I've come to a disturbing realization: I truly dislike people.
Now don't get me wrong, I have my friends and my family that I hold dear but people in general? From what I've seen in the tabloids and TV....it makes me sick on some philosophical level. From Snooky to the Jerry Springer show our race seems so captivated by a carnival of outragiousness and depravity that sometimes I wonder if we really, truly, are worth the effort.
But then I encounter people of genuine integrity. The sort of person that would sell the shirt off their back to help a stranger get fare for a cab ride home or a hot meal to eat. These people are few and far between but maybe, just maybe, could be a source of our collective redemption.
I hesitate to use the word 'redemption' due to its religious inferences, which is in and of itself another whole can of worms. I chuckle about it now but my friends and I would have long winded debates that would last long into the night about the perceived worth of religion. They would point out all the good deeds, the money and work contributed by people of faith. I would then counter that more blood has been spilled to 'God wills it!' than anything else in human history.
Not that I don't have any religious inclinations myself, I just believe everything should be placed into perspective.
Nice opening, a shocker, but then you spend most of the rest of the piece undermining it with stuff like "The sort of person that would sell the shirt off their back to help a stranger get fare for a cab ride home or a hot meal to eat."
ReplyDeleteI've never met anyone like that--it's just a phrase, meaningless, unless there's an example or story connected to it.
Don't try so hard to be fair and to have perspective. Try a rewrite--go with your original impulse.
Heh, ok. I'll turn something out tomorrow for you
ReplyDelete