A Danger to Society

I think the highest compliment one can receive is that they are a "danger to society."  When you look at society in its vast arena of dysfunction, is there any greater thing to be other than a threat?

I look around and I see the liars, the thieves, the two-faced, the back-stabbers, the do-gooders with egos, the clueless running the various shows, the people who wear victimhood like a crown, the people whose fifteen minutes is based on their lack of intelligence, the greedy, the bottom feeders, the chum, the blissfully ignorant, the woefully inept, the people who think they know best, the people who know nothing, the lizard people, the snobs, the people who can't run their own lives but are more than happy to tell you how to run yours, the half-truths, the vapidly elite, the people who can only consume, the holier-than-thou, the ones who fear every devil but themselves, those who lack a moral compass, those who don't know what that means, the kings, the queens, the rulers, the happily ruled.  In other words: the people who surround you every day.  Not all of them, but enough of them to give you pause.

If you have a shred of morality, a millimeter of integrity -- how can you be anything but a danger?

I see it every day.  In my "real" life.  In my "work" life.  I see people who treat each other like caged animals.  There is no understanding.  No compassion.  No empathy.  No shared situation.  It is greed.  It is fear.  It is directionless hate.  It is a loaded gun (safety off) and placed in the hands of a spastic LSD tossback who sees everything as a threat.  They only understand hurt, anger, fury and disrespect when it is finally tossed their way.  And when they get it, they don't like it.  Not one bit.  No, Sir.  Not one bit at all.

Again, how is being a danger to that not admirable?

I'm not perfect.  I would never attempt to be.  But what I do attempt is to be the kind of person who treats others with the respect they've earned from me.  The kind of guy who can look at himself in the mirror and feel not only good about the choices I've made, but that I've also really thought about the choices I've made and how they affect others.  I want to lay my head down at night thinking I've done the right thing.

My "right thing" can be motivated by many things.  Fear.  Greed.  Rage.  Altruism.  Compassion.  Hate.  But I do my damned best to make sure it is never motivated by ignorance.  I examine what I will do and how it will affect people.  I don't pretend I live in a bubble, because I don't.  And when I see how others live their lives, I think being a danger is a great cosmic balance in their universe of choice.

The greatest danger to society isn't armed with a gun or a dirty bomb.  The rest of society just sees that as unrestrained rage, fundamentalism and extreme.  When they see that, they can dismiss it.  They can say, "That won't happen to me."  No.  The greatest danger isn't armed with any weapon but the truth and a willingness to say it.  And if they don't say it at the time, they act on it so that it can later be seen ... often when it's too late for anyone to react.  A danger like that gets into people's heads.  It can't be ignored.  It cuts to the bone and twists. 

I raise my cup of coffee to you folks, the dangers to the world of complacency, moral pits, and the mask wearers.  Keep up the good work.  Keep spitting out the truth.  Keep being a danger.  It beats being one of them.