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What bothers you?
Listening and interested
By L P
How did it come to pass that being a good person was a punishable offense?
I was recently offered this position from an unlikely source. “Just write about stuff that bothers you,” he told me, after much skepticism on my part. I've been a hack for many years now, writing mostly my own personal tirades about the unfairness of this and that, the occasional short work of fiction, maybe a poem or two...but not this, not professionally.
So what bothers me? Plenty: our reactionary society, people who yell at me when I’m on my bike...but who doesn’t go through a day without getting irritated about one thing or another? More likely than not; if someone is asked a direct question of this nature he or she stops to think of all the little things that dig at them and tries to pick the low-down dirtiest, most annoying pet peeve of them all. Am I right? Am I close?
Well, assuming I'm in the ballpark, I'll confess one thing: I don't want to tell you what bothers me. I'm a private person, and I intend on taking this column seriously. Besides, if I sit and rant about my peeves, I’m no better than those morons on daytime television who blather on about their social problems – as if they are relevant, in any way, to our lives.
So what bothers you? Really – it's a curious time we're living in, a time of much dissention and inaction. People are upset, angry...but when asked why, it’s hard for them to pinpoint a reason. Think for a moment: Have you ever had the opportunity to stand up and fight back against something you knew was wrong, only to let it slip by because it was hard, dangerous or otherwise threatening? It’s not your fault. Not doing right is not necessarily doing wrong (but chances are it doesn’t feel right, either).
I’m tired of being told that everything’s fine, and that there is nothing I can do. This city, this country, this world – it’s my home, too, and even if I stand alone screaming and nobody hears, at least I’ve proven I have a voice. And if you are reading this – if you care – you can, too. How do we put an end to this ingrained apathy? I think that if we were more conscious of exactly what was wrong, we could equip ourselves with the tools to fix these problems, to take a chance and make a difference. There is good to be found here and I want to be part of finding it.
I don't know what kinds of things will erupt from this column. I'm hoping, though, that somewhere out there, connections are being made, and ideas are coming together. And if you’ve found that you too have a voice, I’m listening.
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