Rebel

Why is it that at times I am drawn to people who don't give a @%&# and at other times I can't stand them. There is something attractive about a rebel--someone who ignores convention and does his own thing. At the same time, people who don't play by the rules are often a source of misery.

I don't think there would be anything attractive about rebels if they didn't have some admirable qualities: creative, whitty, innovative, confident, strong-willed, humorous. They often take a different look at society and offer a fresh perspective.

Unfortunately, rebellious characters are also: apathetic, selfish, manipulative, dishonest, careless.

If only we could emulate the admirable qualities without picking up the bad.

I am... The Oprah!

I keep seeing the following ad:

Oprah's 1 Flat Stomach Rule: Obey...

Oprah's flat stomach? That's like saying "Snoop Dogg's secret to quitting weed."

Just more evidence that women will do anything Oprah says.

Hoops

I hate hoops. I hated being bored out of my mind in a high school classroom just so they'd give me a piece of paper to turn in with my college application. I hated memorizing that CH3CH2OH, in a SOCl2 or pyridine solution, becomes CH3CH2Cl along with a thousand other equations that would have no application in my career or life.

The latest hoop?

Well, the latest hoop I didn't even know I was supposed to jump through. Apparently, when we bought our home we were supposed to sign a paper that we were never told about. Because we didn't sign this paper that we didn't know about, our property tax went up 1000%.

1000%!!!

That's over $200 per month. Because we missed a hoop. This is one example of how ridiculous the government is. Beaurocracy is a word that has come to mean "taking all common sense out of interpersonal relationships." Well, guess what. The government is growing and beaurocracy is about to take over. Everything is about to get less efficient, more expensive, and more frustrating.

We're going to be so busy jumping through hoops that we won't get anything done.

Modern Gladiators

Looking back at the ancient Roman arena and the atrocities commited therein, most of us are appalled. Slaves, criminals, and professionals fought one another, often to the death, for the entertainment of spectators. We regard the patrons of the arena and their blood-lust with contempt and disgust.

There is much to be admired about gladiator combat. It could be argued to be the pinnacle of competition--win or die. Many of the gladiators were highly skilled in their craft. They must have been terrific athletes. Not all of them fought against their will, and some of them became successful celebrities. They were known to demonstrate extreme courage. Cicero said, "...when do you ever see one twist his neck away after he has been ordered to extend it for the death blow?"

Does the fact that the arena put some admirable qualities on display make it a virtuous activity?

Human nature has not changed. Our thirst for contention and destruction has not been assuaged. Rather than indulging in physical violence, we revel in emotional and psychological combat.

I'm talking, of course, about the abomination known as reality television.

We delight in the tears of contestants on the Bachelor(ette).

We are thrilled by the arguing and backstabbing that takes place on the Apprentice.

We laugh at cat fights between disturbed and egotistical women on America's Next Top Model.

We love to hate the jerk who constantly ridicules and criticizes his substitute wife on Wife Swap.

And who gets sucked into American Idol by the winners? We get sucked in by the losers--the people who make fools of themselves. (And by "we" I mean our culture because I have never been sucked into that lame show.)

Okay, so reality TV isn't as bad as watching men kill each other for the fun of it, but it's the same principle and I really hate reality TV.