Importance

I'm a big NPR junkie... really, I'm an 'anything that is on TV or Radio right now' junkie.  I watch Kathy Lee and Hoda on most mornings, for about 10 minutes, because that is what is on the TV in the Gym at work when I am on the treadmill.  If that doesn't happen to be on, I watch whatever else the last person had on the TV when using that particular treadmill, but most days, its KLG and Hoda.  I couldn't tell you from one day to the next what they were talking about, but during my morning walk, its fucking interesting as hell. 

I was listening to NPR on the way home today, and there was this bit about some guy in some fucking state with big lakes in it, and he was going on about how the lakes are being polluted, that Asian Carp are gang raping all the regular carp with their tiny rice dicks, that there needs to be more laws to protect the lakes from stuff, and that this issue is of SUPREME IMPORTANCE to the nation, and should be prioritized by the candidates.  I thought, "Why the fuck is this issue important to the nation?  What in the fuck does it have to do with me, in Ohio?  Who the fuck cares about Asian Carp buggery?  Other than the American Carp..."  Then that made me think what me thinking all of this has to do with me directly.

This guy was talking as if this was the MOST IMPORTANT thing in the world.  And to him, it probably is.  His world consists of these lakes.  His daily routine is determined by the state of these waters and the surrounding area.  This man's universe consists of that spot, and his 15 minutes of fame telling about it on NPR.  There is nothing in my entire life that I could say defined me, like those lakes do for that man.

But then I think, how shallow is that?  How shallow is it of me to think that someone else's entire existence can be defined so simply?  Was he simply saying that these lakes are of supreme importance, to try and garner support for his cause?  Yes.  Yes he was.  In order for his cause to grow and be respected, he needed to speak with such passion and douchebaggery to try and convince other people that what HE is involved in is important to everyone.  Even though it is plain that anyone who does not live in the immediate vicinity of this lake will never EVER be affected by anything that happens here.  It is his job, his agenda, to see to it that people respect what is going on inside his tiny little world. This man was speaking so aggressively about the importance of his water way, suggesting that the government needs to drop everything else to support this one area of the country.  Congress, will you stop sending support to oppressed nations, feeding and clothing your people, arranging for satisfactory health care, supporting your elderly, defending your borders... to keep my fish from being cornholed?  Pretty please?

The point here is not to shit on this one guy, but the fact that, to him, it was the most important thing in the world.  I do not have a 'most important thing' in my world.  As in, I may have an opinion on the lakes, but so does he, and his opinion is every bit as valid as mine.  I have an opinion on the President, or health care or abortion or gun control or the Jersey Shore or capital punishment or if Miller Light is good because it does in fact Taste Great or is it because it is Less Filling... and my opinion on any of these things is equally as valid as anyone else's opinion on these things.  I do not consider myself an expert in anything at all... and things that I might be an expert in (Nose picking and masturbation) I have no illusions that I know everything there is to know about them.  I only know what I have experienced during my lifetime, and your experiences are guarenteed to be different than mine. 

There are things that are important to me, and things that are not important to me, such as these lakes.  Does that mean that these lakes are not worthy of attention?  This is where I bring up Hitler again, and the fact that there were thousands of people who agreed with his mindset and his policies.  He did not single handedly murder 6 million Jews... he had a posse of like minded gangsters up in this piece, he had Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan, also with hordes of like-minded people in their wake.  Hitler was good at talking people in to his way of thinking.  So was Mussolini and Pol Pot and Kim Jong Il and Obama and Romney and George Clooney and Merril Streep and Sheriff Arpaio and Jerry Sandusky and the Westboro Baptist Church and Bill Nye and Professor X and Magneto and Rasputin... All of these people have that one thing in common; the ability to convert others to their way of thinking.  Who is right?

I am not dedicated to anything in my life.  I go to work, I take care of my kids, I pay my bills, I attend to my family and friends, and in most cases, I just exist... I am not trying to convince anyone of my good nature, my beliefs, my causes, my abilities, because I have no nature, no beliefs, no causes, no abilities.  I just am.  Is that such a bad thing?



The Angry Man