Get real

 There are jokes about it. There is an entire commercial campaign centered on that joke. Progressive insurance declares there is help, we don't have to become our parents. It's funny because we know the truth of it, we will become our parents. I hear my father's voice and my mother's admonishments daily. I hear myself repeating those to my grandchildren, I read them in my social media postings, and indeed, in these blogs. It's not really a bad thing, although that is the implication, but rather an acceptance. We are mature adults, right? Well, some of us are anyway and that's the joke. It's hard being an adult, being responsible, and making those tough choices. You say no! With that comes an expectation. You expect others to act in a like fashion and when they don't you get upset and annoyed. Just like your parents did.

 Every generation says they will not do what their parents did. Every generation feels enlightened. Every generation begins by rebelling against the one before. Eventually they begin to accept the realities of life. You really can't just do whatever you want when you are grown up. That comes as a shock to many. Yes, I can stay up late at night but then I'm tired the next day at work. It's best to go to bed and get that good night's sleep. It really is better to not spin your tires and wear them out quickly, costs a lot to replace them. And eating all snack foods and drinking beer isn't that healthy a choice after all. Then there are bills. Yes, reality has a way of turning us into our parents. 

 The simple truth is you cannot escape reality. With enough money you may be able to disguise it though, I'll say that much. Fame, popularity and money can fool you, at least I think it can, I've never had any of those personally. I've just watched what some of those folks with all of that do and can draw no other conclusion. It's like being told if you can't afford more for gas, buy an electric vehicle! The reality is, if you can't afford gas, you can't afford a new car! Not long-ago Martha's Vineyard was served a dose of reality. That was a shock to those folks. They reacted by saying, no. Reminded me of when Mom told us kids, we couldn't bring home every stray animal we ran across. 

 Reacting to reality is what we are really talking about when we say we are becoming our parents. We should learn from their mistakes, they made mistakes and so did their parents, but we should learn the lessons too. They weren't just being mean when they said no. The majority of the time they said no for a very good reason, reality. Some of your "friends" and "classmates" really were trouble and a bad influence on you. You did need to go to bed and get rest. You did need to study. And sometimes, sometimes the things you wanted to do were simply stupid! 

 It's a lot easier to be popular than to be right. It sure seems like an awful lot of folks are flying their flags of virtue these days. It is a lot easier to tell others what is right than to actually practice it. Popularity is profitable, no denying that. Thing is, sooner or later reality will rear its' head. That's when the proverbial wheels fall off. You're stuck! No avoiding that situation. You can only pray that it isn't too late. 

 Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. (Soren Kierkegaard) That was written in the mid 1800's. Today that thought is expressed a bit differently, we say, Get Real. Yeah, a lot of these "woke" people like to use that phrase. I suspect none of them have ever read what Mr. Kierkegaard had to say about that. I'd suggest that they do and then they could, get real, for real.