Just a Thought
I see a lot of people ranting and raving, pounding at lecture stands, getting audiences riled up over this, that, and the other thing, denigrating others to elevate themselves and their causes du jour, and every last one of 'em makes me take a step back from the mindset they're seeking to present. I want to be swayed in civil (if impassioned) conversation, by your facts and your perspectives and by the demeanor with which you deliver them, not by the crowd because it's given in to the prevailing mob mentality of that place and time, especially not when that crowd runs, as it inevitably will, into one of a sufficiently different mindset that in their respective frenzies they come almost immediately to blows and gunfire.
Except in the case of Charlie Sheen, especially now that I'm almost certain his whole schtick the last little while has been engineered, in whole or in part, by him alone or in collusion with CBS. I find him exceptionally entertaining. If he's really mentally ill that's unfortunate and hopefully he'll get himself situated in short order. But as Bill Maher said, what's he really doing that's so unusual? He's sleepin' around after his divorce, he happens to run in the same financial and social echelons as top-dollar porn stars and who wouldn't choose them for that if they could? He's using or abusing drugs, again, not unusual; it's just not PC to acknowledge that it really doesn't matter unless he hurts someone. Jimmy Kimmel pointed out to Mr. Maher that there were his kids (Ms. Richards has them, so they're safe), and the folks who aren't working (or weren't, rumor is they're bringing Two and a Half Men, complete with Sheen, back to air) because of him. That last was actually because of CBS though - they didn't have to fire him and even if they did they didn't have to shut down the show like he's the only character that matters; I foresee grumbling and fracturing if it does come back as the other cast members realize that's what they've just been told - and I'd be willing to bet that at the very least Sheen knew none of this would hurt his career one iota. I think he may even have intended to get fired, either in order to bring suit or in order to renegotiate his contract, or that he was at a point where it didn't matter if he could get anything out of it, he's rich enough and popular enough and making choices that enough people, however clandestinely, agree with and also make if they're able and so inclined, that if he couldn't profit he didn't care, he just felt like havin' some fun and knew that once it went public he might as well make the most of it. Or possibly, I suppose, CBS even had a hand in it, seeking a boost in ratings or just to twist his problem to their advantage, who knows (although I think that last is at least a little doubtful :D). I saw a picture recently where he was 'drinking' a bottle of 'Tiger's Blood', but his thumb was clearly over the mouth of the bottle (wish I could remember where now; you could probably find it on Google, he was on a bridge, I think, with one of his girlfriends and some other friends makin' a spectacle), and from the complete lack of mention of that fact on the part of the journalist or the commenters it appears we were enjoyin' the crazy and perhaps ignorin' the crafty. :)
But all that's beside the point. I'm just sayin', if an idea is worth gettin' behind people will get behind it whether it's shouted or whispered. Really a normal speaking voice is the most pleasant to listen to (or better yet, music! :)), and we'll all get farther on shared ideas than hoarded ones, so could we stop with all the yelling and pounding and bully-pulpiting and just sit down and talk about it, and listen, and bend and flex and talk some more until we figure out what works the best for the most people and how we can accomodate the ones that don't fit into that or at what point they're just gonna have to fend for themselves? The principles of freedom underlying America's social architecture require that we respect one another as autonomous adults, but with every morality-based law that's been implemented, and with every social service rendered on a qualified scale we've allowed erosion of our sense of personal responsibility to the point that we have also forgotten that the next guy or gal is responsible for themselves, too, a realization that reminds us of the futility and even counter-productivity of judging others according to our own sense of right and wrong, and especially of taking action against them based upon those judgments until we've determined beyond a shadow of a doubt that their choices are unconscionable. I don't like to be yelled at, I don't like mobs, I don't like causes that can't stand without blinding people through fear or rage, and I don't like money-motivated movements. *foot stomp* So there. :D
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