Don't Let Us Get Sick

I know this is a Warren Zevon song, but Jackson sings it now, and he sang it the night I saw him in Wisconsin.  Warren was a "harder version" of Jackson, with a really dark sense of humor, which portrays the kind of irony that I enjoy. I believe Bruce Springsteen referred to them as Cain and Abel, and I see that as a really good analogy.

Don't let us get sick
Don't let us get old
Don't let us get stupid, all right?
Just make us be brave
And make us play nice
And let us be together tonight

I heard this song last night as I was reading "Do One Green Thing Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices".  My mind wandered from "saving yourself from the bottled water habit"; if every American stopped buying water in disposable bottles Americans would save 54 million barrels of oil, used during the plastic making process, pumping, processing and transporting and refrigerating the bottles, which is the same amount used running 3 million cars for a year.

As staggering of a thought as that is, the ability to make something like this, would evaporate:

Yes!  It's a bed made out of plastic bottles, contained in a house made out of plastic bottles!  Now that is recycling.

Ok back to where my head was at last night.  The lines "just make us be brave, and let us play nice" brought up quite a bit to think about.  Why would one have to be brave to play nice?  Why is it so hard for adults to play nice?

Preschool children overall are naturally accepting and kind people.  Their developmental stages of life, may cause them to impulsively have actions that appear to adults to be "not playing nice", but usually those are just that , impulsive, their brains are not developed enough to know that grabbing a toy, pushing another child, etc. is not playing nice.  Two seconds later, the children who just finished what appeared to be a battle over a toy, are best friends, holding hands, hugging each other, etc.  Their actions are not purposeful, they do not plan harm to another individual, and they don't watch to see how the other children in their class, relate to another child, to decide how they are going to behave.  They are too egocentric to need another person to tell them who to want to play with!

It's only when the outside world intervenes, and "helps" them see who they are "supposed" to play with, who they are "supposed" to ignore, and who is "different", and they should back off, and stay away.  Children are naturally, instinctively nice to those who are nice to them, and respectful to those who respect them. 

That brings me to something I have been spending a lot of time thinking about lately.  Why are adults, who should know better, not as kind and understanding as children? It seems to me that it is often difficult for adults to make up their own minds regarding certain issues.  In fact, not only will some adults have difficulty making up their own minds, they will blindly accept another person's version of an incident, or impression of another person without even doing their own research, and either going to the source for information and making their own decision, and if they already have their own opinion, stating their thoughts on the matter.  Why are adults so afraid?  Is it the social implications of making an unpopular choice?  Is it the fear of their status in a particular community?  How do people sleep well at night letting others make their decisions for them, who to like, who not to like, who to invite, who not to invite.  Some situations where individuals allow others to make their decisions, while allowing them to maintain a certain comfort in social situations, could possibly be causing a person outside of their social circle a hardship, to experience anxiety, pain, confusion, social isolation, etc. and more.  Is being comfortable with one's place in the social hierarchy worth causing other's pain?

I bet everyone out there sees the above paragraph to be an accurate picture of middle school and high school, which in itself is a huge problem, which schools and parents must address.  However, I am talking about full fledged grown ups, parents raising children, who will end up do what they see their parent's doing.  Unless one of these adults has a child who mistakenly becomes a target, none of these adults will be able to see the error of their ways, and how their inability to think for themselves, and stand up for others and treat everyone with the respect that they deserve, might really being hurting someone, who may not be someone in their "circle" but none the less a person.

I go to sleep every night hoping that I have "played nice", and when I haven't, the words that I may have said, the thought that I may have conveyed, run through my brain, and I am ashamed.  To look for the good in everyone, to try to see the place where they are, and where they came from is what every person deserves.  Only then can two adults have a conversation which allows problems to be solved, and people to move forward in a dignified manner.  Everyone is insecure, at least to some extent, to use one's insecurities to hurt someone else, is not a behavior we want children to observe.

Jackson Browne states his opinions, his values, and what he believe's in, without feeling ashamed.  When is music took a political turn, and people began to wish he would return to more personal lyric, he borrowed a few words from Little Steven and said, "there is nothing more personal that one's politics".  The point being, standing up for what someone believes to be correct, that means what they themselves believe, not what they are told to believe is a noble trait.

That said, Jackson has been promoting Earth friendly practices for years, it's only now that I am taking a serious look at doing the same,  when I met him, he still was still nice and respectful, without first asking me if I drank bottled water!  That type of comfort with his own ideals is what made me want to take a second look at how I treat the environment.  He is believes in the power of attraction, not the power if promotion.

If I can promote anything, I hope it is that adults should treat all people with respect, try to understand when they are coming from, and make our choices based on reality, not someone else's perception!

Today I ordered dog chewies in bulk, to be delivered in a box, which can be recycled!  Tomorrow, I am really, really going to make plarn.  I have to, my husband brought the groceries home in plastic bags!  I am also going to try to make a basket out of magazines!