Thought/Heroes/Good and Evil

For now I have given my blog the title of "I probably think too much for my own good." I think that statement describes me, and my personality, very well. I think. I was born a philosopher. I always over think things. Sometimes that makes it difficult for me to enjoy movies. I always think why did the villain stop to talk to the hero just before he was going to kill him? If he was a real heartless villain he wouldn't have stopped. He gave the sidekick or the hot babe or his softhearted henchman just enough time to save the hero from his certain death. Heroes die. It happens all the time. The very attributes that make him a hero make him at high risk of dying.

I love what Mister Miyagi says in one of the Karate Kid movies, pointing at his heart "This mean you brave" pointing at his medal of honor "this mean you lucky." Heroes most of the time are not what we think them to be. There is so much cliche in our culture surrounding heroism. People like to say that either everyone is a hero or that no one is a hero. Either way it defeats the purpose of the word. A hero and a role model are about the same in my dictionary. And the world needs more heroes.

I do not like political correctness. It is very aggravating to me that I can not say something that I have seen because it seems like I am stereotyping or judging people. Words were made to describe things so I will use them to describe things. If someone is fat you should be able to call them fat, if they are Black or White or Asian or Indian call them that. We shouldn't hide facts because they are inconvenient. I'll give an example, there is a disproportional percentage of Blacks and Hispanics in prison as compared to the general population . But given that fact, it is not politically correct to say that Blacks or Hispanics are more likely to go to prison. That is taboo. It's a fact, and the sooner we face it and talk about it the sooner we can solve the problem.

I think that people in general are good and loving. No one thinks of themselves as a villain, at least no one I know does. We all think of ourselves as the good guys, the heroes of an epic tale. We are very proud of our achievements and sometimes we just forget to me good to others. We all do what we think is best, because logically if we thought something else was better we would do that. I like to think of people as being good.

Now the problem is that not everyone believes that the same things are good. In a way this is good because otherwise we would all want to have the same professions and drive the same cars and things would get very boring. In another way it is bad. We find it hard to agree with people or even like people that don't see the world the same way that we do. If I think that honesty is very important and tell someone who doesn't feel the same way that they look fat in a certain outfit they will probably be offended and hold animosity against me. I was only doing what I felt was "best" but I caused real emotional harm to someone else. Was I the villain of the story, yes. Was I evil, no, just honest, inconsiderately honest, but in my mind I was not doing anything wrong.

I think that feeling offended is about the most worthless thing you can do. It does you no good to be offended. It does you no good at all. All that comes from offence is animosity and more offence. People that get offended easily are the most unattractive people on the face of the planet. The only thing that can compare to that are people that are full of hatred or self loathing. Some of the best experiences of my life have come from situations that I could have and probably should have taken offence from. Like my junior year in football, I played on the varsity team all year and the coach didn't letter me. I have no idea why. Initially I wanted to take offence. I couldn't understand how he could have done that to me. But I decided to instead take it as a lesson and I did my best to do everything that I could to earn my letter. I did earn a letter in football my senior year, and I also earned the Coaches Award for being the most dedicated and obedient player on the team. If I had been offended and quit like several of my classmates had done I would have never had the great experience that I had my senior year in football. I could tell other similar stories but I think I have made my point. Offence is for the weak, offence is the act of conceding defeat and making excuses bases on others actions. I try my best never to take offence.

I do not believe in making myself a victim. Being a victim and taking offence go hand and hand, they are the acts of losers. Victims are my definition losers. It is hard to be a victim of fortune. It is easy to be the victim of misfortune. I do not like the victim mentality that many have. They seem to think that by whining they will get somewhere. The truth is that all that being a victim gets you is change on a street corner and nothing more. Just as I believe that there are no villains I believe that there should be no victims. We are all in this together, there is no reason for you to tell me that things are tough, because I know they are. Times are tough all over. Get used to it, get to work and be happy.

I fully believe that happiness is a choice. And I choose it every day