META: Adventures in Comprehension-- Why I did it...

[Tom Russell]

On Mar 11, 11:50 am, cabbagewiel... at yahoo.com wrote:

>  You can claim to understand something.  You can chose to forget or
> sort of give lip-service forgiveness to someone but understanding is
> an entirely different matter.    Understanding requires a frame of
> reference.   Which is something Carolyn lacked.   I think you lack it
> here.    I am not cynical because it is hip or cool.  I am cynical
> because of what I have seen and what I continue to see all around me.
> I realize this is how thing are-- how they have always been-- and
> found that individuals can be okay but over all people suck.  But what
> can any of us do-- we're only human.

Cynicism is not something that's thrust upon people.  It's a choice
you make.  It's not that I don't have a frame of reference: I have had
a hard time of it in life.  But I _choose_ to be optimistic.  To see
the best in people.  Which requires more of me-- and anyone else--
intellectually and personally than cynicism.

I used to be cynical, until I realized that I was just another part of
the problem.  If you want to make a difference in this life, you have
to make a choice.

It's much easier, though, to say that everything sucks.  Hate and
despair require less of a person than love.

Looking back over my diatribe, I'm somewhat ashamed that I wrote it.
At the same time, I've tried friendship and love with you for the last
ten years, Jesse.  To be frank, you long ago exhausted whatever good
will I had for you, whatever tolerance I had for your antics and your
knee-jerk "everything sucks, poor me" attitude.

It's everything that's wrong about my generation, and everything
that's wrong about the superhero genre, all wrapped up into one,
unappealing package.  Grow up and learn to love, which, contrary to
what the Wizard said, has less to do with how much love you recieve
and more to do with how much you send out.

As another wiseman once said, Your words of terror amuse only
yourself.

==Tom