We're So Close to Hating Everyone.

Probably about five years ago, while we were driving somewhere-or-other, I was going on and on about how much I disagreed with someone-or-other, and Jeff chimed in as well with his reasons for disagreeing with this person as well, and it escalated into this: "What the hell? Why is this person like this anyway? How on earth could he (or she) think this?" kind of thing. And then it went further: "How could this person believe in any of the things he (or she) believes in? And other people think this way, too?! Like, what the? What's wrong with people, anyway?"

And it's not like this was the first time we had conversations like this. They were (and probably still are) a recurring thing that come up here and there, probably more often than they should. Basically, a nice, long, bitchy diatribe about how we're right and everyone else is wrong.

Which led me to the great title of the book we're going to have to write, because it is so bitchy, unreasonable, and haughty, and we've had these conversations enough, they may as well be collected: We're So Close to Hating Everyone. And it has to be co-written because I'm So Close to Hating Everyone just sounds way too whiney. And the "so close" comes in because, when it comes down to it, I don't think it's very nice to really hate anyone. It is bad for other people, and it is really bad for me, anyway. So I have to at least make a half-hearted effort to not condone outright hate.

If I actually did write a book like that, though, I wonder what it would look like. Maybe a little bit like something Glen Beck would write. Or maybe it would be a little bit more like an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

At least it would be honest.

Because the trouble is, I think there are already books out there like that, disguised as something else. And there are already television shows, movies, entire universities, musical acts, etc., that also espouse this kind of attitude, but it's not quite so in your face as my title. And it's kind of toxic, actually (I know, it's hard to read between the lines and everything): Even though we live in an age where we are supposed to be open-minded and postmodern and stuff, I think most people still adhere to their own personal set of ideas as far as what life's supposed to be like, say "to hell with those guys,"(or much worse), but are unwilling to acknowledge this unreasonable quality contained within themselves. And it's not such a good thing (to quote-mutilate from Martha Stewart).

So, in an attempt to lend some kind of structure to this blog, I want to devote some of it to this "book" of mine, mainly as a tongue-in-cheek way of deconstructing my own unreasonableness, and understanding where it comes from, and why it happens. I think this counts as a blog post for today, so I won't begin it right now, but let's just say that from here on out, the week will begin with "We're So Close to Hating Everyone Mondays" (even though Jeff won't be writing it... like I said, "we're" has a much better ring to it).