Ode to the Ego Almighty

Of course, pay heed to those who appear to be benevolent, and who may genuinely seek to better the lives of all our fellow man. But follow any would-be messiah blindly at your own risk. Because even though some people seeking celebrity (money, face/fame, and power) actually really do mean well, there are plenty of others that think life's just all about what they can grab for themselves before it's finally all said and done with.

Those most needy of folks among us may even be chiefly motivated by the fact that life really is much too short. So by gaining celebrity, they are actually making a desperate bid for some sort of immortality -- before their own corporeal bones eventually also crumble to dust. And who doesn't want to be remembered when we all have finally returned to the mire from whence we came?  And yes, it really is just that simple. If you really think about it, that is.

Many misguided folks honestly think that by gaining great power, they can solve all their own problems (first and foremost, OF COURSE), and then, maybe, just maybe, they'll help out a few of their little "followers" further down on the list. Charity! You know, throw a crumb or two at those useful little minions who had the good sense to fuel your fire while you rocketed to THE TOP!

But even that doesn't always work out the way they planned, unfortunately. So many of those poor, dumb minions just end up serving as stepping stones, and pathetic footstools. Oh well! They served "the cause," after all. They paid the price of admission to THE BIG SHOW. They helped to fertilize the soil the rose was eventually planted in. And that's all that was really needed, of course.

In the end, most vainglorious people just end up with a real, real BIG head. Worst of all, once they get the gold they crave, they tend to quickly lose sight of what their noble quest was originally supposed to be all about in the first place! Such is the true folly of the flawed creation that is mankind.

Yes, some use politics. Some use religion. Some use anti-religion (popularly known as atheism), SCIENCE, "race," sex, sexual orientation, etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on, and probably will continue to go on for as long as there are small people who just want nothing more than to get even just a little bit BIGGER than they actually, really, honestly are.

One way or another, you name it, and somebody will try to latch onto it and USE it, to get what they want out of other people, who don't always even know what hit 'em, while their little head spins in awe of those that they may be led to believe are bigger than they actually are.  That's how the magic really works, kids. "Cross me heart and hope to die." But don't worry, I won't stick a finger in your eye. But do beware; for there are plenty of BIG HEADS out there that certainly will try to use little old you to serve their own BIG ends.

But surely, you already knew all that.

On the Nature of New Age "Star" Religions and Other Forms of Consumer Driven, Pop Culture Mythology

Graven images from the Star Wars Universe! Oh my!

Contrary to popular, "modern," Western (and communist Chinese and Russian) belief (the latest pseudo-bright CULTural idea to come down the societal pike), religion in and of itself has NOT been solely "responsible for all the world's wars down through history." That's actually a socialist, Marxist idea, that, when put into proper perspective, is actually kinda stupid (simple minded, at the very least) when you think about it. Because mankind does not need religion to split up into warring factions, or to discriminate on the basis of "race," or anything else for that matter.

Nor is it always about "oil" or natural resources. On the contrary, there are all sorts of reasons why, in the real world, people come into conflict with one another. Usually, it's not just one reason, but a whole slew of reasons! Sometimes, people have simply fought over who should be "the rightful heir to the throne." No "blood for oil" or "my religion is best" required. Just good old/bad old human conflict. Like in the Star Wars Universe!

In fact, there has been war and conflict in the Far East many times throughout human history, without the significant presence of any of the Abrahamic faiths -- Judaism, Christianity, OR Islam -- ALL of which are part of the same family, let us not forget. Hell! There was war on the North American, South American, and Australian continents (and even among the tiny islands of the rest of Oceania) before the "evil" whites got to any of those places.

Duh.

Take away, or "ban" any human societal construct (society, device, etc), and there will still be some sort of internecine strife of one form or another. People will still jockey for power, face (fame), and Money Almighty. And to that end perhaps, 20th and 21st century science fiction and fantasy "creators" ("modern" mass media wizards and magicians) have been busy for quite some time now, conjuring up tons of all powerful mythologies (would be religions) to woo the masses into following their pseudo-godlike lead.

Not to even mention Tolkien (though I suppose I just did), in just this past century alone, we have seen the likes of the "Great Bird of the Galaxy" himself; as Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, became known. Even well before he passed away on October 24, 1991, the man had become a sort of messianic, modern, secular Moses type, ever leading the scientific faithful into a bold, ever "optimistic" future, where mankind has supposedly finally solved all sorts of social problems.

Of course, it's hard to say for absolute sure if the devoted following the very name Roddenberry still engenders to this very day among millions of devoted Star Trek fans truly went to the man's head, but all the fan boy adoration might just have helped to make him more and more intractable about particulars in the Star Trek Universe "Bible" as the Trek fan phenomenon grew and grew in popularity over the years. This was particularly evident while "the Great Bird" was reportedly lording over the writing staff of the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series.

And what about that great conjurer of Disney movies, and the multi-billion dollar theme parks and mountains of accompanying merchandise that dear old Walt helped to pioneer? All of that still enthralls the faithful among us, does it not? And that other guy who came later on.... What's his name? The one who has inspired so many creative people to help him tell so many tales about that galaxy far, far away. Yes, the still very much mortal, George Lucas. That guy. When he eventually becomes a "Force Ghost," I am soooo gonna hang out with that spectral dude! Oh yes!

And, perhaps most interesting of all, that L. Ron Hubbard guy, the science fiction author of "Scientology" that, even though he may have thought he was rejecting old world mysticism, still managed to end up playing pretty much the same old god game when it was all said and done. Nah! Scientology is everything numero uno Scientologist Tom Cruise seems to sincerely believe it is, right? Well, right...?

Hmm.

Even Glen A. Larson's Battlestar Galactica (the original AND the 2004 version) had more than an ungodly share of "star" religious content, after all. As many folks know, Mr. Larson was a Mormon. And there's plenty of good old American mythology where that came from, eh? But the original series was a helluva lot of fun for yours truly when I was a kid. Heck! I still love that show an awful lot. Though often accused of being a rip off artist, Glen Larson was a genius, as far as I'm concerned. Or... a prophet maybe! Uh... no. NO. Scratch that. Uh, no.

Either way, the religious overtones of the original Battlestar Galactica series never bothered me a bit. It's the good old fashioned Power of Myth, people! In fact, I have always thought that it actually made the series much more powerful than it would have been without all the "religious mumbo jumbo." Sort of like the Force of Star Wars, I guess! 'Cause, come on, without that aspect of the Star Wars saga, all you're really left with is "good guys" and "bad guys" beating the tar out of one another all the time. Like in professional wrestling. And seriously, if that kind of mindless squabbling really floats your boat, just get involved in politics already, will ya. Bleh!

Even "re-imagined" show runners Ronald D. Moore and David Eick got all religious on us poor fan boys and girls!

So... THINK. Think it all through, all you smartypants of the collective human race! If you really are as smart as you fancy your fancy (geeky) pants, you'll plainly see that this equation really ain't that hard to solve. And think for your own damn self while you're at it, huh? But then, it is a prerequisite of many religions (though perhaps not all), that one must follow blindly. Hmm.

A staggering number of people in the UK and other countries have actually begun to identify "Jedi" as their religion

So, to me, this is all actually rather interesting. And funny. Funny "ha ha" sort of amusing, AND funny "strange," too. For example, many people who LOVE Star Wars, and couldn't live without seeing the latest movie, or collecting all the latest licensed merchandise based on the franchise, still, for some odd reason, HATE, HATE, HATE its creator, George Lucas. Hmm. Do we even know WHY that is, we star lost and star struck fan boys and girls?

What if.... What if, it's simply because George Lucas is so incredibly clever (or chock full of dumb luck?), that he actually managed to create something so powerful, so mythic, so timelessly EPIC, and of such towering social and commercial proportions, that he will have our geeky little panties in a bunch over it for the rest of our natural born lives? What then?

Hmm.

And many of us probably don't even fully understand how or why good old Mr. Lucas managed to pull such a colossal fast one on us like that! Well, speaking for myself, I personally still like and respect "Uncle George" -- though I certainly am no worshiper of that particular mortal man by any means. But anyway, if you do hate poor old King George, don't be too hard on him or yourself. You're "a consumer," after all. We all are, aren't we? So... consume! Better yet, continue to be consumed by all things Star Wars. Disney (the HUGE company, not necessarily the Force Ghost of Uncle Walt) will certainly be quite happy if you do.

Me? I'm not taking the red or the blue pill (or necessarily choosing the red or the blue light saber), thank you very much. For me, it's no batteries (or drugs - as in, Marx's mental opiates) required, kids. But, may the Force be with us all this holiday season. And as Charles Dickens and his wonderfully timeless literary creation Tiny Tim so aptly put it, "God bless us everyone." And make sure you go and see The Force Awakens now! Or you'll surely be nothing but an old "humbug." Or a Star Wars Universe heretic at the very least.

The Bigger You Get, the Harder You Fall

You know how some (not all) naughty cops allegedly create those "speed traps," where they set up a situation wherein the vast majority of people who enter the area being monitored are almost certainly bound to break the law, just because of the way things are set up?  You know, like how this law enforcement type person then just hides and waits for a perpetrator to come along, so they can conveniently catch, badger, and then write "the bad guys" a ticket?  Well, even when they don't actually write a ticket, they can still get a psychological thrill from self righteously standing in judgement of others.

That's the game.  That's how it works.  'Cause you know, most bullies are just little people deep inside, who were bullied when they were kids.

Now, personally, I'd never want to be a power junkie like that myself.  But I'll just bet that there really is no feeling, no drug, no high on Earth, like having so darned much POWER, that you automatically assume that everybody else is a potential miscreant, while you alone are "one of the good guys."

Interestingly enough, some people don't even use "the law" to be "at large and in charge."  Some use politics.  Some use sex or sexual orientation.  Some use race, ethnicity, or nationality.  Some use religion, of course.  But don't kid yourself.  There are also plenty of "atheists" who use their lack of faith as an excuse to bully, belittle and look down upon anyone who isn't as "skeptical" as they are.

What can ya say?  People!

So, I think plenty of people who aren't cops are natural born control freaks too.  In fact, I think the human social landscape is chock full of people who actually feed on their fellow man!  You know, real "dog eat dog" type stuff.  For example, there are those bossy type people we all know, who always have to be at large and in charge.  The sick high these individuals get from being offended by something someone else has supposedly said or done (no matter how innocent that perceived offense may or may not have been), is all that really matters to them.  That self righteous power fix, that mental opiate... is exactly what some sick people really do seem to crave and practically live for.

And believe me, I know, because I've known quite a few people like that.  Unfortunately.

At any rate, an excellent term for individuals who fit the above profile is, "psychic vampire."  Interestingly enough, many of these type of folks don't even realize what they're doing on a conscious level.  The fact that they tend to get their jollies by sucking the air out of everyone in every room they walk into, is a moot point to them.  In fact, these folks are often just plain oblivious to the needs and feelings of just about everyone else around them.  Because their needs and wants are all that matter, you see.  In short, that type of person is little more than a psychological predator.

And just about everybody knows somebody like that, don't they?  Somebody that, if they aren't the center of attention, and they're not calling the shots, they simply aren't going to be real happy for long.  Not until they've got something... anything to be pissed off about, that is.  After all, there must be someone to blame!  Offense is power, you see.  Being offended is actually as equally empowering as deliberately going out and giving offense.  But only for especially sick people, of course.

So, what's the moral of this story?  "Stay away from negative people," I guess.  And whenever possible, I most certainly do.

No Judgement?

Yes, sure, I'm a teetotaler myself, but don't worry, because come to think of it, some of the finest people I know are probably something pretty darn close to closet alcoholics.

But I don't "judge" people who drink a little every now and then, of course. Especially given the highly peer pressure oriented aspect of that particular liquid drug (that effectively gets most kids hooked at a pretty young age -- before they're even old enough to think for themselves, in most cases).

 

However... that does not mean that I feel the need to participate, or am even mildly apt to be susceptible to the massive social pressure that has long encouraged literally billions to join in that most ancient of human social customs.

In other words, to each his own, but don't expect me to join in all "the fun." Sure, I occasionally get a prescription for severe headaches (migraines, or something very much like them), that have plagued me periodically throughout the course of my life, whether I like it or not.

So why then, would I want to participate in a bizarre social custom that often includes becoming so pathetically intoxicated that one is required to puke up their own stomach contents, and then wake up with a massive headache the next morning?

Yep. You see, that part of all the "fun" of alcohol intoxication, right there, just continues to totally mystify me, I'm afraid. Yep. Uh-huh.

The More You Know

The more you know, the more you genuinely realize how much of all the rest of what's out there that you really don't know. And that's the way it should be. Because the day that you decide that you know it all, is the day you stop learning. And that's the day you really do get dumb.

Silence Truly is Golden

Never miss a chance to be quiet. Sometimes silence makes the sweetest music of all.

A Rose for the Muses

I have never really wanted to admit it to myself, but I think it's finally about damn time.  Actually, maybe even too much, too little, too late.  Because there seems to always be someone (sometimes more than one) in my life who, whether they are consciously aware of it or not, seeks to curb my powerful, God given creative drive.

Yes, the muses of Greek "mythology" almost daily "look upon me with favor, for my talent and creativity."  But make no mistake, is it a dialog.  They give to me because I pay them heed.  I listen to their whispers on the gentle winds.  I spy their works of magic in the world around me, often when no one else can even be bothered to so much as stop amid their work a day hurry, to look at all the natural beauty and untold mystery around us all, each and every one.

And you can do it too.  They are waiting.  Somewhere, there is the neglected, gently blushing face of a tender rose, sprouting from a crack in a sun kissed alley or forgotten grotto, just waiting patiently for the fleeting celebrity of a photographic image, a drawing, or the ever so small, but undying devotion in the giddy imbibing of a child who stops, if only for a single fleeting moment, to supplicate, and drink in its humble glory.

Although envy can often be a powerful impetus for personal development, it can also be is a sickness.  So do not hate the skyward struggling rose that blooms.  Pluck it if you must.  But know that the terrible moment of your own reaping will also one day come.  And on that day, will you know the gentle fragrance of the fleeting rose?  Or cause vengeful crimson gore to pour from the fingers of the almighty hand that comes to silence your own personal growth?  Once and for all.

Seize the day.  Smell the flowers.  Before it's too late.

What People Say, What They do, and What We THINK We're Doing and Saying

Over the years I've discovered that some people that appear to be "nice" actually dislike you, and may even feel profound enmity and jealousy towards you.

And some people that aren't especially nice (or don't appear to pay any attention to you at all) actually don't really hate you all that much. They just don't want you to know why it is that they feel the way that they do about you. Quite often, they may not even like to admit how they really feel to themselves.

Still others are only nice when they want something. Unfortunately, all these types of people are mostly just interested in what others can either do for them, or how others make them feel about themselves.

So, no matter what image people project about themselves, there's what people say, what people do, and what people THINK they're doing and saying. IF... that is, they even think about what they're doing and saying at all. And in my experience, not all that many people really do know what they really, honestly are doing and saying on a pretty regular basis.

In the Modern Cyber Age, We Were ALL Born to be Princes of the Universe!

Ah! I figured it out! I now know in what way I myself may be trying to be the savior of the universe!  Or, at least the vaunted center of Facebook and Google+ attention (or Twitter, or whatever you're into) that so many people seem to crave so very, very much.

Not that any one person in a day and age where more and more of the SEVEN BILLION PLUS people of the Earth are getting hooked up to the Internet, could anyone actually ever truly be any real center of attention for any sort of indefinite period of time, mind you.

And let's be honest, most people on Facebook and the other social media sites are just trying to build their own self serving little evil empire, while mostly ignoring everyone else. Aren't they?

Well... not everybody, I guess.

But perhaps, it is through shameless, ribald psychoanalysis, that I may be trying desperately to stand out above the rest of the bleating, braying, needy herd. Or... I could just be somebody who doesn't buy into BS all that readily.

Hmm.

Yes... I could just be somebody who can see right through the usually transparent ways that people naturally (and often, unconsciously) try to dominate and control their environment, and everyone around them, via various forms of attention seeking.

Yeah. That's it! Yeah! I'll just keep telling myself that. And when it comes to you doing whatever you may be doing in your own self interest, you should keep telling yourself the positive, "bright side" excuse for that, too.

Tales of Free Electricity! Or... Who's YOUR Pet Little Tin God?

Nikola Tesla: Unsung savior of the universe?

Wow!  Amazon Kindle​ just sent me a notification that the title, "Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century (ASIN:B00CATSONE)," has just been so dramatically electronically updated, that it bears little resemblance to the free book that I originally downloaded!  Hmm.

I wonder if it could have anything to do with the fact that the original manuscript was so full of holes and inaccuracies about the real Tesla?

Because seriously, certain, presumably well meaning people are such blind disciples of Tesla, and have such a curious, conspiracy theory fueled hatred of Thomas Edison, that I sincerely doubt that they are even truly worshiping the real Tesla to begin with.

Yes, there was a definite rivalry between Tesla and Edison back in the day, but for goodness sake, people, why take sides? Both men are dead! Loooong since dead and gone! Who the hell is anybody to say who was the saint, and who was the sinner?

So... do I really want to download the new version of this book about Tesla the Almighty? The newest little tin god of the conspiracy theorist jet set? 'Cause, you know, they say he wanted to give us all free electricity, and only evil, capitalist bad man Edison prevented him from doing just that!

Hmm. Well, maybe so. Maybe... that's true, and Telsa deserves an altar in every home the world over. But I sincerely doubt it. So, I think I'll just read about both men, and make up my own mind.

On the Art of Self Maintainance

Some people really are just angry and in deep personal pain. There's no need to think they're angry at you specifically, though. Nor do you have to take any crap from anyone who seems overly tortured by things you don't even know about, or couldn't possibly really understand anyway. Some people are still just full of rage at everyone in their life who repeatedly humiliated them, or simply gave them no voice to protect themselves with, at some point in their painful past. And all this usually happened when they were too young and/or powerless to be able to do anything about any of the injustices done to them.

And sure, we should all just "get over it." That's what they tell you, right? The Eagles even sang a great song about it. Though I'm not certain that anybody's suffering "inner child" needs its "ass" kicked, like it says in the song.... At any rate, sorry, kids, but just like any form of genuine Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it just doesn't work that way. Quite often, even if your conscious mind thinks it's forgetting, then you're unconscious mind is probably just repressing the pain.

And repression doesn't really help anyone. Because eventually, that angry ghost inside will manifest.  And it usually rears its ugly head in ways that even you (much less those around you) can even begin to understand.  That furious child inside will come screaming out again and again and again - through substance abuse, other addictions, anti-social behavior, or a number of other seemingly unrelated symptoms of untreated anguish.

More often than not, your conscious mind doesn't really know why you did this or that, so you have to rationalize some excuse.  Any excuse.  "Well, I like to drink!" Sure, a lot of people like to drink. But not everybody likes it that much. "Well, that kid's a dumbass!  He made me yell and call him disparaging names that no child should ever hear! He forced me to be the kind of angry monster my father was! He forced me to destroy his fragile, still developing self esteem!" "Well, I'm just trying to keep everybody on the straight and narrow with my constant, self righteous Bible quotes!"

Sure. Whatever you say. Just like your angry, holier than thou parents before you always had to rationalize things. Keep enabling, keep making excuses for them, and hopefully, if you brainwashed them real good, they'll make excuses for you when you get too damn old to either heal yourself, or repent for the damage you've done to others in your unconscious rage. Sure! Let that vicious cycle continue! By all means!

But whether anyone else cares at all or not, personally, I choose to break the cycle.  I choose to be conscious. I choose sobriety and honesty. With myself and everyone around me. I choose not to use substances as a balm for the pain. I choose self help through self analysis and introspection, and to try, every single day, to plumb the depths of both my conscious and otherwise "unconscious" mind.

'Cause if you never take out the trash, so to speak, after a while, the house you live in starts to stink, real, real bad, doesn't it? Well, the human mind, just as much or more than the body IS your hearth and home. And after a while, if you don't keep your house good and tidy, nobody wants to come to visit. Eventually, if you don't learn good self maintenance skills, even YOU can't stand to live with you.

So, I will not just blindly carry on any old, abusive traditions. I patently refuse to pick on the freshmen, so to speak, just because when I was a freshman, the seniors picked on me. So "the buck stops here," just like good old Harry S. Truman used to say. The abuse goes no further. And if my sobriety, lack of self denial, or the fact that I do have a painful past (just like a lot of other people, many who suffered even worse than I did), bothers you, that's your problem. And we all have problems, great or small. Whether our conscious ego wants to admit it, or not.

Good luck with your own regimen of self help, if that approach works for you, and most of all, have a genuinely nice life, everyone!

PS - Anyone who has the sudden impulse to write in and complain that I didn't use the latest, cutting edge theories about psychology, psychiatry, or whatever, in the essay above... please... just don't. I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or Scientologist, God forbid. Nor am I any of the other highfalutin "ISTs" currently making the rounds of the social jet set. And unless (and even if) you in fact are somebody holier than thou, I honestly don't necessarily need to know about it. Your minor corrections may be helpful to me, of course. Or... in fact, they may just be your own brand of self righteous "Bible quotes." Which is fine, but I fully stand behind my own ability to self analyze. Because, just like everybody else, I, ultimately, am the best judge of what will help me heal my own damn self.

A Thing is a Thing is a Thing is a Thing

A drug is a drug is a drug is a drug. Some drugs are herbal, some mineral, some chemical. You want this or that drug "legalized," for this, that or the other personal reason, that's fine, I guess, but legalization of any potent, behavior and/or mind altering substance doesn't make it any less of a drug. Likewise, the failure of Prohibition doesn't mean that alcohol was never a drug. The mere fact that Prohibition was implemented in the United States in the first place, shows that alcohol is very often a very harmful socially acceptable drug.

It also strongly suggests that most human beings don't exercise self control very well. That's people for ya!  If no one abused chemical or herbal substances, like nicotine, marijuana and alcohol, every damn thing would be totally legal!  Like shooting little kids and teachers.... Uh-huh. That would be legal, too, but... thank God, it isn't! Because, likewise, a gun is a gun is a gun is a gun. Though, sure... some guns are bigger or smaller than others. And some drugs are less beneficial or more harmful than others.

Either way, the sudden entry into the human body of a small lead projectile pretty much has the same effect on all human beings, see. Regardless of age, race, sex, nationality, etc, etc, ALL. Yes, the sudden introduction of a high velocity lead (or even rubber) projectile into the human body either seriously harms or even... kills the host. Bullets don't discriminate when entering human flesh, and neither do drugs. But at least drugs don't kill ya, right? Uh... some do. Sorry! Okay, but at least most drugs don't enter the human body at high velocity, right? And that's a plus, right? Yes, and... no.  The effects of some more or even less potent "recreational" drugs take literally years to fully manifest in the human body. Look it up! I'll wait.

But that's the world we live in, kids. Human beings do bad things with otherwise harmless stuff sometimes. Yes, as sad as it may in fact be, many people simply do not use things (and themselves, or even other people) in a very responsible way. Hence, the need for governmental regulation and sometimes, even the outright ban of certain things that people tend to so often misuse. And it's not good fodder for conspiracy theories, or anyone trying to poop your party. It's just bad old human beings doing things they really shouldn't do, with otherwise beneficial stuff.

Like rocks, for example. Rocks are just rocks. A rock is a rock is a rock is a rock. People build sturdy, beneficial things with rocks. Rocks are good for all mankind! That is, until... some nasty, emotional human or primate ('cause they have opposable thumbs, too) picks up a rock and uses it to suddenly and quite gruesomely and violently bludgeon someone else to death. Then... the freedom to use and abuse rocks suddenly becomes, not a rock problem, but a behavioral problem.

And I really wish all this talk about the abuse and misuse of otherwise good stuff, was a lot more conspiracy theory style entertaining, or damning of authority figures in general, than it honestly really is. But... sorry, it honestly really just... isn't.

And legal or illegal, alcohol and other potentially fun things that people really love to use and abuse, don't really cause any problems (as the age old argument goes). The people who consume large (or even sometimes small quantities of them - because the effect of ANY drug, including caffeine varies, based on individual body chemistry) is what gives any potentially beneficial drug a very bad name.  And likewise, yes, every single time some bad human shoots up (yes, shoots up - a little drug pun for ya there) a school full of little (or even big) kids, a lot of people are gonna seriously think real, real hard, yet again, about taking everyone's "rights" away from them. Go figure.

So I guess the moral of the story is: Control thyself, young man (or woman)! Or somebody else will.  And you can count on that.

An Open Note to Everybody Out There in the Mystical Land of Facebook

My advice is, if somebody on Facebook annoys you, (even and especially me) even just a little, just drop 'em. No hard feelings. Just drop 'em. Or wait till they drop you. Block 'em if you have to, in the case that they don't get it.  'Cause sometimes, some people just don't want to get it.

Because let's be perfectly honest - social media, for many, many people, is really just a business endeavor. And that business is self promotion - whether most people who frequently utilize social media want to admit it or not.

Sure, some people make genuine friends on Facebook, and I myself really enjoy seeing everyone's pictures; whether what they're sharing is their honest to goodness pride in their artistic endeavors, to their favorite collectibles, or their pride in their family members. I'm good with all that, really.   More power to ya! I salute and support you. As often as I can, in fact... by sitting and clicking "like" for hours sometimes, when I really could be doing something a lot more productive for myself.

Anyway, I've made a few really genuine friends on Facebook over the years myself. And you know who you are. There are a lot of people I've met on Facebook, in fact, that I value a great deal. I feel like I know them like I know many of the good people from my home town that I grew up with.

In fact, some of the people I've met via social media might even be better friends than some of the people I've known face to face throughout the course of my life. But still, there are many who don't really know me at all. And from what I can see from watching them, I honestly don't think they are really interested in me as a person anyway.

They want me to "like" their posts, bolster their almighty Friends List Number, buy their products, and agree with their politics, and... all that other stuff. Which is fine, I guess. Well, I don't know about anybody else, but I only have a certain amount of time for any of that. Maybe... because, like a lot of other people, in the final analysis, I'm just way too busy with my own problems. And with minding my own damn business.

Happy Easter!

So I'm not an atheist. I know some people who think that that means I'm really stupid, childish or superstitious, but personally, I think it's pretty arrogant to just one day up and declare that you think there's no God, and when we all die, absolutely nothing happens. Except the usual scientifically proven stuff, of course, like decomposition of the human body and all that.

Well... I mean, I think a person has every right to say that they don't believe in anything they want to, but many of the people who get really vocal about it are often very angry and intolerant, and they're just using all the clear and present holes in most popular religions to obfuscate the fact that they are in fact, whether they want to admit or not, just plain intolerant. Just as, or even more intolerant and hard headed in fact, than the religious people they love to put down. They're also, whether they realize it or not, not very supportive of religious freedom - which is a basic tenant of any true democracy.

Of course, I've had moments in my life when I've thought that maybe there is no God. I think most people have had those thoughts from time to time in their life. Again... whether they admit it or not.  We all get down sometimes. We all get discouraged and disillusioned, especially when things aren't going our way. After all, there is a lot of suffering and cruelty in the world, and if you really focus on it, life can be extremely disheartening. Sort of makes a person want to pray... or prey upon those who do, maybe. Whatever the case may in fact be, I think it's a little silly to think that choosing to not believe in something that seems far fetched (based on current, ever changing levels of scientific knowledge) makes anyone necessarily better than anyone else.

But please don't polarize the issue for me, thank you very much! I'm also not especially religious. So even though I do believe in all sorts of things, I don't believe in getting too involved in any type of group-centric behavior. I don't do political parties or cults as a general rule. I do believe in karma, the focusing of positive energies, and the genuine power of prayer, but like a lot of people, I've personally witnessed and experienced some very negative aspects of organized religion. You know, the same stuff that makes some atheists get so mean and intolerant. Overall however, I think religion, and having religious freedom is extremely important in any society.

No, you don't have to say "Merry Christmas" to me, or even "God bless you" when I sneeze, but who is anyone to tell me or anyone else that they shouldn't be able to say anything like that to anyone else? Or say a kid can't say the Pledge of Allegiance with the word God among the verses?  Anyway... HAPPY EASTER!  I believe in some things, and don't believe in others. Just like everybody else. And I don't know everything. Just like everybody else. Whether they admit it or not.  And what I do or don't believe in, just makes me human. And flexible, really. Because if nature teaches us anything, it is that rigidity kills. Living creatures that cannot adapt and change must eventually die out.

Anyway, I'm not sitting permanently on anybody's hotly contested fence, or firmly entrenched on either side of it. I make up my own mind, based on any and all of the information that's out there.  Regardless of whether any church, state or highfalutin scientific establishment outright dismisses it from the get go. I have free will. I choose to believe or not to believe as I see fit. Because most of all, what I really believe, is that true rationality, true sanity, lies somewhere between any and all extremes.

Nostalgia

I was a really little kid in the early 1970s (insert your decade here), too. I remember those days really, really well. I remember long, sun kissed summer days walking "up town" in my tiny hometown (population 3,000 or so), with my mother and her long train of children ('cause I was third in line, out of six), because my parents only had one car, and my mother didn't even have a driver's license.

I remember the big "Gas Crisis" of the mid 70s! I remember being really ashamed of having a dumb ass peanut farmer in the White House (and I like peanuts), who couldn't even launch a successful rescue attempt to get our hostages out of Iran. And gee, the memory of that, even to this very day, still really stinks.

Heck, I even remember the late 1960s! I was knee high to a grasshopper, but probably my very first really good impression was of Richard Nixon, whom my father would have me mimic for any and all guests who showed up at the house. Yep! There I was, a tiny kid, standing in the kitchen, making "the Peace Sign" with both hands raised in the air, with a big grin, shaking my head back and forth, pretending to have Nixon's trademark jowls, saying, "I am not a crook!"

I remember all the songs that I still love to listen to, too. I remember all the wonderful American toys that were produced then (and I still collect many of them), and all the kitschy, low budget TV shows, 'cause all we had to watch were between three and five channels, and if something half way decent was on, everybody watched that crap. Whether it was actually good or not.

But that's nostalgia. And nostalgia is great, but it's not really real, you know. It's a product of the human mind. It's a romantic notion that things used to be better than they are today. Actually, some things were better back then, but some things just weren't all that good. And you know what? It's the same today! Nowadays, some things are better than they used to be... and some things still just plain stink.

And sorry everybody, but a big part of the reason why nostalgia does and doesn't really have the same effect on me that it seems to have on a lot of people who "linger in the past," is that my mother believed (and for all I know still believes beyond the shadow of a doubt) that "everything was better in the 50s." And she reminded us quite frequently by saying that "all that shit that you kids listen to" was no where near as good as the music of the 50s. As a result, as you can imagine, I listened to a lot of her music and still like it to this day. But was all that music of the 70s and 80s "shit?" I sincerely doubt that.

On the Nature of Forgiveness

Of course it's good to "forgive and forget," but make no mistake; forgiveness is nothing to take or give lightly. Nor should it be cheapened by being doled out indiscriminately like counterfeit currency, like Biblical "pearls before swine."

Sure, forgive often, but do not forget blindly or all too easily. In fact, if the injury from a given individual is repeated, time and time again, you may actually be dealing with a characteristically belligerent person, a serially abusive personality; someone who's obviously just plain predatory, and has simply learned over a lifetime of antisocial behavior that they can endlessly avoid true repentance by regularly cashing in all their "good Christian" forgiveness chips. I mean, whatever happened to, "Go, and sin no more?"

Come on! You know darn well who I'm talking about; that "Eh! S/he treats everybody that way" bully at work, in the "family," etc. That type of frequent offender "friend" (a.k.a., "frenemy"), co-worker, or habitually predatory relative type person that never seems to realize what a jerk they actually are.

Also, remember that turning a blind eye to bad behavior doesn't really solve the problem. In fact, it usually means the opposite; it means that a given transgression will most definitely be repeated. Why? Well, because by being silent or avoidant, you actually educated them that they could get away with being belligerent all the time, silly!

Duh.

So there really is no shame whatsoever in letting someone who repeatedly harms you know the damage that they've done; not once, not twice, but over and over again. Let's face it, if you allow certain individuals to repeatedly get away with their thoughtless transgressions, don't you think that you run the risk of educating them that they can also get away with doing the same to others?

I mean, if you honestly believe that constantly submitting to abuse like the perfect Christ-like sacrificial victim is actually healthy or even beneficial over the long or even short term, then maybe, just maybe, you may have entirely misinterpreted the true meaning of the Gospels. Or even worse, you may very well have been misled by others to begin with.

Either way, seeking to protect oneself from a serially abusive individual by attempting to finally put a stop to the harmful behavior, or barring that, simply taking positive steps to remove oneself from the situation altogether, does not make anyone either unforgiving or "not a good Christian." It just means that, finally, "enough is enough!"

Sure, you should forgive those who persecute you, but if you keep continually going back for more, what kind of message is that sending, not only to the bully, but to other potential victims? The bottom line is that Christ died for our sins so no one else would have to! And if you missed that particular part of the New Testament, you might just wanna go back and re-read, and at the very least carefully reconsider, that particular part of "the good book."

Because the truth is that Christ, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world," willingly gave himself up to be the eternal "spotless victim" so that no one else would ever have to suffer like that again. Quite literally, the Crucifixion was meant to finally put a stop to the suffering of sinners, and not to suggest that anyone else should continually be forced to endlessly play the victim.

After all, as they say, "Charity starts at home," and habitually abusive people can never truly learn new and better ways of treating others unless they are made aware of just how much damage they continually cause. And by letting them know that you're simply not going to take anymore, you may not just be helping yourself, but protecting the next potential victim. Did you ever think about it that way?

Either way, most perfectly ordinary, flawed human beings (and goodness knows, we all are in various ways) don't really change or make amends unless finally motivated or even forced to do so. So again, true repentance is in order here, not the continual, clearly unhealthy submission to serial abuse.

So gather your courage. Put your foot down, once and for all. Remember, bullies can only continue to take advantage of you if you let them. And if you can't fight back on your own, don't be too proud to seek help. Because everyone deserves that. No one deserves to be repeatedly battered, and if you honestly think you do, then maybe you're the one with the problem.

Most importantly, those who persecute us often simply don't even realize the full extent of the harm they're doing to others. Remember, "s/he just treats everybody like that?" Well maybe people just say things like that because they don't care about you or anyone else. Maybe that's just an excuse to "not get involved." They just want you to shut up and go away.

Maybe people who they really shouldn't be allowed to continually get away with bullying or outright abusive behaviors. Maybe it's time they were finally taught a lesson. Maybe they just need a good old fashioned wake-up call. Who knows, some particularly abusive and serially harmful individuals may even need to finally be given a well deserved taste of their very own medicine.