I've never been a “glass half-full” kinda guy. Shocking, I know. I'm more of a “half-full or half-empty it better be alcohol in that damn glass because the voices in my head won't STFU” kinda guy. I rant. I rage. It's what I do. If you had known me before I found a creative outlet for the demons that poke my brain with pitchforks on a regular basis, you probably would have just shaken your head and said, “Bless his heart” as we tend to do here in the South when confronted with the mad (I'm well aware that some of you say this now and when I say “some of you” I'm mainly talking about my family and people in my hometown). I'm a chemically-imbalanced miscreant, infected with a large dose of misanthropy that masks itself with a veneer of sarcasm, but who still tries to exercise the empathy muscle, because I'm convinced that empathy is the only thing that will stop the self-destruction that the human race has rushed toward ever since the first caveman knocked his brother over the head with a rock and discovered that that was much easier than negotiation as a means to eat the last mammoth leg. I spend most of my time disappointed with humans, but dammit, I can't quit you and I want us to do better. I want us to evolve to the next level of our existence and it makes me angry enough to bite my tongue in two when I see things like violence and greed and racism and bigotry and willful ignorance holding us back. I exist somewhere between pessimism and nihilism and I still have to turn the channel when the ASPCA abused puppy and kitty commercial comes on because I'm not fond of openly weeping and because seeing animals suffering sets me on a course into the blackest of depression and hatred that ends with holes punched in the dry wall and a hangover that lasts for three days. I got problems. Luckily, I can write passably enough to be somewhat entertaining and I can channel all of the above into a comedy act that, while it ain't for everybody, a few people dig enough to drop a five dollar bill to watch every once once in a while.
What I'm saying is that I'm not known for my “bright side.”
There is one, though. If you live here in Paducah, we have an awesome new mayor and I'm hopeful that our city will continue to grow and be an example to the rest of the world of what a town of our size can accomplish. Change does indeed start at home. The “revolution” is right outside your front door. You want things to get better nationally, do whatever the fuck you can do to make things better locally, wherever that may be. Take all of that sadness and frustration and rage and put it into your neighborhood, local government, charity organizations, and helping those that need it. Be kind to animals. Adopt one from a shelter. Teach your kids empathy. Talk to people who are different. Support local artists and musicians (and comedians).
And if you're white and straight like me...recognize your privilege and open your eyes to the FACT that not everyone in this country has had the same American experience as you. You see, that's where that whole empathy thing comes into play. Stand up, for, and with everyone who is a victim of racism, bigotry, homophobia, and xenophobia. If you see them being attacked, step in and speak out. Let the worst of us know that they won't continue to beat down the best of us. Not on our watch. Not now. Not ever.
"I am made by my times
I am a creation of now
Shaken with the cracks and crevices
I'm not giving up easy
I will not fold
I don't have much
But what I have is gold." - R.E.M.
