As this is my first post, I’m thinking it’s prolly a good idea to introduce myself as I really am, and avoid any of the pretension that usually accompanies introductions. This is an e-mail I recently sent to everyone in my address book, simply because I could, and I was in the mood for F*ck it, why the hells not. The subject I gave it was ‘Ok, that’s it, I’m venting my spleen (but not in you’re general direction)’. I hope it’s a suitable greeting point:-).
Some of you may have noticed that my signature keeps changing. This morning, I tried to elaborate on my most recent effort, which was “It’s far easier to respect an idiot who is wrong than a hypocrite who is right”. This doesn’t portray the whole story. Yahoo gives you enough space to write a good couple of paragraphs as your signature, so this morning I thought I’d elaborate on this notion, get it out of my system, and clear my head before getting into some study.
However, for some strange reason, the amount of space they provide does not reflect how much you’re actually allowed to write and use as your signature.
The following was what I wanted to put as my signature, and I figured that I’d better get it out to you all, at least once, as I think it about sums up my take on things as they stand right now. (Hopefully after clicking the send button, I’ll be ready for some intense study action!)
It’s far easier to respect an idiot who is wrong than a hypocrite who is right, but a combination of the two is the toughest of the lot. Where did we go wrong? I find it so hard to respect almost everyone these days, and I’m sure they feel the same about me. Was it always this way?
The bottom line is, without respect, we’re doomed as an individual, as a species, and (ultimately) as a planet. It’s the role of (most) advertising to try and get you to respect the product they’re selling by making you think that in buying and using the product, you, in turn, will earn respect. This is why BMW drivers are generally such wankers – they buy into the whole notion of trying to earn respect by earning money and spending it “appropriately”. However, this is a very short-sighted approach, which produces results quite different to what people actually see (the respect they try and earn is appalingly shallow). Fortunately, not everyone is a BMW driver, but human beings are still generally pretty damn short sighted. For most, this makes them afraid, resulting in them conjouring thoughts to do with uncertainties related to human relationships, like “will she like me?”, or “If my tummy is too big, will people judge me?”, or “If I don’t laugh at his joke, he’s going to stop being my friend”.
The fact is that there’s much more to life than anyone can see. We need to rid ourselves of our slobber stained security blankets and take in as much of the big picture as we can, without fear of being wrong (there is no wrong), without fear of being judged and condemned (there is no judgement or condemnation), and without fear of not being able to see the big picture (but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try!), and – here’s the important bit – talk to one another about it and – even more important than that – listen to one another, because we all have a different perspective on life and I’m sick of hearing people bitch and moan about how “Johny’s wasn’t in uniform today” and how “Jill’s got bigger tits than me” and “He’s got a BMW, what a wanker”. Maybe I am being too overzealous and pigheaded, but it seems to me that we live in a pretty damn privellaged society, and we’re all behaving like a bunch of spoiled little 4 year olds.
It’s time we woke up and took full and proper advantage of our privellaged little lot while we can people, because the world will never be the same again, and it’s up to us, right now, to give ourselves a future that’s a little more driven by the realities of existence, and a little less driven by ‘Quality Geman Engeneering’. (I think it safe to assert that we are now officially in interesting times.)
There.
Thank’s for your indulgence on that one guys, I feel much better now 
Alex