What marks the difference between man and the apes is a sense of right and wrong. Man doesn't seem to have it anymore. Oh, he probably has it, but it's politically incorrect to say anything about it. Any cockamamie idea that comes along is enshrined in marble and tis forbidden to question the wisdom thereof forever more. It's no longer sufficient to accept absurdity, we must accept in silence, indeed with a smile, lest we become known as intolerant, hateful, or racist. Our opinions, learned over a lifetime, must be cast by the wayside to make room for a new odor. An fragrance generated by the ramblings of any fringe group that has the kettle at the time. If one comes forward and voices anything anywhere near common sense, or a spirit of conservative caution they are ostracized from the kitchen with great ceremony. Let me demonstrate.
Let's take gay marriage to start out with. Save your fork, this is gonna get good. I am not endorsing gay bashing, and what adults do in their homes is none of my business. What I am saying is most people really can't get their minds around a term like "gay marriage." It is in the same catagory as the phrase, "Please pass me the piano." So why do so many people endorse it, or dodge the issue? Well, there's the political correct factor. Add to that the cool factor and there you are. Some TV personality sits up there flaunting her lifestyle which would probably be illegal in most states and everyone bows to the god of correctness so as not to appear intolerant. But it's like having an affair with your sister. It might feel good at the time, but that don't make it right! We have always had gay people. Paul Lynde was openly gay. So was Truman Capote. I laughed at Paul Lynde's jokes and I read "In Cold Blood," but would I endorse Truman Capote marrying Liberace? C'mon, get real! In Shreveport of the 1950's such an assumption would have been an absurdity. And friends and neighbors, it's still absurd today, only everyone is afraid to say it.
Now, let's smoke a joint. I have never rolled marijuana, but I have rolled in the floor laughing at Cheech and Chong. Their style of humor was known as absurdity. You see, there are formulas, that when invoked, will make people laugh. Misdirection, surprise, and absurdity are just three of those formulas. But did I believe the lifestyle portrayed in those movies is viable? Are YOU smoking dope? The addict lifestyle shown in those films is an absurdity. It shows two guys who go through their day in a marijuana haze who always have a car, women, enough to eat and they NEVER run out of grass. In reality, the daily quest for that elusive first high is a miserable existence. I have SEEN the real daily lives of these people as they count quarters on a Sunday morning, trying to find a "bag." For most it's never recreational, it is LIFE! The hunt for the end of a smoky rainbow only gets farther away the more you strive for it. If you had common sense you realized that. It is amazing that some people who would never consider the Three Stooges to be reality would try to roll the same size joint they saw in a Cheech and Chong movie. Do I think people should be persecuted to the ends of the earth for possessing marijuana? Certainly not. If legally available, after the novelty wears off, the exact same percentage that was smoking when it was illegal will be smoking when it is legal. The Lord said, "The poor you shall always have with you." Just replace the word "poor" with "stupid" and there you are.
Role models. Now there's an area that people dodge like the plague. Wilbur's Psychology 101: Children watch adults and imitate them. They don't LISTEN, they WATCH! Time was when singers and entertainers put forward their public face and kept their private one, well, private. When a singer sang, the image was a positive one, no matter what problems they had at home. I'm here to tell you, boys and girls, if you climb out of the muck and mire of the music business, and attain a spot on the Billboard throne you've GOT some issues! Judy Garland had ISSUES. Brittney Spears has issues, too. What's the difference now. Brittney parades her issues so that all the little fourteen year old girls can imitate her, and the ones she misses ol' "Just a Beaver" will be happy to pick right up...between arrests! And don't even get me started on Rap Stars. Now, yet again, I have liked some Rap, but usually the song has some merit. Like "Riding Dirty." If you listen, and I mean really listen to the words of that song you will hear the acceptance of the reality of life in the "hood," with the singer explaining that he is NOT riding dirty and the cops are corrupt. I am still amazed at how he talks so fast. The problem is that children don't LISTEN, they SEE! They imitate the images, not the words. In my day we were stupid, too. Hank Williams was an alcoholic's alcoholic. He drank himself to death in the back of his Cadillac on the way to his last show, and every ONE of the people who were to come into the Country Music scene after that thought that his lifestyle was the way to achieve stardom. You simply could NOT compose a hit song unless you had a drinking problem stemming from a failed marriage. How crazy is THAT? And it becomes ingrained in a child's mind. To this DAY my favorite libation is the "Boiler Maker" because that's what HANK drank! Children will always do this. They imitate what they see. Good parenting is where you make sure they see the right things and when they see the wrong things you are there to explain the difference between showmanship and reality. I am so proud of my grandchildren. I have meticulously taught them the difference between reality, and imagery. They will watch a movie and constantly ask, "Is this real, PaPa?"
I could stretch this article twenty pages or more, but I think by now you get my drift. It all boils right back down to common sense. If it don't feel good don't DO it. That also goes for anything that rubs against your instinct of common decency, or something that disgusts you. You do have a responsibility to society, but that responsibility is to be YOURSELF! If you are told the flag is offensive you KNOW that's wrong. Just SAY it. If a religious group is espousing terrorism, or protesting someone's funeral, or kissing a rattlesnake, just see it for what it is. Wilbur's Math 101: There are more of US than there are of THEM. Realize that, and USE it. Don't be ashamed of being decent. Stand up, make your stand, and if you look behind you, you just may see a whole bunch of people who look just like YOU!
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