Happy hump day guys and gals! All is going quite well for me, thanks for asking. I hope that the same is happening for you on this glorious late winter morning. I received tons of feedback via text message/email/facebook/etc. on my last entry: "If There is Any Attempt for Either Contestant to Cheat, Especially with My Wife, who is a Dirty, Dirty Tramp, I am just Gonna Snap" and I appreciate that said feedback more than you'll ever know. Whether we agree or disagree on any of the issues that I bring up on this here page of words, your responses/insight are much appreciated. Thanks again, and remember, I greet all criticism/praise with arms wide open (in the lead singer of Creed's voice only, of course).
Speaking of douches (see, lead singer of Creed) I've found that there's really nothing more douchey than people who consistently live in the past. This generally comes from people who are old and crusty and can't seem to come to grips with the fact that the world is constantly changing around them to their dismay, but definitely applies to younger people all the same. I'm sure that you've heard the phrase "things were SO much better when I was a kid" more times than you care to remember and I'm positive (myself included), that you've found yourself uttering those same words from time to time. Well, guess what? We're wrong.
I have three younger cousins that are between the ages of five and seven and they are all in the prime of their toy playing/cartoon watching lives, so naturally, in the few times per year that I actually get to see them, I tend to join in on the fun and check out what's going on in their particular demographic that I myself am FAR out of touch with. It seems that when I engage in their toys/movies/clothing/shows and so forth, I instantly begin comparing it to the stuff that I grew up with. I bet without much thought that you can guess which era I favor...
I was born in 1983 and grew up with: "The Smurfs", "He-Man", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Sesame Street", "Ghostbusters", "Fraggle Rock", "Inspector Gadget", "Garfield and Friends", "Pro Stars", "C.O.P.S." (BTW...the "Central Organization of Police Specialists" was/still is my personal favorite), "Mini-Monsters", "Punky Brewster", "RoboCop", "Mario Bros.", "Teen Wolf", "Thundercats", "Transformers", "The Wonder Years", "Saved by the Bell", "David the Gnome", etc., etc. Those shows were the greatest! Not to mention: "The Monster Squad", "Gremlins", "The Goonies", "E.T.", "Stand by Me", "Seinfeld", "Married with Children", "The Simpsons", "Short Circuit", "Never Ending Story", "Back to the Future", and so on, and so on... I challenge ANY era to compile a list of more compelling/entertaining shows and kids movies. ANY!!! Well, guess what? No matter whether you grew up in the 50's, 60's or 70's, you're going to claim YOUR era as being better than mine (even though there is NO possible way!) :-) Even my cousins, who were born in THIS millennium, are going to say that "Cars" and "Wall-E" kick the crap out of "Aladdin" and "The Little Mermaid." It's what THEY'RE growing up on and it's what THEY identify with. Period.
The fact is, no matter what era you spent your childhood in, you look at that particular period of time as the "golden age" because that is when YOU were a kid. It's that simple. Why do we do that, you might ask? Well, think about it. When we were kids, we didn't have anything to worry about. We had no job, no bills, no stress and everything of concern was handled and laid out before us by our parents. My biggest issues growing up were avoiding my homework and trying to stay up as late as possible. I never paid rent. I didn't have to worry about losing my job and waiting in unemployment lines and I sure as hell didn't care what Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were doing with/to our country. I cared about the Cubs (sadly...I still do), pizza, kissing girls, playing sports and beating Super Mario Bros. No wonder I'm so fond of the 80's!
Even though I look at that decade through rose tinted glasses, the fact of the matter is that the 1980's sucked for the most part. I mean, let's be realistic. The economy was crap (much like today), AIDS was running rampant, we were at war (eerily similar to today), and the fashion was reprehensible. You've all seen/wore the hair styles and neon clothing. Hilarious. It turns out that the "old days" were really never that great (no matter what "old days" you speak of). It works for you too. You say you love the 70's, huh? Fine. Explain the Vietnam war, the Cold War, the economy, Richard Nixon, 70's rock (yuck!), disco (wow), bell bottoms and lava lamps. We're still waiting...yeah, that's what I thought. I'm sorry, but as "far out" as you think it might have been, it simply wasn't. That goes for ANY era you may speak of. It just wasn't as wonderful and innocent as you remember it, and that's OKAY!
Living in the past is no way to live. In fact, it's not really living at all. Think about it. Overall, today kicks the crap out of yesterday! We have the Internet now which is great for all sorts of things like porn, "Webby Files", Chat Roulette, facebook and identity theft! We also get to consume ourselves 24 hours a day with our Blackberrys and/or iPhones. Pretty great, right? Right. How about the fact that the days of lugging around our records/betas/cassettes/CD's are long gone due to today's technology in which we can have thousands and thousands of songs in the palm of our hand? Not bad, if I do say so myself. Not to mention that there's no fear of getting lost anymore (GPS), no interest in "playing against the computer" ever again (online gaming), no reason to actually talk to someone (texting) and we have the pleasure of watching TV picture's that are so in-depth, you can actually count each individual pimple on that chick from the "Twilight" movies' face. All positives in my world! Even when you get into the more serious issues of today, it's improvements across the board. We're far more tolerant/socially aware (but STILL have a ton of work to do) when speaking of minorities/homosexuals/women/the environment/etc. It's really night and day folks.
The reason that old people don't learn how to use computers is because they're scared of them (for lack of a better term). It's the same reason that people still only listen to the music that THEY grew up with. It's also why white people who grew up in an all white neighborhood back in the day tend to not like black people. They're scared of them and the amount of progress that they represent. These are the same people that openly stated in exit polls that they simply "weren't ready for a black president" (whatever the hell that means). We, as a whole, fear change. We don't want gays to marry because we're scared that it will somehow effect OUR marriages (it won't). We don't want to invest in alternative energy/fuel solutions because we're comfortable with the way that our lives run right now (no matter how harmful the results may be). We hated cell phones when they first came out, didn't understand the fascination with HD TV's and we'll NEVER have a facebook page (you will, if you already don't). The funny thing is, if EVERYONE was a conservative who only lived in the past, imagine how horrifyingly different our world would be. We'd still have slavery, women would be viewed as objects with no civil rights, our day to day ways of life would be ridiculously primitive, and there would be no medium to get your "Webby Files" fix!
My advice to everyone...
Stop being a pussy.
Embrace progress/change. Being conservative about everything and completely engulfing yourself into your nostalgic past throws a monkey wrench into what's possible for your/our future. You never know, you may end up enjoying "Chat Roulette." If you don't mind all of the male nudity.
Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to Alkaline Trio's new album "This Addiction." I'm a big fan. Drink of Choice: Coffee. I've been on a Dunkin' Donuts kick lately. Talk to you soon.
Your pal,
Webby
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