Anyone who knows me knows that I very rarely go with the flow. Going against the norm is basically like a way of life for me, but despite what some people might think, it isn't intentional. I just live by the philosophy, question everything before making a judgement. By questioning everything, I force myself to research everything. By researching or experiencing things I can better make judgements. I am not swayed by popular beliefs. I do not go into situations with preconceived notions, because when one does this, they are already leaning towards a certain direction, outcome or verdict. This my friends is how situations like Nazi Germany, Jonestown and many other historic atrocities were able to occur. It also plays a huge part in religion and politics. Two areas where we believe blindly, with little or no facts. Some call it faith. I call it ignorance.
I've lived in New York my entire life. I am a huge sports fan, so of course it makes perfect sense that my favorite professional sports team is the Boston Red Sox. I'm a foodie, but I hate pot roast, chicken soup and just recently I've come to the conclusion I'm not a huge fan of pasta. I've eaten pasta all my life, pound after pound and a few months ago it dawned on me, I don't like it. Don't get me wrong, some sauces are amazing, but the actual pasta? If I never eat it again, I won't miss it. Even staples like ice cream aren't for me. If I have to have ice cream I want a milkshake. Despite my size, most people would be surprised to know that I'm really not a dessert person. I could go the rest of my life without a sweet and I'd be fine. I'd just eat more bacon.
It's not just every day things that I differ on. Most people have a rule about dining discussions and it's somewhat universal. No talking about religion or politics. But why? They are two of the most debatable topics and as long as everyone is mature enough to walk away from the discussion friends, it's a wonderful topic. A perfect example of my opposite ways is that I live in Eastchester, NY. About 85% of the residents are republican and christian with most being Roman Catholic. So of course, I go with the flow. I'm a pretty liberal democrat and I believe we're here now, we grew from some primordial goo and when we die we replenish the earth with our decomposed bodies. There is no heaven, there is no hell and there ain't no guy wearing white that you get to sit next to at the buffet. This is it. I respect the beliefs of others, but I've read enough, seen enough, and felt enough pain to know that it's not very likely. If you disagree with me, that is fine, but think for one minute about the most religious people you know. Where are they from? What is their educational background? What do they all have in common? They are from the poorer areas, they are generally uneducated and they have an inability to think for themselves. This isn't a blanket statement, but it does apply. If you immediately are saying I'm smart, I have money, I think for myself. Did your parents have all these attributes? Did there parents? Chances are the answer is no and if not chances are you believed in everything you believed in long before you were educated and really never bothered to question it. If that doesn't convince you, take one second to think about this scenario. A friend of yours goes hiking and comes back and says a voice told him to do all these crazy things. Would you listen to him? No, you'd tell him to see a shrink. This my friends is how religion started. Scary when you actually think about it. Don't worry, the lord forgives you for not thinking for yourself. Now give me three our fathers and a Bloody Mary.
I wear shorts when it's 50 degrees out and I don't like things. What I mean is, unlike the American dream, I don't need a big house, a nice car, or bling. I don't believe in silly customs like engagement rings and big weddings. I don't believe in running in the rain to stay dry and I don't believe that scary movies are really that scary. Sure if something jumps out it might startle you, but scare? How could you possibly think that something happening on screen is actually going to happen right then and there. That being said, going to the beach the day after seeing Jaws as a youngster was a little much, even for me. The sand was very comfy that day.
Despite the technological advances in our time, I think people, on average are dumber now than they were twenty years ago. The access to instant gratification or information hasn't made us learn more it's made us have more idle time. I get abused by nearly everyone for always being on the computer. What people don't realize is that while they are at the gym, tanning or doing laundry, I'm learning the differences between the granite in a curling stone and that which is on a counter top. Oh and yes, I just threw a Jersey Shore reference in to make a point. Despite it's popularity, I don't watch it.
I don't like Stephen Kings books or the Harry Potter series. I don't like Shawshank Redemption or Citizen Kane. I don't like Bruce Springsteen or Dave Matthews. I don't like reality TV and I hate massages. I like reading about serial killers and cooking. I like watching documentaries about horrible events and learning why it happened. I like the Spice Girls and Lady Gaga.
There have been a few instances in the past few years where I realized that I'm just not like other people. Humor is contagious. When someone laughs, it usually causes a chain reaction. I was sitting watching Austin Powers with a bunch of people, most in their late teens early twenties. I was about thirty at the time. The movie ended and the two guys who sat next to me could not fathom what they had seen. The entire movie went on and the place was going crazy. The laughter was everywhere. They both turned to me and said "you didn't crack a smile once the entire movie. Why not?" "Why, was it funny?" I responded. Needless to say they started to understand me or misunderstand me more after that day. I remember another night we were talking about musical geniuses. Now I'm not a musical expert by any means, but I know enough and I know what I like. The topic of The Beatles came up and I mentioned that I thought they were pretty good for a pop band. The room went nuts. Rock n Roll geniuses was spewed about. I then posed a question. Not including The White Album, who would they be more closely compared to right now. Aerosmith, Metallica or the Backstreet Boys. I'd say a good thirty seconds of stuttering commenced until finally someone just got mad, muttered something inaudible and left the room. I think we talked about other topics the rest of the evening.
I really don't do it just to play devil's advocate. I don't abstain from pot roast just to be different. Which by the way, I explain my disdain for it this way. If you cook a bad piece of meat long enough it makes it tender, it doesn't make it good. I also get mad when people say "it falls off the bone" when eating ribs. If you cook anything long enough it will fall off the bone. How's it taste? I didn't hate the movie The Hangover just because the world fell in love with it. I hated it because it was sophomoric humor. I tend to toot my own horn when discussions come up that I feel need a mind to discuss. It sounds cocky, but I know I'm smart. I don't need someone to tell me that. My dad's a lot smarter than me. I have friends that are smarter than me. I have no problem admitting that. What people don't understand about me is that I'm not all about memorization and regurgitating facts or stuff I read. I'm actually pretty bad at that. Despite people always asking me for some random insignificant fact, my memory is pretty much shot. When I was thirteen I could tell you what the batting average for any hall of fame baseball players was for any year they played. Now, I can barely remember to pick up toilet paper when I go shopping...for toilet paper.
I just think that we as a people have become accustomed to everything being dumbed down and we've embraced "easy." We say LOL instead of "that was funny." We've also all become slaves to pop culture. I mean what's with everyone wearing wool hats indoors? Why are all females wearing those maternity shirts (psst, unless you're really skinny, don't get offended if I ask you how far along you are)? If you don't believe me that we are all just robot forms of ourselves I have a challenge for you. Go to 10 random people's Facebook page and look at pictures they have of them hanging out with their friends. Count how many pictures have either a person holding up the middle finger or a peace sign. Now, go back to your photo albums from five or ten years ago and tell me how many people are doing this? None! You know why? Because some idiot rapper or some reality TV star wasn't dictating what every brain dead person does. Remember when we were kids and someone would get a new pair of sneakers? You would like them, but you knew you couldn't get the same ones. Now everyone dresses alike, talks alike, smells alike, tans alike, and pretty much represents their idiocy alike. Why would I ever want to go with that flow?
Sorry Alanis, but I'll have one hand in my pocket, but the other won't be flashing a peace sign.
I've lived in New York my entire life. I am a huge sports fan, so of course it makes perfect sense that my favorite professional sports team is the Boston Red Sox. I'm a foodie, but I hate pot roast, chicken soup and just recently I've come to the conclusion I'm not a huge fan of pasta. I've eaten pasta all my life, pound after pound and a few months ago it dawned on me, I don't like it. Don't get me wrong, some sauces are amazing, but the actual pasta? If I never eat it again, I won't miss it. Even staples like ice cream aren't for me. If I have to have ice cream I want a milkshake. Despite my size, most people would be surprised to know that I'm really not a dessert person. I could go the rest of my life without a sweet and I'd be fine. I'd just eat more bacon.
It's not just every day things that I differ on. Most people have a rule about dining discussions and it's somewhat universal. No talking about religion or politics. But why? They are two of the most debatable topics and as long as everyone is mature enough to walk away from the discussion friends, it's a wonderful topic. A perfect example of my opposite ways is that I live in Eastchester, NY. About 85% of the residents are republican and christian with most being Roman Catholic. So of course, I go with the flow. I'm a pretty liberal democrat and I believe we're here now, we grew from some primordial goo and when we die we replenish the earth with our decomposed bodies. There is no heaven, there is no hell and there ain't no guy wearing white that you get to sit next to at the buffet. This is it. I respect the beliefs of others, but I've read enough, seen enough, and felt enough pain to know that it's not very likely. If you disagree with me, that is fine, but think for one minute about the most religious people you know. Where are they from? What is their educational background? What do they all have in common? They are from the poorer areas, they are generally uneducated and they have an inability to think for themselves. This isn't a blanket statement, but it does apply. If you immediately are saying I'm smart, I have money, I think for myself. Did your parents have all these attributes? Did there parents? Chances are the answer is no and if not chances are you believed in everything you believed in long before you were educated and really never bothered to question it. If that doesn't convince you, take one second to think about this scenario. A friend of yours goes hiking and comes back and says a voice told him to do all these crazy things. Would you listen to him? No, you'd tell him to see a shrink. This my friends is how religion started. Scary when you actually think about it. Don't worry, the lord forgives you for not thinking for yourself. Now give me three our fathers and a Bloody Mary.
I wear shorts when it's 50 degrees out and I don't like things. What I mean is, unlike the American dream, I don't need a big house, a nice car, or bling. I don't believe in silly customs like engagement rings and big weddings. I don't believe in running in the rain to stay dry and I don't believe that scary movies are really that scary. Sure if something jumps out it might startle you, but scare? How could you possibly think that something happening on screen is actually going to happen right then and there. That being said, going to the beach the day after seeing Jaws as a youngster was a little much, even for me. The sand was very comfy that day.
Despite the technological advances in our time, I think people, on average are dumber now than they were twenty years ago. The access to instant gratification or information hasn't made us learn more it's made us have more idle time. I get abused by nearly everyone for always being on the computer. What people don't realize is that while they are at the gym, tanning or doing laundry, I'm learning the differences between the granite in a curling stone and that which is on a counter top. Oh and yes, I just threw a Jersey Shore reference in to make a point. Despite it's popularity, I don't watch it.
I don't like Stephen Kings books or the Harry Potter series. I don't like Shawshank Redemption or Citizen Kane. I don't like Bruce Springsteen or Dave Matthews. I don't like reality TV and I hate massages. I like reading about serial killers and cooking. I like watching documentaries about horrible events and learning why it happened. I like the Spice Girls and Lady Gaga.
There have been a few instances in the past few years where I realized that I'm just not like other people. Humor is contagious. When someone laughs, it usually causes a chain reaction. I was sitting watching Austin Powers with a bunch of people, most in their late teens early twenties. I was about thirty at the time. The movie ended and the two guys who sat next to me could not fathom what they had seen. The entire movie went on and the place was going crazy. The laughter was everywhere. They both turned to me and said "you didn't crack a smile once the entire movie. Why not?" "Why, was it funny?" I responded. Needless to say they started to understand me or misunderstand me more after that day. I remember another night we were talking about musical geniuses. Now I'm not a musical expert by any means, but I know enough and I know what I like. The topic of The Beatles came up and I mentioned that I thought they were pretty good for a pop band. The room went nuts. Rock n Roll geniuses was spewed about. I then posed a question. Not including The White Album, who would they be more closely compared to right now. Aerosmith, Metallica or the Backstreet Boys. I'd say a good thirty seconds of stuttering commenced until finally someone just got mad, muttered something inaudible and left the room. I think we talked about other topics the rest of the evening.
I really don't do it just to play devil's advocate. I don't abstain from pot roast just to be different. Which by the way, I explain my disdain for it this way. If you cook a bad piece of meat long enough it makes it tender, it doesn't make it good. I also get mad when people say "it falls off the bone" when eating ribs. If you cook anything long enough it will fall off the bone. How's it taste? I didn't hate the movie The Hangover just because the world fell in love with it. I hated it because it was sophomoric humor. I tend to toot my own horn when discussions come up that I feel need a mind to discuss. It sounds cocky, but I know I'm smart. I don't need someone to tell me that. My dad's a lot smarter than me. I have friends that are smarter than me. I have no problem admitting that. What people don't understand about me is that I'm not all about memorization and regurgitating facts or stuff I read. I'm actually pretty bad at that. Despite people always asking me for some random insignificant fact, my memory is pretty much shot. When I was thirteen I could tell you what the batting average for any hall of fame baseball players was for any year they played. Now, I can barely remember to pick up toilet paper when I go shopping...for toilet paper.
I just think that we as a people have become accustomed to everything being dumbed down and we've embraced "easy." We say LOL instead of "that was funny." We've also all become slaves to pop culture. I mean what's with everyone wearing wool hats indoors? Why are all females wearing those maternity shirts (psst, unless you're really skinny, don't get offended if I ask you how far along you are)? If you don't believe me that we are all just robot forms of ourselves I have a challenge for you. Go to 10 random people's Facebook page and look at pictures they have of them hanging out with their friends. Count how many pictures have either a person holding up the middle finger or a peace sign. Now, go back to your photo albums from five or ten years ago and tell me how many people are doing this? None! You know why? Because some idiot rapper or some reality TV star wasn't dictating what every brain dead person does. Remember when we were kids and someone would get a new pair of sneakers? You would like them, but you knew you couldn't get the same ones. Now everyone dresses alike, talks alike, smells alike, tans alike, and pretty much represents their idiocy alike. Why would I ever want to go with that flow?
Sorry Alanis, but I'll have one hand in my pocket, but the other won't be flashing a peace sign.
Comments
Post a Comment