What constantly amazes me in all of life’s trials and experiences is the amount of complaining and bickering that people around me do. Constantly griping about life and America, how the war in Iraq is evil, and that America should be ashamed for their lies and deceit. That liberals are just a bunch of gay tree huggers, that conservatives are old fashioned dead weights that hate the little man. America should be ashamed of itself for the scandals of Abu Ghraib, that all Americans are oil loving, full of themselves pigs who don’t give a shit about France, Germany, and Japan want. America is the new Satan, and you know what, maybe those terrorists that ran those planes into the World Trade Center were right. What we do is wrong, the FFA is inherently evil, Boy Scouts is a bigotted, evil, harmful organization. A cow is more than a meal so you should save her life by becoming vegetarian. The pledge of allegiance is a horrible awful thing, that the words “under God” are favoring of one religion, that religion shouldn’t ever come close to government and evil Christians, evil Muslims, evil Taoists, and evil Stoics are killing this intellictual era with their religious convictions.
Here’s the part where someone says, “You know, that’s not right.” I say, “Right on.”
And then someone says, “You forgot about ANWR.” I cry.
You want the whole truth? What you say is protected. Your anti is protected by my pro. And there’s nothing anyone can do about it. You can be Anti-American. But my Pro-Rights protects your point of view. You can be Anti-Bush. But my Pro-Leadership is what keeps people from giving up. The whole truth is that American citizens have a powerful tool, yet constantly use it to degrade, debase, and slander. Why, oh why, masses, do you cry out, “Down with Bush!”, “I’m ashamed of America!”? You are ANTI. I am PRO.
Here’s where someone tells me that there is nothing they can do to change it. I tell them that it’s not too late to save.
Here’s where someone calls me a fool. Calls me ignorant. Makes fun of my heritage, debases my opinion, attacks my very moral fiber. I cry.
What is life to you? “Lives were lost! Reagan should be condemned for what he did, not putting more money into an AIDS fund!” You count lives like corn or beans in a sack. He did this, or she did that. It’s someone else’s fault. Why do you think of lives in numbers? I think of lives as people. You are ANTI. I am PRO.
What happened to Pro-community, pro-responsibility, pro-love? Your pro-choice kills a baby. You don’t have pro. You have anti. Anti-hope. Anti-Life. “But it’s not alive, it’s not real! It’s just a bundle of cells! It doesn’t have a soul, it doesn’t feel pain!” Your choice is my life. You are ANTI. I am PRO.
Someone in the back says, “A fetus is a person!” and I say, “Welcome to pro.”
Someone near the back says, “You’re all full of bullshit!” I cry.
I’m smaller than I used to be. We are smaller than we used to be. The PRO are being over taken by the ANTI. What happened to caring for your neighbors? No one cares about their neighbors anymore. We’ve replaced neighbors with TiVo and internet and up-all-night bar trips and karioke stands. What ever happened to Mayberry, sitting on the porch and going to the lake for fishing with your dad on an old red dirt road? They’ve been replaced with mini-malls, super centers, fast food, and freeway traffic. What happened to baking cookies with mom, and actually being allowed to eat cookie dough without someone yelling at you? Those experiences have been replaced by media and prepackaged death in a sack, one minute wonders, and low carb diet crazes. What happened to doing a good turn, lending a helping hand? They’ve been replaced with office buildings and hate and internet chat rooms where people bicker about wether or not Bush should be impeached for what he’s done. Charity has been replaced by Greed. Love is being replaced by Lust. Have is being replaced by Have Not. And Life is slowly, ever so slowly, fading to dust and Misery.
Here’s where someone says, “You know, I miss Mayberry.” I say, “You can find it if you try.”
Here’s where someone says, “You are a waste. We’ve ‘evolved’ into something bigger and better than Mayberry. You aren’t freethinking. You are a drain on the American society. You are a backwards fool.” I cry.
What happened to community? What happened to the church, the synagogue, the mosque? What happened to brotherhood and companionship? These once wonderful things are debased by critics. They were once pro-community, pro-help, pro-caring. Now they are anti-change, anti-new, anti-culture. Look what has happened. Your ANTI is killing my PRO.
And for that, I cry. For you, I cry. For the world, I cry. For I am PRO. I cry for ANTI.
In Memory of a Long Lost Friend
Peace.