How We See it is How We Make it

The Super Bowl is set, the Olympics are about to start with mortal enemies combining and other athletes competing under a neutral flag, politics have turned into housewives of Atlanta, and for God’s sake someone put an IED (not really) at the Eagle Ridge Mall. There is so much going on but how much of it really affects me day to day? The government is shut down, but I haven’t missed a meal and I was able to get gas today. It sucks that the parks are closed, and people aren’t getting paid but as I write this the talking heads in DC are stroking each other’s egos and hammering out a compromise for the next couple of weeks. The Koreans, all of them, are trying to figure out how to play together, just like our own government, and one of the teams that keeps making it to the Super Bowl is being called out as a cheating team by mainstream media personnel.

If you only watched the news, Facebook newsfeed, or wherever you get your source of current events you would think that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. As a side note, picture little red riding hood carrying the world in her basket down a long staircase to meet the devil in Georgia. Oops, multiple cross references in that. Read it fast and it will make sense just like some of the political opinions that are spewed daily. Really though, is the world that bad. How many murders did you witness today? How many people did you see doing terrible things compared to how many people just went about their daily lives? The world is not a bad place. There are some bad people that do dreadful things. At the gas pumps today all the patrons paid for their gas. The McDonald’s cashier took my money and gave me change while telling me to have a wonderful day. I was lovin’ it! The people I spoke to on the phone were polite and we accomplished the tasks necessary to hang up happy.

Of course, terrible things happen. We see them on every channel, feed, video, and gossip column known to society. We give credence to those who make the most noise. Even the one’s that don’t deserve it. It is amazing how much air time an event can get and then suddenly it is over. Did you know that there are still people in the Keys and Houston who still don’t have a place to live? Oh yeah, but another story took its place. Why, because we love the bad shit. It sells, it’s easy to talk about, and when people get riled up they pay attention. We love to get angry at something, someone, or just an opinion that varies from ours. What happened to allowing others to have differing opinions and then agreeing to disagree. I like Brussel sprouts. Others don’t. It would be stupid for me to get angry because someone doesn’t. However, if I like lower taxes to protect me but one of my friends thinks that is selfish there is a good chance I will hear about it. Okay, I can disagree and still treat them to dinner with my new-found savings.

The Winter Olympics are right around the corner. We are going to see athletes who have dedicated years of training and sacrifice for the one chance to be on the world stage. Will the event be about the performances on the fields of battle or political banter about banned athletes and combined countries? I hope it is about the performances on the slopes and rinks. It is cool, no pun intended, that two countries who are politically 180 degrees from one another are going to compete as one. It is also worthy to note that athletes who are from a country that is trying to gain an unfair advantage are still going to get to compete. I want to see the best compete, but I want to see the best compete on equal footing. I mean, who doesn’t want to watch an exhilarating match of curling or some ice dancing on a Friday night with your lady? No matter the sport, they are there busting their ass for a chance for glory and I will be watching from the confines of my humble abode. See, I gave a negative opinion of an event I didn’t like. Wow, it really is that easy.

Hey, enjoy life and stopping taking things that aren’t affecting your day to day life so seriously. If it is really bad they will let us all know. There is nothing wrong with being informed so that you can make the best decision for you and your family. Just make sure it is for you and your family and not mine. If we focused on our own stuff more we all would probably be able to have a Coke and a smile and enjoy each other’s company a lot more. Have fun and skip the news tonight. I’ll give it to you real quick-like. There were some murders, the politicians’ kind of suck and blame each other like little school yard kids. It may rain tomorrow in Florida or it may not. It will be a bit cooler and your local sports team will be competing somewhere. The sun is going to come up at a certain time, set at another time and there will be tides as well. Someone robbed a store and Sheriff Judd apprehended another criminal who pointed a gun at his officers. Sleep well, I just saved you thirty minutes.

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash
Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash