offended

  I saw a post that said to reread your favorite books from the past. The impression was that you would see those stories through a new filter, the filter of time and experience. One person had commented how a book she had loved as a child turned out to be a horrible thing. It was filled with homophobic undertones, racial undertones, and generally just a prejudicial manuscript. I haven't tried doing that yet but will give it a try to see if my opinion changes. Was I blind and deaf to all of that in years past, and have I become "woke" as the kids are saying these days. That was what I got from that small discussion. But I wonder about that. Are we getting "woke" at the things we are being instructed to be enraged at? What I mean is do you really need to be taught right and wrong when it comes to social justice? Seems to me we are all aware of the golden rule and all would agree with that message. 

 I was well aware of prejudice in my youth. That's not to say I experienced it but it was all around me just the same. The name calling and racial slurs were used then, just as they are today, to insult, disparage, and demean those you didn't like. It wasn't about being better than anyone else, it was about dominance. People will do pretty much whatever you let them get away with, that's just human nature. Now being aware of all that I never felt the need to crusade against it, I just didn't participate in it. Yes I know some call that acceptance but that isn't the truth of it, I just ignored it. Most things when ignored just naturally go away on their own. Like a sore, quit picking at it and it heals. I question this policy of pointing out every infraction in perceived social injustice as something that should be vilified. Maybe we should just leave it alone, ignore that. It's what I was told as a kid, just ignore them, they'll go away. Worked about 90% of the time I have to say that, the other 10% had a violent outcome. 

 That is what I was thinking about after reading that posting. Have I learned anything new in that regard since I was young? No I highly doubt that. I knew it was wrong then and I know it is wrong now. The only difference was a willingness to admit to it. Seems like we are supposed to deny and defend to our last breathe these days. Seems like the whole thing is turning into one big pity party. That's being woke? When I support anything because I am told I should? I am no longer supposed to point out the obvious. Today I am required to answer with the standardized response. I'm supposed to be inclusive. Well all I can tell you is I don't include bad apples in my pie when making it. It's true I discriminate, discern, and reject the ones not up to my standard. I'll even talk about them and tell others. Yes, I will. But ideas and policies that I feel are bad for society I shouldn't do any of that with, I should be inclusive. 

 Now as far the great books we read in the past, the classic pieces in literature, they all have a common thread. Those books, novels, and stories all deal with social issues. The reason is easy enough to understand, people like to read stories about other people. In that way we can live vicariously through them. Do you imagine yourself the hero or the villain? I believe the majority of us want to be the good guy, the hero, the one that does right in the end. That's what those tales are all about, the great social discussions. Classic literature dealing in themes that effect us all. Even when those stories just seemed liked an amusement that was true. Robin Hood, takes from the rich to give to the poor, Don Quixote tilting at windmills, To kill a mockingbird, Gone with the Wind, (read the book), and all those tales of right and wrong. Filled with racist remarks, prejudices, and all manner of vile things, they were reflections of life as it really exists. Should we now view them differently? Should they be dismissed, rewritten, to be inclusive? Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and others are being removed from the reading lists of schools. Even Dr. Seuss is under attack. Racial undertones I have been told, is the reason for that. 

 I hear that we shouldn't judge. That is a common statement these days. Don't judge. Well I believe we should compare the new with the old. Experience is the best teacher there is no disputing that simple fact. What good is experience is we are not allowed to draw upon that in making a decision? What happened the last time the country became this divided? There was a civil war is the answer. What was that war about? It was about commerce is the short answer. Yes, just like today and every other day in the world it is about survival. It wasn't about the past, it was about tomorrow. You can't rewrite the past and expect a different outcome tomorrow! You can't erase the past either! It is what it was, not what you wished it had been. 

 Look all I'm saying here is that we are saying the same things we always said. Nothing much has really changed. All this "woke" stuff. No one is woke, we all knew all about that from our childhood days. We have all lived it, we all know the deal. And what we all do is seek an advantage of some type in this world. Whether it is by social means, economic means, or spiritual means makes no difference. We are all looking for an edge. That edge today is being proposed as being inclusive. We will allow you to do whatever it is you want. That's the new edge. We have decided instead of correcting the bad behavior we will just allow that bad behavior, in fact, encourage it. Whatever is good for business. As long as I can "make the sale" the rest doesn't matter. The plan is to sell an ideal. It's a product everyone wants but no one ever achieves, hence there is always a market for that. You could say that was the original plan for America. It's what those original revolutionaries sold to the general public to protect their investments, their profits. Slowly, over time, the government continues to sell that promise to the people. Not much changes in the world. We just need to stop being offended by that. 

 Now I guess I'll go reread a classic and see if I change my opinion. The only question is, which one? Thing is mostly I read to be entertained so I generally avoid those heavy ones. Never one to read between the lines a great deal I do tend to just enjoy the story being told. Only later in life did I discover that I like to write between the lines. Problem is, there are others like myself that don't read between the lines. As a result, I'm misunderstood. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.