I have a bit of a rant for you all today so get ready or close your tab out if you don’t want to read it. But I need to get these thoughts out of my head and into a few others’.
We live in some insane times if you stop and think about it. I am not going to get on a soapbox about the trashy behavior of Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus as of late, but rather why on earth do we pay so much attention to these celebrities? They are so inconsequential to our lives (or at least they should be) and yet, we can’t look away! The Kardashians, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, go back a few years to Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan; my God, the list is endless with this shocking behavior from wayward celebrities plastered all over our news! But why?
Currently, the U.S. is inches away from a third world war and no one is buzzing about that! Honestly, as a “tuned-in facebook-er” and “clueless stay-at-home Mom,” I have heard almost NOTHING about the potential for a third world war and the U.S. fighting alongside al Qaeda?!?!? If you said that to someone back in 2001, you’d have been smacked in the face!
But here we are in a truly mind-boggling state of affairs and I, for one, am scratching my head wondering how could this ever happen and what will this mean for the world we are passing on to our children? And why aren’t people talking about this instead of a two pop-stars, an irresponsible camera crew and an entire T.V. network throwing up some smoke and mirrors in our stupid, easily-distracted faces?
I am being completely serious when I say that I don’t doubt there is some government incentivized program that pays these celebrities and t.v. networks handsomely to draw our attention away from the news stories that we should be hearing about.
It speaks volumes to me that we are creating memes of the likeness of Miley Cyrus’s behind compared to an uncooked chicken carcass and not paying better attention to what is going on in the world beyond our borders where men and women are fighting for our freedom. Yes, even our freedom to act like morons on national television, thus provoking religious extremists to believe our country is filled with evil immoral people. I guess it’s no wonder people in other countries have such a low opinion of Americans. That is the stuff we consider to be entertainment gold and peddle to the masses. And the rest readily consume it all.
Here’s an idea: what if we actually glorified the humility and dignity of the work done by mothers and fathers in strong, moral families; the people who do thankless work day in and day out all for the sake of raising their children to be a part of a generation who will hopefully add something to the world rather than create mire and filth?
I do forget sometimes when I am folding mountains of laundry, making play-dates for my kids, or spending hours in the kitchen how important these tasks are beyond the microcosm of my world. Because while doing these things ultimately, I hope that I am raising empathetic, intelligent, honest human beings who will become a greater force in the world, capable of positively changing our world from how badly my generation is fighting to destroy it.
I don’t care what your religious beliefs are or if you don’t have any at all. I don’t care what color your skin is or what part of the world you come from. People are people. We are all imperfect but all have a chance to do something bigger than each of us. We can all become better than who we are. Margaret Mead said it best when she said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
End rant.
(My reasons for wanting a better world are pictured below.)
The Neurotic Optimist 