My Decree Against Insanity

One
I will no longer be afraid of the normal. I realize that I am not normal in any way but that does not give me the right to attack normal people. I will respect their views as long as my views are respected. Most thinking in life is merely opinion and not fact, mainly belief and not concrete. I will ignore the frightened feeling I have around people who attack my religion and I will not become arguementative towards them. I understand that it is merely a difference in beliefs and not a personal attack on my being as a whole. I will smile and be excruciatingly polite to anyone who expresses a view (religious, "scientific", or personal) that makes me angry.

Two
I will not point out the foibles of society. It is a pointless activity. Even though I recognize that I live in a culture where women are not treated well even after the feminist movement, I will keep that to myself. I will not challenge the views of men in the concern of women. I will not point out the obvious political manipulations of the two mainstream views of free trade. I will keep silent on matters of state. I will not try to explain urban myths to anyone nor will I tell anyone how a particular magic trick is performed, whether magically or politically.

Three
I will not, under any circumstances, pretend to know anything. Since there is no way to know everything, and I am, obviously, a moron, I cannot state any facts that are true. I will not give advice. I will not predict the ways or habits of people. I will not gather information on anyone and use that information for my own agendas. I will not gossip or tell anyone a true story about somebody that they've told me, using aliases.

Why do I decree these things?

I am tired of saying things that are right, only to be overshadowed by someone who is wrong, or to be ignored completely, or to be wrong once and have that held over my head, even if I am right any other time. And then I wonder why I have the complexes I do...I have to continually remind myself that I'm not all that stupid. Through careful social conditioning, I will second guess myself. I dislike society for various reasons. This is what makes me feel insane, this apparent lack of higher emotional thought -- one that uses reason combined with the spiritual aspects of life. There is a social reality -- it's what the society trains its people to think and do. I do not fit the social reality and it is the most annoying thing to discuss something with a person who has no idea that they're being manipulated -- yes, the "Nancy Northshores" (suburbanites) of my area have negative preconceptions of the poor, but that doesn't make the negative perceptions of "Nancy Northshores" that the poor have more valid. Both stereotypes are incorrect. We are people dammit, why can't anyone see that? Why can't anyone see that although culture differences are abundant, that doesn't mean a person is worth less or that they're evil. I refuse to believe that all young black men are thugs, that all young black women are welfare mommies, that all black people are poor and uneducated. I refuse to believe that America means Christianity (it doesn't), that all Arabs are terrorists, that all Jews are rich, that all Muslem men treat women with hostility, that anyone of Asian decent is either downright stupid or too crafty for their own good, that all Hispanics are Mexican. You may agree with these views...and I don't fault you for that. However, it's been my experience that most people do not truly adhere to these principles. I guess mainly because I hang out with disgrutled white men I think that everyone thinks this. I tend to be skeptical when someone pays lip service to the ideals but doesn't act in the appropriate manner. To me, everyone's a person. We are a generic life form. It's culture and traditions that mold and shape us into who we are, and for me, that's more interesting to know. I don't care about statistics, those can be manipulated. I want to know what every single person's experience in life has been. I can separate one individual from our ever growing collective and learn about a specific life. I like to learn about people different from me who've had other experiences, who can give different perspectives on life. First and foremost, someone's a person, the rest is just details -- interesting details, but details just the same.

And now I'm getting off my soapbox. There's more I want to say, but I'm tired and I have to work tomorrow. Sometimes the best explanations become mired in simple incoherency, which is how I'm feeling right now. And I'm a woman...I'm not supposed to be that sophisticated.