Please note I've been clinically depressed for a very long time and while not suicidal I've been just about that low recently so my vision is no doubt clouded. Also note what follows is mostly a weak rant.

I'm tired of living in a culture that values willful ignorance over intelligent discourse. I'm tired of "knowing things" being a weight I have to carry around with me. I'm tired of having to be almost apologetic for voicing a learned opinion on topics. At best you get the "boy that guy is smart" look with a heavy dose of "yeah and arrogant too". And you know what, I'll take being a little arrogant, I probably am. But fuck me if wanting a little art in my entertainment is to be looked down upon. I'm tired of the passive aggressive hostility, the knowing looks, the, "you aren't better than me" attitude one inevitably encounters if one raises their hand to say anything not in the "book of approved opinions". I'm tired of the "pull yourself up by your boot straps kid" mentality that seems to increasingly permeate every facet of our culture. If you aren't a success by your mid to late 20s, if you don't look like your typical high school jock, crew cut hair, "casual stylish dress", car in the driveway, house or apartment owned, girl friend or wife secured, with a comfortable salary and a retirement portfolio, there's just something a little odd about you. Certainly some wiggle room is allowed here, but those who stray too far outside the dotted lines are at best "quirky", those who haven't achieved any of these preset goals (who's are they again?), well, you're just a failure. What types of problems exist in this world? Well you have your scheduling conflicts, your missed sales, girl friends who dropped you, friends who no longer call. Depression? Issues of a more existential nature? Yes I think I've read about that before, have you tried some hot tea? Are you sure you aren't just a homosexual? You know, not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm tired of a world view that stops somewhere just short of ten feet from your nose. Forget the stereotype of not being able to place yourself on an Atlas, geographic ignorance is something we can fix. How about not even comprehending the human condition, and I don't mean in some philosophical sense, I mean in a very basic down to earth sense. Instead of asking people to pin down where they are on a map, a la pin the tail on the donkey. We should ask people to "pin down" what they consider to be "normal". What they consider to be "acceptable". Give them little cardboard cutouts, the homeless man, the thief, the wall street exec, the office man, the alcoholic, the woman in the mental ward, the schizophrenic, the unemployed man collecting welfare, the guy who just talks to himself a little too much, the woman who 'just can't seem to get it together', the 30 year old guy living at home with his parents. Okay Bob, now which of these fit in the 'acceptable' circle?

I'm tired of that circle having just 2 or 3 people in it.