HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Feb. 23, 2005 Besides having no teeth, little hair, limited mental ability, the need to sleep seventeen hours a day, and a tendency to drool, the very young and the aged share one other thing in common: An unvarnished view of the truth. When it comes to telling you what’s on their mind, old people and tots don’t play around. If a child doesn’t like you, there’s something wrong. They are naturally naďve and must rely on instinct. Check it out for yourself. Bring your six-month old around a rotten relative, and they’ll shy away from him. Your rotten relative scratches his head and wonders aloud, “Why is it every time I come around that kid, they start crying?” The kid's instincts have kicked in. He realizes something's rotten in the den and it's Uncle Mark. A child will be in the store and will point to an obese lady and ask, “Mommy, why is she so fat? Does she weigh more than an elephant? She sure looks like she does.” And Mommy nearly swallows her tongue, because she’s only one hundred and ten pounds, and this bloated, oxtail-eating behemoth is glowering, her eyes asking, “Well? Am I?” Mommy’s brain must conjure up a spontaneous, pseudo-truth like, “Now Tommy, that’s not nice. (But it’s funny as hell. We’ll laugh about it when we get home).” Old people rely on experience and wisdom. Sadly, when they tell the truth, it's usually within earshot of a house full of people. For example, your Uncle Luke goes into the bathroom and announces to all, “Little Jimmy left a floater in the toilet! And now I know who ate my bowl of succotash!” Brutal honesty works for toddlers and old folks because it's their only form of self-defense. If you or I were to make such remarks, we’d be labeled “politically incorrect” or an “a-----e.” Why is a toothless, old man considered “cute” or “eccentric” for an obvious sexist remark? But if the offended woman called him a “creepy old kook”, she'd be considered “overreacting”? Maybe we ought to fill in that mid-life tunnel of truth-aversion and also start telling it like it is. Let the chips fall where they may. It's sad that in this day and age we're compelled to stroll down Euphemism Alley. Along this path an “inebriated gentleman is having a bad day and causing a controversial scene.” In reality, he’s a “loudmouth lush acting a damn fool.” That guy standing on the corner holding the WILL WORK FOR FOOD sign? He's not "a tragic figure with a serious cash flow problemsr.” He's a wino who needs to quit drinking up his disability check. Why do we refuse to be honest, and try to soften our lies? Are we so sensitive that every time we hear brutal honesty we must chastise the so- called offender? Or worse yet, accuse them of being, “(place noun here)-phobic?” What really ticks me off are people who are offended by certain TV programs. These narrow- minded nincompoops are simply too stupid to turn their television sets to something else. People like that ought to be euthanized. Okay, so I’m a little extreme. But I don’t believe a handful of ”moral” morons should decide what the vast majority of immoral couch potatoes watch. It’s like being called a name on the playground. The teacher tells you to ignore it. Do something else. Play elsewhere. You don’t like what you hear, shun it. Be entertained by something else. In short, if you find everything on TV is disgusting, sell it and try watching the radio! I hear all you conservatives oput there: “I have the right to turn on my television/go to a movie/listen to a comedian, and not be offended!” That's not true. You don’t have the right to do anything except conform, shut up or turn your back. The broadcast or cable channel is the entity with the rights, because they have more money, which means they have lobbyists. What do you have? Hopes--and that's it. Thus, broadcasters have the right to air drivel twenty- four hours a day. You have the right to demand change, but who's going to listen to someone wityh a wallet full of hopes? And if you have one of those NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) mentalities, and see the opening of a nudie bar as the end of civilization--then move! ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is the 45-year old author of "Tempest In The Stone" and the upcoming, "The Malice of Cain". He resides in Pittsburg, California with his three youngest children Dante, Kimberly and Lawrence. Email: stellbread@sbcglobal.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
