Seize The Carp
A wise man named Curly (in a movie called “City Slickers”) once said (approximately) “There’s only one thing that’s important, and that’s whatever you decide to make important.”
I looked up my remaining life expectancy yesterday: Twelve years. And that’s for someone in perfect health. Does having two heart attacks, ten stents and type II diabetes constitute perfect health? Probably not.
That’s sobering. It made me think a little harder about what my priorities really are.
I was in Home Depot yesterday when a big, burly latino overheard me talking with the cashier about my column and made some derisive remark about how Democrats were all wrong. I couldn’t resist telling him I considered Republicans ignorant. He immediately accused me of thinking all Mexicans were ignorant.
De hecho, nunca se me ocurrió tal cosa. Mis dos hijas, cuyo tío visabuelo era Presidente de México, son ciudadanas mexicanas. Pasé varios años de mi juventud en la Ciudad de México. Cada vez que vuelvo al Defe, siento que estoy volviendo a casa. Así que, que me tachen de racista es ridículo.
But I didn’t clarify what I meant, and I will now: The Republican Party lies to make people mad enough to vote for them. They can only do that to people who are relatively uninformed, and that’s just another word for ignorant.
That’s what I meant. I’d be more than happy to lie to Democrats if it would make them angry enough to vote, but Democrats can tell when they’re being lied to. That’s what makes a Democrat a Democrat.
That’s what I should have said. But I didn’t take the time to explain what I meant, although It probably wouldn’t have helped. I don’t think I’ve changed any minds.
So why do I do it? Why do I write about this every week, inspiring some people to write hateful things about me? Why bother?
The Republican Party’s strategy is to lie to make people mad enough to vote. My job is to make Democrats as mad as Republicans are, and hopefully even madder. As much as older voters who believe Trump’s ridiculous lies, and who haven’t entertained a new thought in decades, apathetic young people are the reason our country is turning into a third-world rathole. What I’m doing is the most important thing ti can think of to do. That’s why I bother.
Make today important: Help someone who needs help. Comfort someone who’s disconsolate. Inspire someone who sees no reason to hope. Motivate someone who lacks direction and purpose. Educate someone who’s uninformed. Help a child escape the damage their surroundings are doing to them. Tell your friends if they don’t vote, you’ll strangle them.
Carpe Diem. Seize the carp.
Les Pinter is a contributing columnist and a Springville resident. His column appears weekly in The Recorder. Pinter’s new book, HTTPV: How a Grocery Shopping Website Can Save America, is available in both Kindle and hardcopy formats on Amazon.com.