In The Tin Drum, Günter Grass wrote of a boy who didn't want to grow up. Young Oskar finds the world around him too absurd, and quietly resolves to always remain a child. Whereupon some otherworldly power fulfils his wish and he becomes a midget. This story is a little on the mystical side, but very illuminating. Though it's impossible to always remain a child, it is possible to always remain silent. Many people around me have personalities much like mine – on public occasions we won't say a word, but we can hardly stop talking in private. Put another way, we will say anything to people we can trust, and nothing to those we can't.
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