Tales from the Crip

Dear Mary Jane

APATHY IS CONTAGIOUS

Somebody once asked me which is worse, ignorance or apathy. My response? I don’t know and I don’t care. HA! See what I did there? Apathy is the bubonic plague of modern times. I will be the first to state that there are so many things in life that I could not possibly care less about.

I still have no intention whatsoever of getting involved in politics in general and tormenting my Facebook friends with my opinion.

Just for an example, let us discuss my current personal view on the upcoming presidential election. Total honesty: I couldn't care less. I have been around long enough to know that it really doesn’t matter WHO is in office. My life is going to continue, pretty much as it has done for the last 50 years, regardless of who lives in the White House.

Do you envy me my devil-may care-attitude regarding one of the biggest institutions in this country, mainly the political system? I read social media posts on the daily, and the level of hostility and rancor established and demonstrated by so many of my friends on this subject makes me shake my head a little bit.

An old friend of mine has a life philosophy that I try to emulate whenever possible: slide and glide. You can interpret this saying as you will, but, to me? Life is a minefield, filled with piles of dog shit of varying sizes wherever you go. It has been my experience that the less dog shit that I step in, the happier I tend to be. This concept has saved me from a world of hurt on multiple occasions, because why get involved in matters where my opinion is irrelevant? Have you ever managed to change somebody’s opinion on a belief about which they are just ridiculously passionate?

I have not. Why bother? People who believe that the Earth is flat is a prime example of this type of thinking. Forget the images from Space that show

that the planet is indeed round; forget the fact that if Earth was indeed flat, cats would have pushed

everything off of the edge long ago. In fact, let’s just disregard the entire foundation of physical science and have done with it! It’s all a

conspiracy anyways, established by The

Man to keep humanity down. All power to the people!

However, as long as we are being honest with each other and all, sometimes I envy those “truly dedicated to the cause” types. Not so much their beliefs, mind you, but their complete willingness to cling to their beliefs regardless of how ridiculous said beliefs may be perceived by others. I certainly neither admire nor respect extremists of any caliber, but I guess that I must give a chin-jut to anybody so

programmed to a belief system that they will gladly sacrifice their own lives to further The Cause. Would you care to take a guess (or two, even) about what ol’ Peter Jay would sacrifice himself for? Well, my wife and kids top that particular list, but beyond my loved ones? Can you hear the crickets?

Us Gen X types are known for our apathy. This is a great way to shirk responsibility and insure that expectations placed upon us by others are kept to an absolute minimum, but is that really a good thing? Here’s an unsettling thought: were it not for the grass (heh) roots believers referenced above, do you think that marijuana would still be legal in Nevada? Had Pierre Warner (speak his name with reverence--he was one of our first martyrs) hadn’t stuck his neck out (and went to prison for his efforts), I’d still be buying sketchy product from Bill, Ted or Randy and hoping for the best. Were it not for Pierre’s dogmatic efforts and total lack of apathy, the world would still go on, albeit under the reality that possession of Mr. Giggle might be a felony offense.

I have never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions. If I need to change something about myself or my habits, I have always felt that there is no better time than the present. Fortunately, I am so incredibly impressed with myself that I don’t really feel the need to change very often. That is very likely a mistaken impression, but it makes my life much easier. But this year, I think I might try. Most people vow to care less about things for their resolutions; mine is to care more about the world around me.

I still have no intention whatsoever of getting involved in politics in general and tormenting my Facebook friends with my opinion. That is bush league. Instead, I will try harder to keep an open mind about things that other people seem to really care about. Does that make sense? Just because you yell about something on social media does not mean that I should automatically dismiss you or your opinion, as I would have previously.

Perhaps this is the next logical evolution for Peter Jay! Kinder! Gentler! More willing to suffer fools gladly! I don’t know, perhaps it is too difficult to teach an old dog a new bark. I’m painting myself into a corner here, aren’t I? Do you remember how earlier I said that apathy is the new bubonic plague? THIS is what I was talking about. Change is difficult. Changing previously clutched mindsets is even more difficult. Is my changing going to save our increasingly angry and damaged society? Perhaps not, but there is only one way to tell.

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