We prefer you call him The Great Pumpkin, thank you.

I concur with all of your statements, to include the one concerning the realization of being a cog in the machine.

I have several errands to run, and would love to continue the discussion when I return, if you’re amenable, of course.

You have a great points, though your scenario is a bit too simple.

It’s not that we’re so fat and lethargic that we can’t be bothered to get off the sofa long enough to effect meaningful change. It’s that “the media” is gargantuan and goes far beyond the synthesized news cycles and reports. The OG social media outlets like churches, work culture, family structure, regional Identities, and every other socialized structure you can think of manifests itself into these ideals that have been pummeled into our head since the first time we stood up in preschool and recited the pledge of allegiance.

Making it more complicated is that our real concerns like, paying our bills, feeding our families, getting Timmy to soccer practice, protecting our kids, being a good employee so we don’t lose our job, being a good dad, being a good son, keeping our relationships healthy, etc., etc. is condensed into an infantesimally small amount of time. When you finally get to stop you’ve only got the bandwidth for bullet points. It’s not laziness, it’s exhaustion. It’s not lack of self-reflection, it’s overclocking. We have an entire backbone population that’s absolutely exhausted and still feeling like failures because somehow the American dream is feeling like a greasy, over-hustled nightmare that we’re constantly struggling to live up to.

This cycle does lend itself to your headlines of gun violence, gladiator arena us v. them politics, and on, and on. The system with which we now live is a constant grinder that no longer leaves time for, nor praises individualism and ideas. It’s a finely tuned revenue machine built on an overhauled slavery model that instead praises corporatism, classism, ruling parties, and residual monthly income… with a smiley face of nationalistic exceptionalism posted on the packaging.

Apologies for being so long winded, but some sympathy for the devil might be in order. We’re largely not a bad people. Most of us are kind, optimistic, and try very hard to change the things we see out of place. The problem is we’re becoming more and more just white noise in the background. A sort of spectre of idealisms past.

The avocado toast is fan-fuckin-tastic here.

I bought bidets for the house during the COVID toilet paper lunacy and it’s likely the best personal hygiene investment I’ve ever made. I still get upset when I have to poop somewhere that doesn’t have a bidet.

You forgot the “/s” bro

Don’t we all?

Congrats! That’s awesome!

We were raised in a pretty strict environment and, unfortunately, didn’t get much of an opportunity to experience many things during our youth out of fear and shame. Once we moved away from that horrid place and our children became adults, we were able to relax and focus on us and the things we were curious about. That liberation has given us a whole new opportunity to find exhilaration on our terms.

I don’t see us looking back any time soon.

My wife and I have been married for nearly 30 years and we’re just now learning to be our best slutty selves.

We’ve been going places to meet others and learning about their lives while sharing ours. The best opportunities usually are at the places where clothing is optional or outright banned. It’s amazing how people open up and talk about all the things when the last physical vestige of hiding is removed.

Some would point and laugh, but we’re not the ones that are lonely. Once you come to the point of reality that all of this ends, it’s easier to let go of the bullshit and just live.

Get out there!