Thanks for the link to Dan Simmons’ letter. His writing reminds me of Andy Andrews who wrote three great stories, The Traveler's Gift, The Noticer, and The Noticer Returns.
Those books are inspiring and the “Noticer” appears in the same manner as the man with the eye-patch.
I heed the warning but I'm afraid that so many are to much like the Athenians of old.