My First College Paper Article...

OK, I've decided that for my first post in this blog, I would allow you folks to enjoy my first article I ever wrote for my college paper this past semester. A little backstory, first, however. You see, I'm currently in my second round of college at the age of 34. I guess I liked it so much the first time that I had to do it over. lol This time, I'm working on a B.S. in English Education.

I have a great many opinions that you "get" to read! Sometimes I come off as an asshole! lol And, know right now, that I'm perfectly fine with that! I don't really give a damn what celebrities do, although we "get" to hear it all the time. I do care about my family, my friends, my bikes, and my tunes. Most importantly....

It's MY opinion! Deal with it!!!

Now, enjoy my first post! Even with the misquoted movie line!

I’M MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!!
Or THE RANTINGS OF POSSIBLY THE ONLY NON-STUPID HUMAN ON EARTH
By: Jim Myers
“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore!” Those were the words once spoken by Richard M. Nixon back in the 1970’s. At least, I think it was Nixon. Maybe another person with a background in History and a better memory can correct me if I’m wrong. For those of you reading this who are fortunate to have been born long after the disco era, Richard Millhouse Nixon was one of those President-type people. You know, the person we “elect” to make a lot of bad decisions “on our behalf”? The reason I say that is that I saw something one time on a news program, which means it totally has to be true (read as said sarcastically), that most high school aged kids and some in college can’t name all of our past Presidents! Stay with me, there is a point here!
The older I get, the more “irritated” I become. There are several reasons for a seemingly “sane” person to be thrown into an angry frenzy. The most prevalent of these reasons is the rampant stupidity I’ve either heard of on television or witnessed personally. You know the types of stupid to which I’m referring. Those moments when you’re left shaking your head with a “what the ….” look on your face.
Well, folks! These days my own head seems to be on a permanent swivel and that previously mentioned facial expression has etched itself into my face! So, to borrow that quote from “Tricky Dick” (that’s what Nixon was called during his run at screwing up the country), I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna shut up about it anymore!
I’d like to start with my favorite subject, politics! OK, I’ll admit it. I voted for Bush, both times. Hey, I said stupidity irritates me, I didn’t say I was immune to stupid acts on occasion! At first, “Dubya” seemed like a real go-getter, a hard-charger who proved to the world that the U.S.A. doesn’t take any crap from anyone. Well, my best guess is that his IQ dropped along with his approval ratings steadily in the last few years. My opinion would be that Dubya’s legacy after he leaves office will be great jokes for stand-up comics for years to come. I’m also quite annoyed by all of this “Conservative” versus “Liberal” crap I hear constantly these days. Could somebody please explain to me just what the (expletive censored by the writer on the grounds that people are too stinking sensitive these days) difference is? I don’t get it! Listen to talk radio sometime! These people are constantly going on about this guy or that group or those people. All I ever seem to hear is “if you vote for this guy your life will be ruined!” To me, it’s like some silly school playground fight between full-grown rich people who have detached themselves from those of us who work for a living, or are pursuing the intellectual life. It all seems rather pointless to me.
The common American voter isn’t entirely safe from the wrath of my typing fingers, either! The way I see it, you all are part of the problem. Follow me, here! The people who are elected get elected because of a “sheep” mentality. That, and for reasons that completely escape normal thinking, people think that to be an effective leader means you have to be a rich lawyer or business-type. In this great country of ours, unfortunately, mental capacity seems to have nothing to do with “electability”. This is a shame! Every now and then, we have a guy that decides to run for the “big job” who actually possesses a brain, gets a whole lot of support, and seems to gain a loyal following. But! When the time comes to vote in a primary or general election, all these “supporters” go ahead and vote for the same old same old. On top of all that, the people that vote “money” ahead of smarts turn around and whine about how things are going well into someone’s term.
I can say, however, that our political stupidity pales in comparison to other so-called “democratic” societies on this planet. There are many places where they need armed guards watching over the elections to make sure everything goes “well”. Most don’t go well. Now, this is only my opinion, but I think the reason for this is that most of these places can’t handle “free-thinking”. So, I guess I can’t complain too much about things here. But, let’s all get together and vote for smart people this time around!
OK, next topic o’ annoyance, celebrity role models! Role models? Yeah, everyone’s kids ought to worship near-anorexic, drunk, drug-crazed, bad-driving teen-aged girls who are only famous because they spent five-grand on an excuse to buy a bigger bra. Please! Most of these presently trendy celebrities have succeeded in turning stupidity into the “next big thing”. Look at Paris Hilton for instance. The only reason she’s famous at all, or even known, is that uber-retarded (did I really just type “uber”?) TV “show” she did with her equally brain-dead “bff”. Well, she’s also famous for that other “show” of sorts that she did, without knowing it. But, we won’t go into that one other than to say that that one was crap, too. Another glowing example of “role-modeling” is Lindsey Low-tolerance. Oops! I mean “Lohan”. Her claim to fame lately has been celebrating getting through rehab by going out and getting drunk.
Whatever happened to a kid looking at his or her parents as role models? Personally, my greatest heroes are my Mother, the artist David Mann, Chuck Close (he’s an artist, Google him! He’s inspiring), and Jesus. Yes, Jesus is a hero of mine even though I don’t believe in organized religion. I’ll get into that next time. That is, if there is a next time! Which there may be, since I doubt stupid will cure itself anytime soon.

Note: Jim Myers isn’t even close to being a journalist or even a halfway decent columnist. He’s just a guy with a big mouth, fast fingers, a bad attitude, and something to say. You may direct any “hate” mail to his junk e-mail folder. If anything he writes offends you, grow a sense of humor! You’ll need it to deal with all the stupid people around you!

**another note**
I was informed after this piece came out that I misquoted the quote at the beginning! It wasn't Nixon! It was a line from the movie "Network". OOPS!