Complain Your Ass Off

Bleary-eyed and fat, I saw a story this morning about a church in Missouri that is behind a campaign to stop people from complaining. One is supposed to pledge not to be cynical or sarcastic, and not to whine, for 21 days. And you're supposed to wear a purple bracelet to signify your stoicism. The news story on NBC was very positive, and apparently this idea is extremely popular. But I think the people behind it are a bunch of simpletons, and that's more of an insult than a complaint. Nobody wants to be around a whiner, granted. As far as I'm concerned, however, people don't complain enough, they just complain about the wrong things. Generally speaking, of course. There's no point in grousing about things that cannot be helped, like penis size or ice cream headaches. But dissent and critical thinking are virtues, especially in our culture. People increasingly get their information about the world from websites that provide news from a subjectively agreeable point of view. And the best way to be marginalized is to criticize popular culture, or have a political philosophy that isn't easily summed up and presented by either of the two political parties in this country. It's much easier to sit in front of the TV or computer and eat up the latest offering from MicroSoft or Apple or McDonald's or whatever corporation pays enough to get your attention. Just consume and shut up.

Yes, dissent is good, and "complaining" is a critical part of what is necessary for positive change. You know who complained a lot? Martin Luther King, jr. So did the Suffragists, and the Abolitionists, and Robert Kennedy and Eugene V. Debs and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Jews and socialists and homosexuals and gypsies in Nazi Germany complained a lot, too. Change always begins with seeing an ill and complaining about it. Some of us are gifted enough to take it beyond that, and forge real, systemic, positive change. Most of us will never do more than debate our friends and cast a vote. But that's good, too.

And I get nervous when there is too much agreement. People are always talking about the need for more bipartisanism in Washington. The Hell with that. There are real disagreements out there, and real need for change. Idealism. Sticking your head up your ass may make things quiet and peaceful, but it's not good for your fellow man and woman. Nothing would make Bush supporters happier than if this campaign really took off. Twenty one days of sheep. Complaining about something is a prelude to action. So be happy for what you have, and whatever random mercies you are granted by an indifferent universe. At the same time, however, work for a better world and complain your ass off. Just don't do it around your friends too much.

Anyway, I need to pack and clean and pick up a prescription. Oh, yeah...doesn't Ann Coulter sound like a complete fucking moron? Like a baboon with Tourette's fucking a football.