About 15 years ago I stumbled upon a great essay by Samuel Johnson called “What Have Ye Done?”
Here’s a youtube presentation. For any Americans who may have wandered in, the bit at 3 mins 44 is irony.
And since the (arbitrary) screen grab gives a shout out to Walter Mitty, here’s a link to the short story.
dwighttowers.wordpress.com 
I feel much better now.