"Men at ease have contempt for misfortune . . ." (Job 12:5).

Too often they also have contempt for those who are enduring misfortune. They suppose that victims of calamity have done something to deserve their fate. There is not much that can be done to disabuse the comfortable of their opinions in this matter--except misfortune itself. Why are we so obtuse as to need some form of hardship before we learn the truth about the world, ourselves, and other people?