There was a time when people tried to be decent. Respect and common courtesy were the norm back then. Kindness was an unspoken virtue that was given freely. From the high and mighty to the lowest of the low. A time when it was a good virtue to share love and compassion for the less fortunate among us and disgust for the elitist snobs who never deserved any respect because they lack any human empathy. It never lasts long, but the good vibes and pleasant memories of those bygone times still linger.
I’m talking about a time when people showed compassion and understanding regardless of their station in life. Meanwhile, wars raged, people died, and the world was always in various stages of turmoil, always on the verge of shambles. Time marches onward, stepping over the corpses of yesterday's news. Much like right now, but without the warm feeling you get when you’re helping someone out of a jam. Or you get through the pain of your own suffering on bad days and worse. It was merely getting through to someone who was hurting in their soul. To lend support without sacrificing an arm or leg for the sake of art. Art for art’s sake. In step with a sense of wonder and awe, simply because the world’s spinning.
In my youth, I was wasted all the time. Blackouts, in decades of debauchery and sin. Not to mention being arrogant and obnoxious whenever possible. The ultimate ignorant asshole is screaming loud, angry, foul language to family, friends, and random strangers on the streets. This was a coping mechanism. I had no strategy for clean living. My dirty laundry was public knowledge. My reputation was down the toilet as my poor character circled the drain. The door of opportunity slammed in my face. My short-tempered fuse was burning at both ends. Hey, you don’t know how to have a good relationship with or without people. Not even close enough to your sense of self. Why don’t you get along with people? What do you expect anyway? A swift kick in the pants and a hard slap in the face should suffice. It’s part of God's divine plan, that is, if you believe in that sort of tripe. I was unkind.
If you’re hanging out in hell, it's best to make quick friends with the devil. You might be there awhile, and it will come in handy if you get in a beef with gnarly lost souls who are kicking, scratching, and clawing their way to the top of the funeral pyre you’ll inevitably meet. Treat them with the same courtesy you’d expect in your own life, from complete unknowns on the road to your untimely demise. Some say hell is here and now on this earth. You must be there to appreciate the subtleties of a scorched planet. Burning for eternity or freezing forever isn’t much of a choice. Let’s pretend there are two separate realities running like computer simulations simultaneously. One reality preaches hate and division while teaching the Bible. The other reality practices tolerance and common sense with a firm belief in science, plus fact-based principal values, without making judgments about what others do or say. Which side is good? Which side is rooted in truth? Your choice, choose wisely or sit on the fence.
Once you pick sides, it’s all over, but the truth stays true. Some say the truth will set you free. Others argue that the truth has two sides to the story. Even more people believe that the truth is subjective and not worth telling. They justify their actions, but they make it up as they go along. Snakes in the grass slither on their bellies. It’s a gross insult to anyone who walks erect on two legs. The injustice of a people divided by an ideology of stupidity is overwhelming. It’s unbelievable that allegedly intelligent people will eat that crap up and go back for more.
We’re gullible enough to think that we can make a difference. Maybe so. Someone wins, and the other one loses. In this case, there are no winners. It’s hard to say who’s who in the truth of what’s happening from one moment to the next. It goes down hard—an unbelievably bad call, but it’s all we got. Besides that, it’s best not to get too caught up in the details. From bad to worse, to unspeakable horrors once again.