I thought I could wait, but 2013 is going to be busy. So, I think it’s best if I go ahead and get this post out of the way. Some of you knew I couldn’t take the rest of the year off, didn’t you? Of course you knew. (thanks for not shouting at me for my freakishly long comments on your blogs)
This holiday season we need to ask ourselves a collective, “What do we want?” Do we want a future free from violence? An environment free from pollution? Or do we like living in our virtual cocoon hoping no one notices we’ve drained the reservoir. Do we want cures for disease or just erections and collections of support ribbons in every color of the rainbow?
It’s time to stop dicking around. Elected leaders need to put out or get out. Teachers need to be properly compensated for the enormous job they do. They do not need to be stripped of their abilities to inspire creativity and motivate students to think for themselves. Children need to be children. They do not need to be made into the image of hookers and soldiers for entertainment purposes. The world needs people who have self-respect, who are accountable for their actions and who do not litter. The world does not need any more assholes or greedy bastards.
How do we turn want into abundance? How do we provide for need? Our scientists know. Our economists know. Our scholars know. Seriously, they know. Adam and Eve exchanged those gifts on the first Christmas. What? Adam and Eve didn’t celebrate Christmas? hmmmm Are we sure about that? Do we need to debate it, call each other names and duke it out in the parking lot or can we agree that people are created from the joining of an egg and a sperm? Most of us have evolved or at least have opposable thumbs. Our mythologies, fantasies, illusions and delusions are what make us unique. Oh, and our fingerprints. Everything else we have in common. We all have blood and body parts. We all inhale and exhale. We all go potty. Unless a person gets assistance from a qualified physician, creating humans only happens in one way. So, if it isn’t your intention to create another human being that requires food, shelter, clothing, books and puzzles, constant attention, continuous support, affection, supervision, direction, instruction, mobility and more food, wear a condom or don’t have sex.
We can speak and sing and dance and love and see and move and do. What are we waiting for? Do we really need more stuff to argue about? Do we really need more than 500 cable channels? Do we really need laws to regulate how loud TV commercials can be? Do we really need to use up our resources transporting plastic shit across land, air and sea? Do we need to make a list of the harmful things we are doing to ourselves, to each other, to the planet, to our future? Will that help us get serious? Do we need to make a list of ways to support, honor, respect and maintain ourselves, each other, the planet, our future? What’s it going to take? Tell me and I’ll get write on it.
P.S. So far this holiday season Toyota of Irving and Fuller’s Jewelry in Addison, Texas have violated the CALM Act. Plus, telemarketers are not abiding by the National Do Not Call registry. Oh, and I’m going back to school next year!
While all of that sinks in, enjoy this from Our Time In Eden
Honie Briggs 
You said “erections” and then you said “dicking.” A psychologist would have a field day with that one. As would somebody with the mental humor of a 13 y/o.
Somebody like me, that is.
Ha. Merry Christmas, Honie Briggs!
Did you ever have a teacher when you were a kid who thought calling students Mr. and Miss like Sidney Poitier in To Sir With Love would make them behave with maturity?
Merry Christmas Mr. Petruska. HA! You crack me up man!
Well, I did have a teacher whose catchphrase was “be sweet, mister” (or miss). She was a real hoot.
I bet her holiday parties weren’t as good as Honie’s Hootenanny, ay Mr. Petruska? I am so going to call you Mr. Petruska from now on. You can pretend I’m Sidney Poitier. (That’s gonna take some imagination.)
My fondest memory of her is when she allowed us to watch “The Terminator” in class. Pretty cool teacher, for sure! And you can call me Mr. Petruska to your heart’s content, Mr. Poitier.
With telemarketers I used to tell them I was very interested in their {whatever}; could they give me a moment to get a pen? Then I’d put the phone down and go do something else for 20 minutes. Eventually I’d hear the off-hook alarm and know I could go hang up the phone.
I wonder whose bright idea it was to have people call random strangers to try to sell them stuff. I swear if a company put half that much effort into handling inbound customer service calls, they would have customers singing their praises.
question: out of that entire post, telemarketing is what you picked up on? I’m really starting to doubt my ability to communicate through writing. I’m thinking about becoming a sign twirler for Furniture Factory Warehouse! 🙂
Well, I find it just saves so much time if I skip right to the P.S. … 😐
All seriousness aside, I completely agree with your post. It’s another refrain of, “We Need To Be Better Than This,” which you sang very well. I’ve sung it myself many times (no doubt we’ll both sing it again)! I just despair sometimes of getting enough people in on the harmony.
P.S. Just before your P.S. .. “get write on it.” Intentional pun? (I can see a take on the word play, but it doesn’t seem quite consonant with your direction at that point. (See, I do pay attention!))
I do tend to repeat the same refrain. It’s only right that I write, sadly I am not always right and that often keeps me from sharing the things I most want to write. Yes, it was intentional and I did think about how it didn’t convey my desire to immediately get busy doing whatever it will take for us to get serious about making things right (as right as they can be). We will never achieve perfection, nor should we want to, but at the moment it doesn’t seem we have the fortitude for more than status quo, which absolutely sucks!
Yeah. It sure does.
I think I want to reach perfection — that’s what keeps it a goal, wanting to achieve it. I just know that it’s impossible. The Laws of Thermodynamics prohibit it, let alone the difficulties in the real world! But I do keep it as a kind of guide start.
Wish more people did.
Telemarketers get very confused when you start asking them personal questions. Next time one gets through start asking where they’re from, how many kids they have…..they get lost in the confusion. 🙂 (and, it’s fun!!)
Yeah, my dad likes to do that too. And he also thinks it’s fun!! 😉
I was having a hard time imagining not hearing from you for the next week or so:) What’s up with the telemarketers – it’s crazy!
Yeah, I had a little time on my hands today and couldn’t contain myself. Telemarketers go to voice mail around here, but once in a while they get the full wrath of Honie.
Well it was good to hear from you! I have had a couple of telemarketer calls on my cell this week – it makes me crazy.
I love your tell-it-like-it-is style. You make some great points. And are you really going back to school? Very cool! What do you plan to study?
Thanks Carrie. Yes, I’m going to dust off my trapper keeper and pack my Snoopy lunchbox and fight the traffic to study emergency administration & planning/alternative dispute resolution. My son and I are going to race to see who can complete a degree first.
That’s fantastic. Having just finished up a master’s program in public health a couple years back, I know how much work it can be. But I also loved it. Learning never gets old. 🙂
I’m going to focus on community disaster response. I’ve done some volunteer crisis intervention and corporate loss mitigation. So, it will be interesting to dig into it from a different direction. Learning is exciting, isn’t it?