I've decided that living in denial is rather
a blissful existence. Having ignored the
news for over a week I'm doing my best
to reject reality and embrace fantasy. If
you're wondering why, my answer is very
simple. I've learned my lesson. And that
is that like it or not the majority of this
world is a rather unattractive lot. Hence
rather than bother with the masses, I'm
limiting my sphere of influence to a very
limited circle of family and friends. Thus
for now, all is good in my world whether
the world is falling apart or not.
Of course it's self indulgent. However it
may simply be the only way to maintain
one's sanity. Am I ashamed? Frankly...
yes. Many of my friends are doing all
sorts of things in defiance of the facts.
They're sporting safety pins, pantsuits,
and plotting our president elect's failure.
However in truth all of that is simply a
defense mechanism. A way of dealing
with their grief. And in the end a highly
doubtful path to success. You see... it is
what it is. Which is all the more reason
to pretend as if nothing has happened.
While many are plotting their relocation
strategies for the spring of 2017 I plan to
stay close to home. Instead of fantasizing
about disappearing, I'm facing reality in
my own way. Said realization is that no
matter where you go, the odds are against
you. However pessimistic as that sounds,
the fact is that jealousy, bigotry, and just
plain orneriness abounds across the globe.
Hence even if one ends up in a tiny hut on
some forgotten island, somebody - be it
fish or FOUL could resent your presence.
And do whatever it takes to get rid of you.
In the end it seems that most of us are
miserable. That's the only excuse for
those desiring "change." Struggling in
their self imposed morass, all that they
seem able to do is blame others for all
of THEIR problems. Hence much like
my sojourn on Fantasy Island, they're
waiting for their ship to come in a la
somebody Else's efforts. However as
far as I can tell there is no knight on a
white horse in the vicinity. Unless you
consider an orange old megalomaniac
with a bad comb over savior material.
Somehow many Americans seem to have
lost their will to live. While not ready to
pull a Kevorkian they seem to assume that
it's somebody Else's responsibility to save
their sorry asses. Rather than look in the
mirror they point fingers at anybody but
themselves. And frankly... vote recklessly
for whoever promises them the world. No
matter the consequences. All of which I
find oddly reassuring given if anybody is
delusional it's them. Thus why should one
feel guilty when in truth, it's actually their
fault that we're where we are. Thanks a lot!
You see, our collective American apathy
has fueled our national dose of passive
aggression. Everyone bemoans our lack
of viable politicians and yet few step up
to the job at hand. Recently a friend who
is a former steel worker called them "cry
babies." His frustration is that about half
of our country expects the rest of us to
insure their success. Rather than adapt
to challenges, they await the return of
the thirty bucks an hour manufacturing
job. As immigrants do their dirty work.
Why is laziness somebody else's fault?!
In truth our collective crisis is no body's
fault but our own. If Washington is full
of bloated, self important parasites... we
voted for them. Well, actually that's not
true given invariably less than half of U.S.
citizens actually vote. And whoever chose
the lesser of two evils must now bear full
responsibility for whatever happens next.
Finally, denying culpability simply defers
the inevitable. What goes around comes
around. However somehow I'm certain
that when something bad happens, they'll
blame it on anybody but themselves.
Thus my self-imposed exile. I plan to be
just like them. Perfectly happy as I sit
back and blame everything on the rest
of the world. Better yet, I'll reject facts
and embrace whatever fiction is to my
liking. And I'll pretend that nothing has
changed. At least until my delusional
slumber party is interrupted by a some
government official coming to take me
away. After all, stranger things could
happen. But of course that won't be
their fault given they didn't know what
they were doing. Better luck next time!
