"All things in moderation"
Really?
I mean, really?
I mean John Marshall of CrossFit Richardson style "Really!?!?"
Okay, I'll bite. So you believe in moderate amounts of rat poison? You endorse moderate amounts of infidelity to your spouse? Moderate amounts of rape, robbery, and kidnapping are okay with you?
I'd love to see the reaction if this saying was used for things unviversally acknowledged as bad. Imagine the following exchange when one notices that his friend is upset:
"Hey Joe, what's bugging you?"
"Well, my car was stolen this morning!"
"Oh. I see. Well, just how many times have you had a car stolen?"
"This is the only time! Why does that even matter?"
"Well, all things in moderation. I mean, I'm sure it wouldn't be good if it happened every day but this is just one time.."
No, dummy, it's not good if it EVER happens!
When I hear it said it's usually in response to my decision to not eat grains. It goes something like this:
"Hey, Joe told me you don't eat any grains. How come?"
"I believe they're bad for me."
"Don't you think that's a little extreme?"
"Uh...no. If it's bad for me then I think it's smart to not eat them. Avoiding bad things equals smart, not extreme."
"Oh. Well, all things in moderation. I'm sure a little bread or pasta isn't going to kill you."
"Neither will a bee sting to your scrotum, jackwad."
I think people say this because they don't want to consider that it might really be bad for them, or they know it's bad and they justify it with a saying they've heard before. I have friends who know grains are bad, and they just say that they're not willing to give them up completely. Accepting some occasional bad effects is quite different from sweeping it all under the table with a nice pat "All things in moderation."
It's a deflection, and for whatever reason it pushes my buttons.
If you find yourself saying "All things in moderation" a lot, perhaps the real problem is your moderate intelligence.