I was out running some errands today when You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch came on over the car stereo. Why it came on this time of year is besides the point. What is important is what it got the old noodle grinding on. I should probably rewrite that last sentence, but we're going to let it ride.

Assholes.

Yup, the old noodle was grinding on assholes (just keeps getting better, glad I left it).

This is a complete oversimplification of a complex situation, but I thought wouldn't the world be an infinitely better place if people would just stop being assholes?

But it's not as simple as that, is it?

Maybe this complexity is a result of a world which we architected for ourselves, products of our own environment? Or is it human nature, biological and out of our hands? Fate. Inescapable. A black hole. Haha, quite apropos.

No matter how much we evolve, adapt, change, improve, every era has its assholes that suck the joy out of a room, pack it into a sled, and make a poor dog slog it up a hill?

I don't know. That song came on and I thought, man, that dude really is an asshole at the beginning of that cartoon. Is that me? Am I an asshole?

But then, there is a turning point, a redemption arc, and little Cindy-Lou Who gets to have her roast beast.

So... maybe it is that simple. A choice. At the end of the day, that's all we have. You can't control the actions of others, but you do have a choice over your own. Choose to let your heart grow three sizes that day... by that I mean any day.

Or at the very least, don't be an asshole.

That's what I'm trying to do. I'll have to get back to you.

AB