I guess this is what I get for not posting this, but … I want to note that I’m the cynical chump that came up with the “flair of the spirit” line that Stephen uses here in summation [and in titling]. Honestly, Stephen did a better job stripping the conversation that my cynical proclamation came from than I would have; I always have this preternatural need to give context clues for the discussion when, really, they aren’t necessary and serve to distract from the greater point being made.Okay, maybe Stephen came up with it first.

Derek Webb wrote about this in a song on his second album, I See Things Upside Down, “T-Shirts (What We Should Be Known For)” (which fits better sonically on his first record, but hey):

They’ll know us by the billboards that we make
Just turning God’s words to cheap clichés
Says “what part of murder don’t you understand?”
But we hate our fellow man
And point a finger at his grave

To be fair, we rely upon first impressions as a filtering mechanism, and its something that is ingrained in the way our brains work. But where we fail our fellow man is when we allow those first impressions to also be our last impression.