment of institutions. The efforts also put individuals and society in an atmosphere of constant reflection.Journalism is just one typical example.Pulitzer, through his stumbling journalism career, is a reminder of this simple truth.