Whatever you say …

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor I ’ve probably know it for some time but I guess I simply didn’t want it to be true, but here we are and there’s no denying it now … we are terrible.

Before you say, “What do you mean ‘we?’” let me assure you I mean you too (I definitely mean me too). Me and you and the guy down the street and the nice lady at work and the cool kids over at the playground and the rich and the poor and people of all races and religions. We are all terrible.

Why are we all terrible? Because we can ruin anything. Because we can take something good and turn it into something bad in a heartbeat. Because we can take any issue and twist it to suit our beliefs. No one taught us to do these things. We were born with something inside us that that makes us this way. Call it sin. Call it our animal instincts. Call it our basic human nature. Call it just “the way we are made,” but there’s no denying it at this point, and thanks to the internet and cell phones and satellite TV, we can spread our terribleness across the globe with just the push of a few buttons.

Oh, sure, you’ll hear a nice heartwarming story now and then, and I’m glad for those, because they’re a sign that we haven’t all just fallen off a cliff of decency and kindness. Or more accurately, it’s like George Carlin once said: “A person can be great, but people are the worst.” And that’s true. Collectively, we are terrible. Try to convince me otherwise. I dare you.

Here’s a great example: Senator Ted Cruz ran off to Mexico while the people of the Great State of Texas were freezing and dying. Sugarcoat it and spin it all you want, but that’s what he did. There’s no defending it. He’s bad and the people defending him are bad.

Want another? Senators Mitt Romney and our own Tom Cotton had the nerve to sponsor a bill to raise the federal minimum wage and somehow made everyone mad. Progressives said it’s not high enough, even though it would be a gradual 50 percent increase over three years. Conservatives say its a betrayal of their party’s ideals, with one publication saying Romney and Cotton “just abandoned fiscal conservatism.”

Have you “canceled” Coca-Cola yet? They apparently want you to “bee less white,” so hashtag them into oblivion, I guess. So, they’re bad for being tone deaf about what inclusion really means and everyone who lost their minds about it is just as bad for losing their minds about it. I heard a lot of offensive things growing up and I managed to turn out OK. So lighten up, Francis. Was that offensive too? It probably was. In fact, I’m sure it was.

Did you hear about how Biden shut down the Keystone Pipeline? Sure you did! Wasn’t that just awful? Or wasn’t that just great? Trick questions! Either way, you’re wrong. Did you know God himself responded to it? Yep. Just Google it. It turns out that once Biden shut down Keystone, God sent an arctic front down from the Great White North just to show all those tree-hugging Hippies how much we all depend on natural gas and fossil fuels. You heard me (in written form). Someone saw what was happening with all the ice and snow and rolling blackouts and people freezing and dying saw the hand of God at work and thought enough of their thoughts that they needed to share it with the world. What if God actually sent that arctic front to make the no-maskers and the but-but-my-rights people keep their butts inside for a week to slow down the spread of COVID-19? Or, you know, what if weather is a naturally- occurring phenomenon that sometimes sends arctic fronts further south than they usually go?

Yes, we are the worst. Our heroes let us down. Our leaders let us down. Even our spiritual leaders. Turns out there’s pretty strong evidence that Ghislaine Maxwell can confirm that there were sex tapes made by Jeffery Epstein that include Donald Trump and Bill Clinton (and others I’m sure). And if you want a crisis of faith, Google “minister in sex trafficking” or Ravi Zacharias. Former Olympic swimming medalist was recently busted for being the leader of a drug cartel. Olympian Oscar Pistorius killed his girlfriend. Actors, athletes, musicians… so many sad stories.

It’s everywhere. Did you know the son of Lambert’s Cafe was charged with multiple counts of child sex trafficking and child pornography and a laundry list of other charges. Sure, the family cut ties with him after his arrest, but next time you catch a “throwed roll,” remember those kids. Did the family know? Did they cover anything up? I don’t know, but I don’t not know either.

Maybe someday, it’ll get better, but today is not that day.