I’m in a writing rut. I haven’t written much of anything lately, despite adequate free time. It’s not that I don’t want to write, it’s that I don’t have anything to say. The only thoughts I get are gloomy ones about how shitty everything is. But that doesn’t do anybody any favors. Negativity really isn’t good. It brings people down and ruins morale. Unfortunately, we all engage in negative banter. The easiest way to connect with someone is to identify something that annoys both of you and take turns trashing it. It’s fun and cathartic. So it’s hard. I often tend towards cynicism and I’m still not really sure if life is a blessing or a curse. I find it too easy to view positivity and success as fake and a side effect of privilege and good fortune, while negativity and pain as what’s really beneath the surface when our safeguards are stripped away and we’re forced to face the world in its natural state. We come into this world alone and we leave this world alone, regardless of what we do in between.
Notwithstanding the futility of dwelling on the negative, I have nothing to add to the conversation about the current state of affairs in the world. It’s already so obvious. What do we need? Another hard-hitting article finally exposing to the world how terrible Trump is? There are a billion of those that have had exactly zero effect on the needle. Oh, the outrage! The “how dare you, Trump!” article ticker is at 1,000,000+ and counting. Who fuckin’ cares? Every tweet he posts sends the media into an absolute tailspin of apoplectic shock and sheer dread. It gets old. I’m so desensitized to the whole thing; I don’t give a fuck anymore. Or how about another article blasting mass murderers with hard-hitting language such as “he is a coward.” Oohh! You showed them. The next potential mass murderer will definitely think twice about committing atrocities out of fear of being called a “coward” by politicians. Believe me. Or how about another article about the ever-widening gap between rich and poor? The skyrocketing real estate prices in Denver? It’s just supply and demand, capitalism at work: If you’re not rich, get the fuck out. About the only solution offered from long articles chronicling the indignation of the former middle class—now poor—is “gee, that sucks.”
Or should I write about the new fad: sexual misconduct! OMG! Forgive me for the non-pc language here, but I’m almost desensitized to it by this point. It feels like a witch hunt. Newsflash: powerful men make moves on women! This is new stuff guys, didn’t happen in the olden days. Seriously, at this point, let’s make a list of powerful men who HAVE NOT been accused of sexual misconduct. It’d be a smaller list. The end. Thanks for reading. Oh wait, pro tip: just deny the charges and you’re good to go.