In order to help my reader gain a better understanding of this blog, and my overall life outlook, I wanted to touch on a subject that is near and dear to my heart-anger.
As an American male, anger is the emotion I am allowed to feel.
Braves lose the world series and you loose a bet? Don't get bummed, yell curses and get pissed. Loved one dies? Raise your fist to heaven and curse god. Fix-it project not going well? Don't calmly reassess the situation, call the hammer a fucking piece of shit and throw it across the room. Replace sadness, loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, and all other "feminine" emotions with a good, All-American dose of fiery red anger.
Of course, as a father who cries more than that dude on "The Biggest Loser", I have not fully embraced the "anger or nothing" theory of the American Male's one hill landscape. However, I am a product of both my father and my culture, so I do have a fair bit of anger myself.
Now, anyone who knows me is saying right now, "A fair bit of anger? I don't think I've ever seen that dude when he wasn't at least mildly enraged about something!"
And this is where I feel I need to clarify myself. I do get angry, and complain, a lot, and some people see this as a negative thing.
The main cause of most of my anger is that I see so much potential in the world, and so little realization of that potential.
We have, without a doubt, some of the most amazing and innovative doctors in the world, and yet about 47 million people have no insurance-which, in essence, means no access to health care at all.
America can spend 2.1 BILLION dollars for a stealth bomber, but every time free breakfasts in public schools come up we can't pass the bill because our government can't quit bickering long enough to assure children get the most important meal of the day.
Just off the top of my head I can think, literally, of 10 issues that send a red-hot lightning bolt of rage searing through my brain.
The world we live in is a truly beautiful and amazing place-I see it everyday in the natural beauty around me, the eyes of my family, the help and concern of my friends.
I'm sorry if this blog comes off as overly whiny or angry sometimes, but I promise to lighten it up from time to time (see tomorrow's post).
I've been told that in the Navy they have a saying, "A bitching sailor is a happy sailor.". Its a sentiment I can totally relate to. If a sailor is complaining, then he's letting out all his negative emotions, pointing out the leaks in the hull, expressing his cares with fellow sailors and showing an overall concern for his ship. A quiet sailor is internalizing all his rage, becoming more and more inward focusing and less and less interested in the fate of his crew mates.
I won't be quiet while this ship goes down.
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9 comments:
ha - you rock, tim. I can identify.
so... a bitching blogger is a happy blogger.... cool. I think I get it... yeah. You just gave me good reason to open up and be a bit bitchier.
Keep writing!
I just had this conversation with my bewildered husband. He sees anger I see a release of the shit I was spoon-fed all day. I figure if the world is gonna get me where I live it can expect the same. If I want to swear in my own damned house I should be able to and everyone else needs to learn how to either ignore me happily or laugh at my tirades in peace. I mean damn! Why do I have to take it quietly? Didn't Clayton Williams lose that election? You know, he did, because I certainly am *not* going to lie back and enjoy it. The world is fucked up and I am little skewed too, but at least I have the balls to admit I am skewed. Just don't rub my nose in it. You know what I'm saying?
You know what they say, it the quiet ones you have to worry about.
Imagine what we could all accomplish if everyone were as fired up as you are--and acting on that emotion! And, you know, in agreement about what direction is the right direction.
See I am the Male in our relationship. I wouldn't call it "bitching" or "complaining" though. I'd call it rightfully calling out the bullshit and naming it accordingly. Spending 8 gazillion dollars on the war in Iraq or on NASA (because it inspires children to become scientists) is unconscionable, especially while we ignore those same children's needs be they educational, health, or otherwise.
Anyone who thinks we have equal rights to anything is deluded.
We have equal rights so long as we have the scratch to pay for them.
I say that to my husband; who would agree with me, but who calls me a ranter. Someone dredging up problems without means to find/implement solutions.
As someone who is married to a bitcher, ranter, thrower, screamer, can i just say BLECH?
My main concern is that the affliction seems to get worse with age. What are you bitchers gonna be like at 80? I'm scared!
Thanks everyone!
Yes Toyfoto, you are exactly right. Whenever my friends and I used to have late-night drunken talks about how to fix the world, I would always ask, over and over,"Yeah-but what are you going to DO about it?". That always is the question, and for me, this blog is one thing I CAN do.
Hi Mindy/Stacy!
No, I was mainly writing that entry in relation to the blog-to let everyone know that I complain out of a sense of hope for a better world.
I try to keep the bitching at home to a minimum.
Just raising your family, loving your significant other, making friends, having a pet-- those are all things to do about it to.
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