John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Socrates, the NSA and a mystery solved

Socrates admonished “Know thyself.”

That’s tough–especially if you are a shallow person who is more interested in getting to know the popular person sitting in front of you rather than your inner self.

But an even more elusive conundrum than knowing who “we” are is knowing who “they” are.

You know who I am talking about: the extremely quotable and seemingly irrefutable “they”— as in “You know what ‘they’ say.”

Which has been a perennial problem. Everyone seems to know “what” it is that “they” say but NOT who “they” are.

Not anymore.

One of the serendipitous outcomes of the recent NSA scandal is out nation’s cutting edge technology tools has identified a group of six friends in Newark, N.J. who appear to comprise the mysterious and powerful group who seem to have something wise and influential to say about almost everything.

Here is a close up from a secret aerial shot just last week as the group was leaving a MENSA meeting and about to, ironically, opine on the NSA controversy –while also reminiscing about the groups most famous commentary: why we should never “assume” anything because, “You know what they say. It makes an a**….”, well, you remember.

Reaction to identifying the small but internationally revered group has ranged from relief to self-reflection.

One news reporter for a local station said, “That’s “they?” Adding “I see them roller-blading together all the time in the park near my station. They are terrible roller-bladders and can sometimes be really obnoxious. The one one the right has body odor.”

A local mother who often quotes they to her two teenage children spoke for many when she reflected, “I have to admit, they don’t look that impressive close up.”

And then added, “I am going to start thinking for myself more in the future. I don’t trust them–I mean “they” –as much as I used to.”