And you have no idea how much self-reflection is a fundamental aspect of my life. I challenge you to match it.
Gah.
I apologize for this dumb thing aimed at you. I know it's not your fault. But I think this is what you're coming up against when people tell you not to tell them about the good old days.
My past is not really something I want to go back to, thank you very much. I prefer looking forward.
I also don't want it to be rancor. If you look at my commenting history, here, you will find very, very little, and what you do find, will be fairly mild. I'm a reformed troll, and feel that I must atone for being an arsehole of the first water, for many years. I know that I come across as "stuffy," but believe me, when I tell you, that the alternative is not pleasant.
But it is also important to understand that every person is an individual. This is something that I have to struggle with, every single day. It's very easy for me to be intellectually lazy, and dismiss whole swaths of people, simply because they tick one box of many.
I have fast friends, that I would never have had, if I had insisted that they meet my litmus tests. I won't engage them on certain topics, but I know that we have a great deal of mutual respect.
I participate in a community, that is ... eclectic. Its members are quite varied, and we have learned to put aside our differences in pursuit of a common goal. I really wish that the world ran this way, but it's difficult work. Really humbling, but also extremely rewarding. A central tenet is to be of Service. I like to think that I've done OK, here.
The article was written by an old dude that has been dragged through hell, but has also managed to do well for himself and his wife.
Believe it or not, I hear stories like this almost daily. Very few ever make it into the mainstream, and I am a truly privileged person to hear them.
Not all that is old is bad. Not all that is new, is good. The world has been damaged for a long time, and no one of us can fix it all, so we do our part to police our area.
I'm reminded of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" lyrics. I believe he's trying to say that his generation (Boomers) did not start the shit show. It's always been there, with different details.
