The word reason has to do with explanations and rationality. To be reasonable is to be logical, persuasive, and persuadable. We imbue reasonableness with all manner of virtue. Justice is reasonable. Sobriety is reasonable. Common sense is reasonable.

And yet, it is the reasonable that allows for injustice. The people regarded as most reasonable sit idly not wanting to make waves while others suffer. The reasonable can be too sober, stripping life of its joys, large and small. The most common sensical humans often misunderstand and misjudge the counterintuitive, the nontraditional, the innovative, and the absurd. Some extremely reasonable people accept and repeat untruths because they seem familiar and safe. Citing tradition is the trump card of the reasonable.

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