Oh no; are you one of those people that think it's cruel to call someone 'stupid'? Tell you what - give me a better word and I'll use it. Because stupid sure doesn't cover the crap I see on TV, the internet, or newspapers. But let's see what the Oxford says about stupid:
adj.
Having one's faculties deadened or dulled; Emotionally or morally dull or insensible; apathetic, indifferent; Wanting in or slow of mental perception; lacking ordinary activity of mind; slow-witted, dull; Characterized by or indicating stupidity or dullness of comprehension.
I tell you, it's a stupid world we live in.
It's hard for me to be apathetic. Over the past few years I have done a significant amount of mental work to not get upset about things that are out of my control. Lately, though, it seems as if my Zen barriers have begun to break down.
Things affect me more than usual. I want to go out and hit people senseless. Cruelty to animals, especially - it fills me with a deep and chilling numbness, swiftly followed by raging anger that makes me think I would actually gravely hurt someone who hurts any living thing that they consider inferior to themselves. I'm thinking if we wake up one morning and the animals all have shotguns, we'd be living in a better world a week later. Don't even get me started on the shit people do to one another.
The worst thing about all of this is that there is precious little you can do that will actually allow you to see the difference you're making. I like to think that I do have an impact, that I can make a difference. On most days, I believe it to be true. But I also know that my little efforts, and all the other amazingly awesome people's little efforts will really only start making a noticeable difference a few years from now. I might not even be alive when that happens. Most of the time, that's OK with me, too. But it makes days like today very hard. Have we become so numb, so clinical, so materialistic that we really just don't care? Or are we scared shitless of the path we've carved out for ourselves, and we are all just going to join the party until we finally walk into the flames?
So, from tomorrow, I am going to make an effort at calling people 'stupid' instead of all the horrible things I have been calling them lately. Sure, it feels less satisfying. Somehow calling someone a 'fucktard' makes me feel so much better. Still, "emotionally or morally dull" and "lacking ordinary activity of mind" are not too shabby. I just wish I could have been Dorothy fucking Parker in my execution.
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