It’s not THeM…

Lots of crazy stuff going on right now. As if you didn’t know.
The kind of stuff that makes a Misfit do a little thinking.
And here’s my crazy thought:

What if the world, crazy as it is, ISN’T the problem?

Wacky, I know. But hear me out.

Yes, the world DOES seem to have become a bit UNHINGED as of late…
And as such, we got problems. Lots-o-problems. With a Capital “P” that rhymes with “C” that stands for CAAAAARRRRRAAAAAAAZZZZZZY.

But what if all the many, many problems in the world aren’t all everyone else’s fault?

Oh, some of them are, for sure. The really bad ones.

The ones that make the news.

The ones that break our hearts.

The ones that paralyze us with fear.

The ones that make us suspicious of each other. Hesitant to even talk to each other, because we might say something stupid. or worse, offensive.

The problems that OTHER PEOPLE are causing.

The troubled people.

The mean people.

The selfish people.

The hateful people.

The prideful people.

The morally bankrupt people.

The broken people.

The OTHER people.

And of course, all those problems precipitate LOTS of understandable RESPONSES.

Lots of heartache.
Lots of anger.
Lots of emotions.
Lots of blaming.
Lots and lots of virtue signaling.

Not a lot of self-reflection.

And I get it, cause self-reflection is painful. Self-reflection DOESN’T change the other person. It only changes me. And what good is that, if no one else wants to change?

And surely I’m not part of the problem. Am I? I mean, I’m not perfect…but neither are you… so let’s just cancel each other out, pat ourselves on the back and call it a day. Let’s get back to the real issue: Everybody else. (Phew, that was close! Almost had to face myself there for a minute!)

Problem solved!

Only problem is, though (see what I did there?), the problem is not solved. The world is still in trouble. You don’t need me to tell you this. And you really don’t want me telling you this (cause I barely can stand to hear myself think it, let alone write it): Here’s where we have to face the brutal, ugly truth.

It’s you. It’s me.

Not them. Us.

We ARE the problem.

We know it’s true. But we pretend like it’s not. We deflect, because it’s easier. At least in the short run. So we remain unchanged. But the problems of the world never seem to go away… And even though it’s true that no one of us bears the responsibility for the entire state of the world’s screwed-up-ness, we are certainly responsible for our little corner. That little corner that is practically perfect in every way… until we start dealing with people. You know, THOSE people (see above). And then you piece all those little corners together… and round, and round it goes, until we realize, oh crap, WE ARE THOSE PEOPLE.

I just now realized the entirety of this post has already been summed up by a few pop songs (as is most of life) John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change“, and that classic 80’s mega anthem: “We are the World… and if you want to get really uncomfortable… Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror“)

So if nothing else. Listen to those, back to back. Because the world does need to change. And so do you. And so do I.