Tag Archives: popularity

Below

Below: (prep) at a lower level

Dictionary B

It takes guts.

It probably shouldn’t.

Honesty, by its very definition, should be a statement of the reality that we presently know.

But since reality tends to scare us, we develop stories. We conjure excuses. And we fail to realize that our character–and ultimately, our popularity–is determined by how well we recognize when our efforts are below standard, and admit the shortage instead of denying responsibility.

How wonderful it would be if I could convince myself, and maybe therefore others around me, that the only way to be truly diminished is to insist that I never fall below the best.

  • We all do.
  • We all will.

And we all have an opportunity to be considered valuable by admitting this deficiency instead of covering it up.

It baffles me that I don’t know this. Why I pause before telling the truth of the matter is a great source of mystery to my soul.

Because when I am candid, the world rushes to my side to lift up my spirits and encourage me to do better.

When I lie, I make humanity around me turn into my enemies so they can honor the traditions of candor.

My efforts are often below the quality I am capable of achieving.

I have never improved my status … by lying about it. 

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Authoritarian

Authoritarian: (adj) favoring or enforcing strict obedience

There is a general misconception in the human race that to avoid being walked on by other people, you need to do a little walking yourself.dictionary with letter A

It creates a sadness in us. For after all, if you believe you’re going to lose the game it’s hard to play it with vigor.

Because when we’re walked on we lose. And of course, when we walk on other people we are also the defeated.

In the course of my life I have. at one time or another, had everyone who loves me proclaim me to be an authoritarian figure, inflexible to their needs.

Actually what I have tried to do in my life is avoid walking, and instead, develop some backbone for standing.

There are periods when the world around me decided to go crazy. Of course, it was not perceived as idiocy, but rather, was the new trend, the new patriotism, the new faith, or the new business venture.

Simply by deciding not to participate in the mania happening around me, I was perceived to be authoritarian–especially when I insisted that those of my household join me in a vigil of solitude.

I had no desire to rule or reign. I also had no desire to be pulled in twenty-five different directions by inclinations which I knew in my heart to be false. So I didn’t buy into a lot of things.

  • I didn’t join the Moral Majority in becoming anti-gay.
  • Trickle-down economics never made sense to me because it relies on rich people to suddenly become generous.
  • Even though I believe that America affords every citizen the right to choose, I cannot condone abortion as being anything but murder.
  • I stood against the war in Iraq and even wrote a musical rebuke of the notion that the seeds of freedom could be grown in that fallow soil.
  • I lived in the South and objected to streets that were named after known white supremacists.
  • And today, I will tell you that legalizing marijuana is a complete breakdown of understanding a youthful culture that has always considered it to be a gateway drug.

In the process of holding these feelings dear to my heart, I do occasionally share them humbly with those around me, hoping to win over converts to some common sense.

There are those who view this as authoritarian.

I do not want authority–I want freedom with responsibility. Because freedom without responsibility always ends up with someone hurt.

It’s rather doubtful that you will be able to live your life without someone trying to walk over the top of you. If you return in kind, the vicious walking continues.

But sometimes all of us need to make a stand and stop being affected by the tides of popularity which are trying to introduce a wave of confusion.

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A-list

Words from Dic(tionary)

dictionary with letter A

A-list: (n) a real or imaginary list of the most celebrated or sought-after individuals, especially in show business.

Fats Waller, Fatty Arbuckle and Fats Domino.

All three of these tubby individuals were once on the A-list of our society. Who knows them now?

You see, that’s the problem with any kind of list which promotes popularity. It is linked to the attention span of the American public, which is shrinking at a similar rate to the polar ice cap.

It got me thinking.

Who would be on the A-list of all time? In other words, what individuals who have lived since the foundation of historical documentation would be of intrigue to us (or especially me)?

Because even though Clark Gable was certainly a common household name in the 1930’s, it is rather doubtful that your nine-year-old daughter today would have any idea who he is. So who would my six-year-old, fourteen-year-old, thirty-year-old son, and eighty-five-year-old grandma know in common and consider to be part of the all-star A-list?

It’s really funny.

I only came up with two, Is that weird?

There were an immense number of choices, but I only have a pair of names I would consider to be on the A-list of all time. I am sure you will laugh at me and come up with many on your own, but I would question whether your selections would endure a three-fold test:

  1. Does the recognition cross generations?
  2. Does the contribution to the world remain lasting?
  3. If they were alive today, would they make a similar impact that they did in their own time?

You see? Kind of tricky.

So long story short, on my A-list of all time:

Jesus and Abraham Lincoln.