Gut-Mensch or Individualist?

I'm alive;) Just barely, though, b/c I had to shift priorities towards selling more of my time for actual $$. C'est la vie for a single orphan w/out the ties that may form a security net - financially or otherwise.

It's election time and with it come political opinion polls that may or may not awaken the delusional. 'Tis the time of spin-masters and manipulators, of sound-bytes and one-answer questions designed to get a certain result. Sigh. 'Tis the time to pretend there's only black or white in this world of grey.

Need an opinion? Don't bother thinking for yourself, buddy, just pick one of your choice of three. That's a lot easier. Don't waste precious time you could spend watching reality on TV.

Bonus material: politically correct statements for you to recycle whenever a hot topic puts you in danger of wasting time thinking about it. Do not think. It'll only ruin your mood. Don't want that to happen. Plus - you might come to a conclusion that's unpopular. See? So totally not worth it! Run with the herd. There's power in numbers.

"Eat shit. Gazillions of flies can't be wrong."

So very '80s. Welcome to the new century, honey. Get your hi-tech gadgets and shut the hell up unless we're calling to poll you. Do not complain about your choice of answers. Pick one and we'll be through in no time flat. Tomorrow you'll read your paper or watch your "news" show and it will tell you where on the mainstream-spectrum you belong. But hey, as long as you're mainstream, you're good.

It's like fashion. You can't go wrong if you buy your clothes in a store that belongs to a fat-ass chain. You wouldn't want to stick out of the crowd, would you? See. If you're a girl, just make sure your nipples are covered. See-through or not doesn't matter. Show what you've got and claim your prize: nipple piercings and a tribal ass-tat that peeks out from your low-cut jeans.

Church.

Doesn't matter which one as long as it isn't Scientology b/c that's so last century. You don't have to go to any services, don't worry.

You don't have to follow the rules, either. Break them at will, just make sure you feel guilty about it.

That's the key. Guilt.

But you already knew that. Because, hell, there's lots of stuff you do and feel guilty about without ever wondering why that is. Walked past the beggar without shelling out some dough? Horrible person, you. Feel entitled to the bonus you got b/c you put in more hours and more effort than that mommy-type who spent half her "working" hours sending text messages to her family and her lover and her girlfriend re: that alibi? How dare you. And then you think that you ought to sell your time to the highest bidder even though you should work for half the dough for a worthy cause from which you yourself do not benefit. At all. That makes it even worthier, ya know.

Never question your guilt. When in doubt - Pascal.

You know you've got to be a Gut-Mensch, not an individualist. Individualists lose sight of what's right - they forget or - gasp - decline to reproduce, those selfish bitches. But don't despair: your punishment is on the way. Higher taxes, high rents for small apartments, higher cost of living. There you have it. Conform or pay up. Isn't it much better to be a live-in girlfriend or wife? Get your calculator, girlfriend, and figure out how much cheaper your life would be then. You might even be able to share a car or own half a house, be covered by his health-insurance. Work part time! Hey, doesn't that sound tempting? Plus: it comes with the right to complain, bitch and moan about the high cost of living!

Of course, if you choose to pay up and stay single and free, you selfish bitch, you got absolutely no right to complain about anything whatsoever -- and you'll really pay through your nose. No safety net. What for? The individual is worth shit. The family is the smallest unit of society. Got that, you freak?

Now go and clean out your closet or something. Donate your old threads to the AIDS-hospice for men that wouldn't take you in, girlfriend, even if you had only hours to live and after you'd volunteered there for years and years. Give and never ever ask to get anything back.

That's the spirit. Good girl!