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References have meanings.

One of the best lessons from my high school creative writing class was about using allusion to impart meaning. The teacher read us an excerpt from a short story about a young girl who was sunbathing naked on an island. When a boat full of guys came into sight in the distance, she stood up, spread her arms like Jesus, and buzzed around like an airplane so that the boys could see her butt.

What, the teacher asked us, did Jesus and an airplane have to do with anything in that scene? What was the point in making the reader think about Jesus and airplanes if they contributed nothing to the story?

If someone, fictional or otherwise, says "that dude and his problems are none of my business", what they're saying can be taken at face value. It may even be true! If, however, they tell you "I'm not my brother's keeper", what they're saying is "Hey, remember that dude in that story who murdered his brother, then tried to lie about it to an omniscient God? This is me doing my impression of him!".

It's kind of like how a tattoo that says "Be yourself" can be taken at face value, but a tattoo that says "To thine own self be true" actually means "I'm a useless narcissistic fop who doesn't realize he's in a scene that's being played for laughs, and at some point I'm going to intervene in a domestic disturbance and get stabbed". Which, y'know, is probably accurate.

0501-------------------------------------
(Monday morning, INT: EB and JH's apartment)

EB: Well, good! I hope she has trouble finding a job, she tried to get you arrested for no reason!
JH: She had a reason. And I feel responsible - rightly or wrongly, I was the one who caused her current situation.
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EB: You have a weirdly... an unhealthy inflated sense of responsibility, you know that? You are not your brother's keeper!
JH: You know where that phrase comes from? Brother's keeper?
EB: You know that I do.
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JH: Then you know that maybe it's not something the good guy is supposed to say. Maybe the point of the metaphor is that while responsibility for our neighbours might not be thrust upon us, to actively deny that responsibility is no different than clubbing them in the head with a sharp rock.
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EB: I think that both the law and common sense would disagree with that.
JH: Well, when the law and common sense catch up to the three thousand year old story about a talking snake and a tree that makes you immortal, I'll take'em into consideration.