The Bitter Truth

Ok, I have a question: when did telling the truth become the problem?  Huh?  When did people stop appreciating the truth in favor of fantasy, fallacies and fables?  Did I miss a meeting? 

I remember when the truth was always the default.  Parents insisted upon it.  They lectured and spanked their children to emphasize the importance of telling the truth regardless of the circumstances.  They demanded the truth and accepted nothing short of it. 

Well, I guess that was then and this is now.

Today, telling someone the truth is frowned upon.  Under the guise of being politically correct, are we now encouraged to outright lie? 

Whatever you do, don’t tell the truth!  Quick, make up something pretty and just go along to get along!

Today, people are too fragile for truth.  You have to be more concerned with hurting someone’s feelings than actually educating or instructing them.  Now, it’s better to allow them to remain in darkness than it is to set them straight and on the right track.  Again, did I miss something?  When did feelings top good sense? 

Whatever happened to thou shalt not bear false witness?  Was that a fashion trend that’s no longer in style?  Have we moved on from truth into total chaos?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about telling a pregnant that they look nice because you understand that they are in a state of mind that may temporarily require delicate handling.

I’m talking about not being able to tell the historical culprit about his historical wrongdoings!  I’m talking about having to rewrite historical events so as not to offend the culprit.  I’m talking about not being able to discuss historical truths as they actually occurred because it makes those on the wrong side of history feel bad.  I’m talking about not only suppressing historical facts but having to teach the next generation that egregious crimes against humanity were not so bad since some on the receiving end of the crimes have managed to receive his degrees of so-called knowledge, eek out a house, a car and a little nest egg.  Somehow, in their minds, the ability for their former victims and their descendants to live even a remotely decent life gives the culprit the emotional audacity to believe that his crimes are somehow less aberrant!

Even though he’s placed every possible obstacle in their path for generations, he can exhale now.

He can forget about the fact that their education is somehow less meaningful than his lack thereof.  He can allow himself to wax poetic about the fact that their house is somehow less valuable than his house even in the same neighborhood!  He can somehow justify these things as an act of God—an unspoken commandment from his god that he somehow deserves preeminence over all others who live, breathe and walk the earth.  For his swan song, he’s taught others to believe and agree with him or suffer the consequences historically bestowed upon those who dared to disagree with his self-assessment.  They are forever silenced… and sadly so are we!

Today, truth is a well-kept secret, buried under a mountain of expensive clothing, mansions, private schools for the offspring, stretch limos, private jets and as many toys/dainties one can wrap in decorative 501(c)(3) tissue paper or a cushy seat at the round table or, better still, a key to the executive wash room.  All of that for the tiny price of exchanging truth for falsehood and eternity for their souls.

Can anybody hear me?

It Is Exactly What It Is!

Let me begin by saying, I’m more than prepared for this particular blog topic to be considered very controversial.  I already know that my opinion will probably be extremely unpopular.  Nevertheless, here goes.  

If I hear another person describing alcoholism or drug abuse—prescription or otherwise—as a disease, I’m going to lose it…backlash be damned!  

Contrary to popular belief, alcoholism and drug abuse are not true diseases.  That’s right!  As a matter of fact, both are as a direct result of poor personal choices/behaviors instead of responsible participation!  The truth of the matter is no one forced you to indulge.  And, furthermore, no one made you ignore your own limitations.  

There, I said it!  

Cancer is a disease. Tuberculosis is a disease.  Arthritis is a disease.  I repeat, alcoholism and drug abuse are choices.  Yes, choices.  Regardless of whether or not the abuser solicits street level or medically prescribed pharmaceuticals, if we are honest, we know that they both require active and continued dedication.  

I know, I know, some will say many cancers are also a choice because they occur as a result of negligence in diet and/or overall upkeep on the part of its host.  Same for arthritis.  However, many more cancers occur amongst those who are conscientious about all of these things.  Live right or live poorly, cancer and other illnesses may still find you.  This is because diseases like cancer are not only unpredictable but, more importantly, uncontrollable.  Many are born with and/or inherit arthritis and other ills through no fault of their own, to say nothing of those who catch various illnesses because those around them refuse to take proper precautions.

Conversely, I think we can all agree that alcohol consumption requires an acquired taste and as such, a certain level of commitment.  I mean, no one is born appreciating (or even knowing) the taste of a Mimosa over breast milk or some other variation of mother’s milk.  This means time, practice and a little patience are needed when cultivating this particular palate.  Are people sometimes born predisposed to become addicts?  Of course.  Are they born already aware of and involved in the thing they become addicted to?  Absolutely not. 

Now, don’t misunderstand me, drinking alcohol and/or taking prescribed medication in and of themselves isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As a matter of fact, they can be useful towards regaining and/or maintaining good health.  However, you can’t cry foul after you put in time to become proficient in alcohol tasting/drinking/drug use just because you find you can no longer handle or control your acquired taste.  Likewise, you can’t play the drug addiction disease card if you deliberately and repeatedly exceed medically recommended doses.

To be clear, I do have a bit more sympathy for prescription drug abusers vs. street level drug users.  Nevertheless, I think it is important that we all understand that each of us has a responsibility to guard our own health.  This is especially true for pain management… which seems to be a major contributor to drug and alcohol abuse.  

Trust me, I get it.  No one wants to be in any kind of pain be it mental, physical, etc.  However, there are other proven methods of pain relief that don’t involve swallowing innumerable amounts of prescriptions, OTC pain killers or alcohol.  

Consider prayer, meditation, hot baths, cold baths, light stretches, etc.  Additionally, make sure you’re getting much needed rest, sunlight and vitamin supplements as needed. Also, remember to stay hydrated.  

In other words, we need to do everything we can to maintain our own health.

However, if after all the negative information regarding alcohol/drug abuse is not enough to deter you and you become one of the millions of people who are willing to meet strangers in dark alleys to purchase God only knows what from God only knows who then, and I hate to say this, you deserve whatever you get.  And, if perchance you become addicted, that’s a price you have decided on and are willing to pay, right?  

Finally, if whatever you purchased and ingested without question results in your or a loved one’s death, remember you/your loved one gambled with your/their respective health and life as if you had eight or nine more waiting in the wings.  

That’s right, you and you alone decided to put your trust in a street pharmacist.  The choice (there’s that word again) was ultimately yours!  You’re not a victim.  You’re the culprit!

Can anybody hear me?

Riddle Me This

Ok.  Maybe you can help me out.  Maybe you can give me some insight into an issue that has been bugging me for quite some time.

Here goes:  If you’ve committed a crime against someone, shouldn’t you feel guilty about it…or at least a little bad about it?  I mean, wouldn’t that be the normal—non-sociopathic—response?

If you had even a modicum of conscience, wouldn’t you want to correct the error?  Wouldn’t you take steps to remedy the situation…if for no other reason than to assuage your own guilt?  In fact, isn’t it incumbent upon you to do so?

And shouldn’t this be the normal progression of emotion and action…without someone having to coerce you into apologizing and/or taking restorative steps?  Shouldn’t you pursue this course of action without the expectation of being applauded or rewarded by all and sundry…as though cleaning up after yourself is somehow a major achievement?  I mean, think about it.  If you crash someone’s car, you wouldn’t expect them to fall over themselves praising you for fixing the damage, right?

Yet today, these ideals almost seem foreign!  I daresay that the opposite is true.

Somehow, the culprit has become more of a victim than the actual victim!  As such, the actual victim has become more burdened to forgive a wrong done to them than the culprit is to not do the wrong in the first place!

More and more, I see instances where the victim is expected to take the lead and even absorb the total impact of the wrong committed against them without complaint.

Even worse, depending on the wronged party, it is almost demanded that the victim publicly commits to absolving said culprit of his or her actions against them…no matter how egregious or devastating the crime was.

When did that happen?

How did that happen?

Most importantly, why did that happen?

Why did the world become so degenerate that people demanding justice for wrongs committed against them became a sign of malice and hatred?

When did it become an acceptable notion that the victim of a crime had more responsibility to their culprit than vice versa?  Why should the victim be more instrumental in correcting and forgiving their culprit than the culprit has for making things right?

And don’t get me started on when the victim is black and the culprit white.  Before the bodies are even buried, microphones are jammed into the grieving families’ faces and reporters bombard them with questions over whether they forgive the perpetrator or not.  In many cases, the offended party is subject to ridicule if they don’t publicly and expeditiously forgive a white culprit.   Then, the actual culprit somehow gains the right to complain about not being forgiven fast enough.  From there, the culprit goes on to garner sympathy for their suffering at not having been forgiven!  Outrageous!

Now, I’m certainly not saying that white victims of crimes don’t forgive other races of people for committing crimes against them.  That would be unrealistic.  Rather, what I am saying is that when whites are the culprit, they demand forgiveness almost as an entitlement.

I know, I know…this is where people quote (or rather misquote) the Bible, citing forgiveness as mandatory!

OK, I’ll spot you that one.  Forgiveness is indeed mandatory.  Nevertheless, as much as forgiveness is mandatory, so is refraining from doing harm/sinning against others in the first place!

Go and sin no more and pay back what you owe are the parts of the Bible nobody wants to talk about!

Then again, no one wants to deal with that part of the Bible that says we should forgive our brothers/sisters unless there is cause either.

If they did, they’d have to ask a host of uncomfortable questions, such as who is my brother/my sister, and what constitutes cause.

Consider this:  Would a brother or sister intentionally harm you?  If they did harm you, wouldn’t they take steps to repair the damage?  Wouldn’t they understand the pain, suffering and inconvenience they caused you?  Would they try to get out of making reparations or assisting in your healing process?  Wouldn’t they be sensitive to your need to heal and give you enough time to do so?  Wouldn’t they be worried over what our parent(s) would say or do to punish them for their actions?

In the absence of these things, isn’t it fair and reasonable to conclude that the culprit is not your brother or sister?

And what about cause?  Would harming you and making no moves to heal you be considered cause?  If so, would that mean you have cause to be angry at them, or not regard them as family anymore?  Would that give you cause to not allow them into your inner circle or any additional access to you…if for no other reason than for your own protection from future assaults?   Wouldn’t that give you the right to appeal to your parents (God) for justice?  Isn’t that a reasonable outcome…at least until reparations are made?

Can anybody hear me?