Lines are being drawn, y'all.
Hard lines.
Hard lines are being drawn around hard topics and we're all being force fed -- whether we realize it or not -- information to make us pick a side.
It's unavoidable.
Today's news cycle, from social media to print to local news, is spinning on race and the value of life, religion and the danger of extremists, sexual identification and bathroom use as well as politics and the illusion of choice. In light of the noise, I would ask all of you -- all of us, really -- to make sure you don't get caught in the media machine attempting to dictate the narrative.
I'm not saying be an anarchist. I'm not saying we should all be conspiracy theorists. I'm not saying we need to question all authority. I'm not saying any of those things. What I am saying is try not to let the governing powers convert you into the useful idiots they want us all to be.
Don't take the bait. Don't pick sides.
Instead, do something far more difficult: try to erase the lines. Focus on your reflection, refuse to the give the lines power and I promise they will start to disappear. Not overnight, of course. But eventually they will. Maybe even entirely.
So my message is cheesy and simple, y'all: Write your own narrative and stay clear of the pitfalls of "group thinking." As the old idiom goes: individuals are smart, people are dumb. Try and focus on the content of life, not the color in which its painted by outside forces.
And if that doesn't work, let's hope the Zombie Apocalypse happens sooner than later, because, if we're not gonna use them, we might as well serve them up as snacks for the undead. #brains
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Quick Thinking
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-- Having one's version of the truth confirmed seems to be far more important than the actual truth these days.
-- The equation would look something like:
your truth > actual truth.
-- It's an amazing phenomenon.
-- And it's true for most people.
-- Or, well, at least I think it is.
-- Kevin Durant signing with Golden State just feels cheap to me. #ifyoucantbeatthem
-- It also feels like the personification of the instant gratification mentality that seems to be dominating today's world.
-- Quote of the Week goes to my coworker JFRY who shared the following with me over a conversation about our favorite things while enjoying a few Trillium brews, "I really enjoy cleaning my ears with q-tips while I pee."
-- Truth is stranger, indeed.
-- Note of the Week goes to all the ladies out there. Listen, I get the whole "it's my body and I can do what I want" thing. I get it. I do.
-- Seriously, much respect.
-- I mean, I can't twerk, give birth or look sexy sitting naked on a horse.
-- But if a guy walked around with his cock out screaming "Power to the penis! It's my body and I can do what I want!" a lot of you ladies would be the first in line to protest.
-- Or applaud.
-- Either way, maybe empowerment via nudity needs to be reexamined.
-- Because the very cause it champions create the issues that need to be championed in the first place.
-- But, hey, at least your tits look great.
-- Speaking of penis power, who do you think would win in a sword fight: Caitlyn Jenner or Hillary Clinton?
-- I vote Clinton.
-- Old Man Thought of the Week: I miss the world I grew up in...a place where Trump's social impact was relegated to combover jokes and a board game.
-- But if he gets elected I'm really looking forward the Reality TV show that will be his presidency.
-- It's gonna be HUGE!
-- Quote of the Week II comes from the song Human Mic by my man Talib Qweli, "You can have your own opinion but not your own facts."
-- I'd invite most of my ex's to listen to that song.
-- At least a few times.
