Frustrated and Fed Up

“Good Morning, Doctor”

… that’s where I am right now – frustrated, upset, and fed up … I’m mad … I’m irked … I’m outraged … I’m over … I’m affronted … I’m sick of …

Writing when you’re mad doesn’t usually convey much of anything positive and it surely doesn’t inspire anyone who reads to be anything but, well … mad. Good grief, I feel like Oprah when she figured out a few years back that she had turned into Sally Jesse and Jerry.

I‘ve thought seriously over the past few weeks about taking a sabbatical from writing the BasicMan Perspective. It seems my work (enjoyment) at the keyboard has become counterproductive. Instead of writing because I have something constructive to add to a conversation, a different perspective from the mob, or to simply share an experience – I have taken to writing because I am upset or frustrated about this or that. Most times these emotions are born in either Hollywood or Washington where fiction, drama, and bad acting have become part and parcel of their raison d’etre.

Writing when you’re mad doesn’t usually convey much of anything positive and it surely doesn’t inspire anyone who reads to be anything but, well … mad. Good grief, I feel like Oprah when she figured out a few years back that she had turned into Sally Jesse and Jerry.

But that’s where I am right now. Frustrated, upset, and fed up. I have been incredibly fortunate to have seen a growing number of BasicMan readers; however as with everything in life the adage of “what have you done for me lately” seems to come into play. It’s not only quality but quantity. Mass production blogging, ala endless, mindless Twitter tweets is never what the BasicMan had in mind when he opened the discussion four years ago.

When Perspectives of a BasicMan began its public run it was because I suspected there was an army of “us” that weren’t being heard. I believed an essay put into the public domain could be akin to a shout from the back of a very noisy town hall meeting and someone would hear him above the mainstream din and say, “Yea, me too”. BasicMan’s inbox would indicate that he was correct. The main effort was always to write in such a way as to be positive and constructive, to not alienate anyone with an opposing viewpoint, to be factually correct and contextually truthful, and to engender thoughtful response – all while being steadfast to a social, political, and fiscally conservative perspective on our culture. Conversations aren’t worth much if they’re built on faulty premises or if one party stops listening after the first paragraph.

Here’s the problem. To be blunt, I’m mad as hell. Our culture, our ethos, the way Americans do stuff, the way we tend to our affairs, the things we say and how we say them are in a steep descent. Would it surprise (not to be confused with dismay) anyone if the folks at Webster added the f-bomb to the dictionary in the future? Everything is upside down, and even I’m not sure we can “put Humpty Dumpty back together again”.

I’m mad at the politicians on both sides of the aisle that for all their education and business bona fides, primping, and pontificating, they can’t seem to do basic math, understand the boundaries imposed by the Constitution, or know how to access original intent with a focused reading of Federalist Papers 1 through 85. I take no pleasure in secretly wondering if the POTUS (any POTUS) is in over his head because the stuff he is in charge of has gone south so fast that you dread watching the evening news for fear of seeing what else broke today.

I’m irked at the near-sighted old folks who swallow hook, line and sinker most of the scary pap that comes from their revered leaders preened in $1000 suits and the paid actors doing commercials for AARP. I’m ticked off at the 20 and 30 somethings who remain totally ignorant of the facts behind most headlines that have direct impact on their lives.

I’m outraged at how the media has evolved into the leviathan that uses its power of influence to shape outcomes and expectations before they fulfill their only true obligation; to inform the public. There are very specific reasons why everyone except the Florida jury and the New York DA thought Casey Anthony and Dominique Straus–Kahn were guilty from day one. And the reason this confusion happens is that they take to fomenting opinion rather than presenting facts. Is there any wonder why every issue becomes twisted when the story is less about the plot line than it is about the motivations of the actors?

I’m over the sad stories of the perpetually downtrodden in our society; those with their hand out so much their palm has a deep suntan. Go ahead; call me cold hearted, a ‘hater’. But you know who they are, those career ‘takers’ with a constant eye on gaming the social system of American taxpayer generosity and provision for their benefit with no regard to anteing into the pot – ever. Regrettably that brings me full circle to the self interested politicians who foster this sad addiction for their own longevity and can’t bring themselves to plugging the offending hole that is about to financially sink our ship of state.

I’m affronted by arrogance, incompetence, elitism, and any other pejorative adjective one could attach to the feckless United Nations cabal.

I’m sick of hearing about paying my fair share, shared sacrifice, and polling data that explicitly says 80% of the population thinks that the rich should pay more. Well, of course they do; so says the remaining 20%. “Excuse me bartender, I’ll have another drink and put it on his tab, thanks”

I don’t like writing these words but worse, I hate feeling like this. It’s a numb malaise which weighs me down when I think of the future, our position in the world going forward, and squandered potential.

“Thank you BasicMan, your hour is up … will I see you next week”?