cluelessness

i have never been a big fan of society. so much of it is just so stupid and american society in particular has elevated societal stupidity into an art form. it has ceased to amaze me how a group of people can be simultaneously self-obsessed and yet completely deluded, to spend so much staring into a mirror but somehow not see the reflection. maybe it's a funhouse mirror. maybe they're just too lazy to change. most of of the time the deluded people i meet seem to be willfully self-deceiving, even if they don't realize it. on some level they CHOOSE not to see the truth.

so this is where i will start making a list of all the things that make cynicism the only viable outlook available:

• Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious" and Lapine's "The Sneaky Chef": oh yeah, sneaking a beet into a sheet-cake is going to solve all of our obesity problems. people have been forcing their children to eat their vegetable for centuries, but now, because we're so either soft-hearted or lazy, we're going to stop doing that. while no one should ever be forced to eat brussels sprouts, this is really stupid.


• the president calling the democrats "tax & spend" when his administration has spent more than clinton ever did. bush asks for billions of dollars in order to keep the war going and then vetoes a bill that would have used cigarette taxes to pay for uninsured children. nice. it's a beautiful system: you spend without taxing, then, when your opponents come into power and are forced to raise taxes in order to offset the enormous debt that you have accrued, you can accuse them of being "tax & spend," even though you did most of the spending. it's like magic!
  
• lawn farmers: don't water your lawn during a drought. don't expect a green lawn if you live in santa fe. it's not always a good idea to try to bend nature to your will. you can't win. nature doesn't need you-you need it.


• political party as sports team: voting a straight ticket on either side is ridiculous. there is no such thing as bandwagon jumping in politics. you're supposed to vote for the best candidate regardless of political affiliation. this is democracy, not the playoffs.
  
• 1 Out of 4 Homeless Are Veterans: when you say "support our troops," you should actually do it and no, buying ribbon-shaped magnets doesn't count.
  
• ticketmaster: $2 to buy a ticket online and print it out yourself.
  
• trade paperbacks: you can stick your "generous margins" up your ass.