Buggin'
I wrote something in my post yesterday that has been bugging me ever since. I said I don't relate to people who express hard-line, one-sided opinions. The reason this bugs me is that sometimes I am one of those people. I mean, I have one-sided opinions as often as most people. I am as lazy about researching issues as the people I criticize for being lazy about researching issues. Ouch. So what exactly do I mean when I say I don't relate to people on the extremes?
I guess I really mean I like playing devil's advocate, and as soon as someone says words like "they always," or "they never," I'm primed to disagree. I may not have facts on my side, but I rarely care (anyone who follows the frogg files regularly already knows this).
All this thinking has led me into a quagmire of self-realization today, which I try to avoid when I can, because usually I can't. To get out of it today, I'm going to talk about the spider in my shower.
There is a spider in my shower. He is a small spider, thankfully. He has built a very attractive little web in the corner just above the showerhead. This indicates a couple of things, namely:
1) I need to clean my shower more often; and,
2) Um, maybe that's it, actually.
But I couldn't bring myself to destroy the web and wash the spider away. He really has worked quite hard, probably harder than I work on any given day. I feel bad anyway when I kill bugs. They are so much smaller, and it seems terrible because of the fact that they probably don't have a clue as to what's coming. Especially ants. I hate ants, but I still feel guilty when I kill them. I mean, what if I were an ant, and I was just going about my business of being annoying on picnics, or kitchen counters, and I didn't know I was being annoying because all I was doing was my job of trying to find food for the hive. (Oh wait, that's bees...what do you call where ants live? Is it a nest? Yeah, that sounds right.) ANYWAY, all of a sudden a shadow looms, blocking the light of the sun, or the lamp or whatever, and then SMOOSH. Total oblivion, unless you believe animals go to heaven, in which case perhaps ants go there too, but I think people assume only cute fuzzy animals and maybe horses actually go to animal heaven. I don't think anyone really believes that bugs are good. I think most people hope all bugs go to hell. Except perhaps butterflies, because they are pretty.
Wow.
After reading what I just wrote, I think I need to do something a lot more productive with my time. Maybe I'll go clean the shower.
I guess I really mean I like playing devil's advocate, and as soon as someone says words like "they always," or "they never," I'm primed to disagree. I may not have facts on my side, but I rarely care (anyone who follows the frogg files regularly already knows this).
All this thinking has led me into a quagmire of self-realization today, which I try to avoid when I can, because usually I can't. To get out of it today, I'm going to talk about the spider in my shower.
There is a spider in my shower. He is a small spider, thankfully. He has built a very attractive little web in the corner just above the showerhead. This indicates a couple of things, namely:
1) I need to clean my shower more often; and,
2) Um, maybe that's it, actually.
But I couldn't bring myself to destroy the web and wash the spider away. He really has worked quite hard, probably harder than I work on any given day. I feel bad anyway when I kill bugs. They are so much smaller, and it seems terrible because of the fact that they probably don't have a clue as to what's coming. Especially ants. I hate ants, but I still feel guilty when I kill them. I mean, what if I were an ant, and I was just going about my business of being annoying on picnics, or kitchen counters, and I didn't know I was being annoying because all I was doing was my job of trying to find food for the hive. (Oh wait, that's bees...what do you call where ants live? Is it a nest? Yeah, that sounds right.) ANYWAY, all of a sudden a shadow looms, blocking the light of the sun, or the lamp or whatever, and then SMOOSH. Total oblivion, unless you believe animals go to heaven, in which case perhaps ants go there too, but I think people assume only cute fuzzy animals and maybe horses actually go to animal heaven. I don't think anyone really believes that bugs are good. I think most people hope all bugs go to hell. Except perhaps butterflies, because they are pretty.
Wow.
After reading what I just wrote, I think I need to do something a lot more productive with my time. Maybe I'll go clean the shower.
posted by grackyfrogg @ 2:01 PM
3 Comments:
At 5:37 PM ,
Porter said...
Profound and humorous. This is a talented girl.
At 10:28 PM ,
Caroline said...
Definitely profound!
There's nothing wrong with disagreeing or playing devil's advocate. In fact, anytime a person uses "they always" or "they never," that person is employing a logical fallacy.
Then again, I use those logical fallacies myself because it is so easy to let emotions get in the way. Once the emotions take over, the reasons go out the window. I find this with my own writing all the time. Of course, I can claim that I get away with it because I am a self-proclaimed "liberal" blogger, but I admit that I'm disappointed when I see everyone agreeing or arguments being decided based on who shouts the loudest. I, too, wish for more dialogue, in which everyone presents a side or mounts counterarguments. It would certainly raise the level of our political discussion!
And good luck with your spider. I know how you feel! I even get guilty about killing cockroaches.
At 11:36 AM ,
grackyfrogg said...
high praise from two talented writers in their own right. thanks, both of you!
caroline, i agree with what you say about wishing for more back-and-forth conversation on important issues, without letting emotion get the better of us. but it's hard not to get emotional about the things we value and believe in. how to strike the balance?
and then too, maybe there are times when you simply have to shout, if you feel something strongly enough. i don't know. i've never been much of a shouter, but sometimes i wish i were.
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