In Praise of Oil
A baseball fan who doesn't like home runs. A hockey fan who doesn't like a cross-check. A man who doesn't like Clint Eastwood.
That's how I feel about Guinness beer. I hate it. The first time I tried it, I thought my drinking companion was playing a nasty joke on me. I was like, "You drink this stuff!? Oh my gosh. It's absolutely horrible."
But great beer drinkers love it. My father liked it. But for me, it's one of those things: I just can't "see it."
This recent article at USA Today makes me regret my taste buds' lack of class even more.
The values [founder] Arthur Guinness envisioned for his company were first honed in a life of devotion to God. He was an earthy but pious man who frequently thundered his views despite angry opposition. He was beloved throughout Ireland for his defense of Roman Catholic rights, for example, an astonishing stand for a Protestant in his day. He criticized the material excesses of the upper class and sat on the board of a hospital for the poor. He was also the founder of the first Sunday schools in Ireland. When he died in 1803, the Dublin Evening Post declared that Arthur Guinness's life was "useful and benevolent and virtuous." It was true.
Absorbing his philosophy, his heirs often used their wealth for the glory of God and the good of mankind. Missionary endeavors were funded, the poor were tended, and there are monuments in Ireland to this day that express gratitude to the Guinnesses for their generosity during the horrifying years of the Potato Famine.
Bonus Pic
