A Little Perspective is all I Ask.

There are a lot of things I just don't get in this world. I don't get how MTV can be on the air for 20 years without showing a single decent show the entire time. I don't get how ANYBODY can actually spend more than 10 seconds watching reality TV. I don't understand how grown men and women can dedicate their lives to an amateur football team, and yes...naming your kids "Rozier" and "Fryar", dressing as Bob Devaney for Halloween and painting a mural of the Memorial Statdium scoreboard on the side of your house would qualify as "dedicating your life."

Anyhow, I was driving home today, and heard some discussion going on on the radio about the current state of the world. Not just the war, or the current state of politics...but the overall feeling in the United States. Now, I'm not dumb enough to think that my opinion with that sort of thing really means anything...but I do keep up with current events more than normal people (I would think), and despite popular thinking around here...I am fairly educated. (sorta)

Here's what I don't understand....why is everybody so miserable? I realize there is a lot of pain and suffering in the world, but good lord. Look, I'm all about the power of free speech. If you want to make a sign that says, "Save the Trees - Ban wood baseball bats" and stand in front of Rosenblatt for 3 weeks straight...the God love ya. But if you're so bored with your life that you have no option to sit back and just bitch....then you've got some issues.

Double standard you say? Pretty funny coming from a guy who types his hatred for a sports team for a ....well, not living...but for fun? Hardly. If you take this blog seriously...if you take the things I say seriously....then you're a big fat loser. Do I get mad at my friends and co-workers for sending me recruiting info on some kid in Oregon who plays wing-back that bench presses 300lbs and has Nebraska on a short-list of three? Of course. Do I get bugged when conference calls are 10 minutes late because the douchebag that is running it has to talk about the Huskers passing game? You bet.

But good freaking night people....is unemployment over 20%? Are we rounding up segments of Americans and keeping them in cages like we did in World War 2? Are their gas lines around the block? Do we have to stay within 15 miles from home if we drive a car because the country needs the fuel for the war effort? Are hundreds of thousands of U.S. 18-22 year olds being rounded up in processing stations as they get geared up for basic training against their wishes?

Look, I understand the world is pretty messed up right now, and in a post 9/11 world things change. But is it really necessary to demand we go into 24/7 lockdown mode because terrorists might strike again at any moment? On the other side of the coin, why in the FUCK is everything the fault of the government? Everything from global warming, to hurricanes to the price of slim jims. I understand there are internal issues at work here...and an unpopular war is just one of them. It's a very complicated situation that brings out emotions in everybody. But holy shit people, do you have any semblance of history and perspective at all? Have you ever even met somebody from another country? (Canada doesnt' count)

I have..and they all say the same things. They'll bitch up and down about the US government, capitalism and how we are a greedy bunch of slugs who have nearly ruined the world and it's economy for our own gain. However, if you ask the same person in the next breath if they would like to live there, and they would snap their arm in half just to fit in your luggage.

I was in Europe in 2003, a full 2 weeks before the Iraq invasion, and needless to say I was a bit worried. And yes, there were a couple of people who stopped us to complain about what the hell the U.S. Government was doing. Now, even though I see their point and agree with some of their complaints, EACH one of them followed the conversation up with either a question about Paris Hilton or if I had ever seen a taping of CSI. I guess what I'm trying to say is....despite our problems, it's not always as bad as it may appear when you're sitting here.

Obviously, you have enough money to purchase a computer if you are reading this. You most likely aren't doing so outside, braving a -10 degree wind chill either. You're probably at work, earning more money next week than 85% of the world's inhabitants do in a year. You'll drive home in a car bigger than many European apartments. You'll finish your gigantic dinner, and watch your flat-screen TV, which in some cases is bigger than the door of the hut that hundreds of millions of people in this world live in.

I guess what I'm saying is....things are rough right now. People are losing family members during a time of great polarization, both within the United States and outside of it. Threats are all around us. People on the other side of the world may or may not be plotting right now at this very moment to kill us all. But you absolutely have GOT to put some thing in fucking perspective. Complaining about how bad you have it and how bad your leaders are is a way of life for most Americans. But before you get ready to bundle up to go protest the war, or sit outside of your house with a parka and your "Sean Hannity is right" sign....just take a moment to look at the big picture.....

College football is only 233 days away....and luckily you don't have to sit in a mud hut to watch it all.

Sorry about the rant...but it's been bugging me. Oh well...screw you. You don't have to read it. Have a great weekend.

AJ